'The culture of mankind has been spread by the travel gene which pushes one in five people to have the curiosity to move to unknown destinations.'
Colleen and Hugh Gantzer were the GOATs of travel writers.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the argument that a three-judge bench, rather than a two-judge bench, should hear appeals of convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case. The court found that the Gujarat High Court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment, therefore not requiring a three-judge bench. The hearing of the appeals will continue on Wednesday, with the state government seeking restoration of the death sentences of 11 convicts.
Salim Zarda, a 55-year-old life convict in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case, was arrested in Pune district for theft. Zarda, who had previously jumped parole on eight occasions, was arrested on January 22 by Pune rural police. He was handed over to Nashik police in connection with a theft case registered there. Zarda was among the 31 persons convicted in the Godhra train carnage case. He was released on parole on September 17, 2024, but failed to return.
The rising tide of Indian nationalism meant that the people of princely states now were keen to become a part of a united and integrated India rather than remain subjects of a princely state. The Congress too supported the people's wish and it fell upon Patel to get the princes to agree. He did so magnificently, using every trick available, whether it was sweet talk or coercion; the rulers buckled and Patel earned the eternal gratitude of the entire nation.
'They just showed riots created by some political party. They never mentioned the name of the place or the political party.' 'I don't know why these people are agitated.'
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear on January 15 the appeals filed by the Gujarat government and several other convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.
You are hooked on The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case from the first episode, applauds Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Terming the charges against him a "BJP conspiracy", Siddaramaiah said he would wage a legal fight.
'The Karnataka government should be alert because in Gujarat during the same occasion, the Kar Sevaks were set on fire at Godhra'
Reiterating that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team felicitation event in front of Vidhana Soudha on June 4 was not organised by the state government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday clarified that he 'called' Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for the event, which he too was attending.
The real heroes of Operation Sindoor were not the armed forces or political leadership, but the ordinary citizens of India who refused to fall into the trap of communal provocation, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The 11 convicts are Bakabhai Vohania, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Govind Nai, Jaswant Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradeep Mordhiya, Radheshyam Shah, Rajubhai Soni, Ramesh Chandana and Shailesh Bhatt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cited a number of incidents including the Godhra train fire and terror attacks in Gujarat to describe how he tries to detach himself from his emotions to overcome anxiety.
Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, died on Saturday in Ahmedabad at the age of 86. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 persons who were killed inside Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, on February 28, 2002, a day after coaches of the Sabarmati Express train were burnt in Godhra, resulting in the deaths of 59 'karsevaks' returning from Ayodhya. The incident triggered horrific rioting across the state. Zakia Jafri hit the national headlines as she waged a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court in a bid to hold top political leaders accountable for the large conspiracy for the riots post the Godhra train burning episode. Her son Tanveer Jafri said that his mother was visiting his sister's house in Ahmedabad when she complained of feeling uneasy. The doctor who was called in declared her dead at around 11:30 am. Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who was co-complainant in Jafri's protest petition in the Supreme Court, posted on X that Zakia Jafri was a compassionate leader of the human rights community.
dawoodi Bohra volunteers distributed around 50,000 bird feeders to households, schools, parks and community centres across the country.
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday claimed a "Godhra-like" incident may take place during the "return journey" of the large number of people expected to converge at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh from across the nation for the inauguration of the Ram temple.
Empuraan, with its gimmicky violence and vigilante posturing, is not out to widen your perspective or open up history. All it wants to do is pick your pockets, observes Sreehari Nair.
Apart from the Naroda Gam case, seven other 2002 post-Godhra riots cases were investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team.
Godhra is one of the 14 seats which the AIMIM is contesting in the next month's elections to the 182-member Gujarat assembly.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of three convicts serving life term in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, which plunged Gujarat into one of the worst communal riots, terming it a "very serious incident".
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, while granting them the relief took note of the time they have already served and the unlikelihood of their appeals being taken up for disposal anytime soon.
'There are films, documentaries and reportage on the Internet regarding the Godhra riots. But whether the Sabarmati Express burned in an accident or a planned attack, what was the truth?'
The Nagpur violence may have been prevented had the police considered the dangerous potential of the VHP/Bajrang Dal's demonstration; had they immediately stopped the burning of the chaddar and arrested the demonstrators; and had they fanned out to counter the rumours that spread among Muslims, observes Jyoti Punwani.
The court then issued a notice to the state government on the bail pleas of Abdul Raheman Dhantia alias Kankatto, Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla and others.
It is a general rule not to convict anybody until the body has been found, the court said.
The Sabarmati Report is so flimsy in its execution, taking offence to it would be dignifying its existence, notes Sukanya Verma.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court.
Witches and westerns, goosebumps and goldfish, it's all there on OTT this week.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of the convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case who were awarded the death penalty by the trial court but it was commuted to life sentence by the Gujarat high court.
"Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, told reporters in Pune.
'Joined fellow NDA MPs at a screening of The Sabarmati Report. I commend the makers of the film for their effort.'
The Delhi assembly results have underscored that a section of Arvind Kejriwal's committed supporters abandoned him because they were let down by his refusal to take a stand on crucial issues that impinge on the security and Constitutionally enshrined rights of the people, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a convict serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train coach burning case, noting that he has been in jail for the last 17 years.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that he has to verify certain factual details with regard to some convicts.
According to the prosecution, the victims were killed on February 28, 2002, and their bodies burnt with an intention to destroy evidence.
The high court upheld total 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term, Mehta said.
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