Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
"Earlier, governments were busy in vote bank appeasement but we are busy satisfying people," the prime minister said.
In an interview with an Odia video magazine some time ago, Murmu revealed that her Santhali name 'Puti' was changed to Droupadi by a teacher in school.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
Refuting the opposition's claim that Manipur 'is burning', a senior government functionary said on Thursday that no killing has happened in the state since July 18 and asserted that peace and normalcy will be restored soon through ongoing talks with the two warring communities -- Meiteis and Kukis.
A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of President-elect Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.
'Gorkhas are terrific soldiers. They are known the world over for their fighting qualities.'
G20 is an ideal platform to discuss and find solutions to "most pressing" problems such as global warming and climate change which affect the poor most, President Droupadi Murmu said in her maiden address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day.
"Nari shakti" and women empowerment dominated the theme of tableaux of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Tripura at the Republic Day parade here on Thursday.
The Rampur assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh which fell vacant following the disqualification of SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan is one of the five seats going for the bypolls.
The competition for the worst or most perilous 10 years has always been between the 1960s and the 1980s, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Bindyarani Devi wondered if the news of her silver medal-winning effort at the Asian Championships 2023 had reached her parents, in violence-hit Manipur.
'That is the one headline the world is reading about India this week, and it is a potentially damaging story...' 'I don't think a panic mentality has set in, but this story is one that investors and market watchers are absolutely seized with.'
Celebrations broke out outside the Rajasthan BJP headquarters in Jaipur and the party workers burst firecrackers and distributed sweets as Murmu emerged victorious in the presidential poll.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said attempts were being made to tell the world that the Indian judiciary and the democracy were in crisis.
Aahana Kumra and Shilpa Shetty turn showstoppers at the Times Fashion Week.
Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the BJP will contest in 55 constituencies in its bid to return to power in the northeastern state which has a 60-member assembly for the second time in a row.
'The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource in their areas and feel the Meitei push for ST status is because of this reason'.
At 64, the woman who will be India's 15th president, taking over from Ram Nath Kovind, will also be the youngest and India's first President to be born after Independence.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appealed to the opposition for the unanimous passage of the women's reservation bill and said shortcomings, if any, can be rectified at a later date.
The Supreme Court-appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee, set up to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur, on Monday submitted three reports highlighting the need for reconstruction of identity documents, upgradation of compensation and appointment of domain experts to facilitate its functioning.
Famers' demands range from Rs 600 per quintal relief to onion farmers, 12-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers, and waiver of farm loans.
In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi said Amrit Kalash Yatra will be organised under the campaign and 7,500 pots carrying soil from different corners of the country will be brought to the national capital along with saplings.
India has much paranoia in India about a new 'Terroristan' coming up between Pakistan and a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Pakistan has zero ability economically, diplomatically, geostrategically or militarily to create one. If they try, it will be great for India as they will destroy themselves yet again, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Kangana Ranaut plays an Air Force pilot in Tejas, joining an increasing list of films and shows centered around women playing significant roles in their careers.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark snowballed into a major political row on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the opposition party of insulting President Droupadi Murmu and demanding that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation.
'What are the compulsions of the Election Commission that it cannot see any violations by the prime minister'
In their first eight days on the job, the Irula tribesmen -- world-renowned snake catchers from India -- removed 13 pythons, including four on their first visit to Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge on North Key Largo in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
In the 2017 assembly election, the voter turnout in the first phase covering the same 89 constituencies stood at 66.75 per cent.
The Madhya Pradesh government has written to the Union ministry of home affairs on renaming the recently redeveloped Habibganj station after Rani Kamlapati, the 18th century Gond queen of the region.
The Assam government wants to ban polygamy as "a component of the Uniform Civil Code" and will form a committee to examine whether the state legislature was empowered to prohibit the practice prevalent in parts of the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.
He took up the causes of tribals marginalised after their lands has been taken over for dams, mines and townships, often without their consent.
The government on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a proposal pending for years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
Seventy-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manik Saha on Wednesday took oath as chief minister of the sensitive border state of Tripura.
'This encourages escapism through the politics and economics of nationalism, made worse by tribalism or nativism, the package accompanied inevitably by the erosion of institutional bulwarks and therefore State capture by powerful businessmen,' notes T N Ninan.
The 102-year-old was given a warm welcome by election staff at the Kalpa booth in Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls in the last and seventh phase of the general elections.
It also assured that the amount of medical insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme would be doubled from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
There are three things you never do in a small North East state: Undermine local leaders, divide and rule, push homogenisation, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Hours after Desai said that the draft is ready to be submitted to the state government, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the Uniform Civil Code will soon be implemented in Uttarakhand.
Modi said the new Parliament reflected the aspirations and resolve of the "new India" to set and work towards achieving new targets.
