'You will not get the adulation from the government that a martyred soldier gets in the US. Your name will not be read out in any obituary reference in Parliament, as is done in the UK for all soldiers who fall in combat in the line of duty. Your name will not be etched on any national memorial because we do not have one!' Sarvar Bali salutes a fallen hero.
The electoral college for the presidential poll is 4896, constituting 776 members of Parliament and 4120 members of legislative assemblies, including those of Delhi and Puducherry. The total value of votes is 10,98,882, with that of MLAs being 5,49,474 and that of MPs being 5,49,408
Weeks before stepping down from as President of India, Pratibha Patil, the first woman to become Head of State, tells Kalyani Shankar that she would like to be remembered as the President who worked for the welfare of the people
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.
Opposition parties on Monday expressed disappointment over the President Pratibha Patil's address to the Parliament, saying it contained old promises on which it had already failed to deliver and lacked clarity on solutions to problems like corruption. The Bharatiya Janata Party, Left parties and Telugu Desam Party said the address was not up to their expectations.
Combating inflation and sustaining growth momentum may be the top priority, but the government on Monday said it would strive to push economic reforms to encourage foreign and private sector investments in the economy.
President Pratibha Patil on Monday described the Commonwealth Games held in October last year as a "great success" and lauded Delhiites for showing "exemplary discipline and courtesy".
The Mughal Gardens will be thrown open to public on Tuesday with the month-long annual festival christened as Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav.
President Pratibha Patil, who is on a ten-day vacation in Hyderabad, is expected to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders when she returns to New Delhi.
Patriotic fervour gripped Indians across the world today as they enthusiastically celebrated the country's 64th Independence Day by unfurling the tricolour and organising a series of cultural events and festivities.
Rajasthan minister Ameen Khan, whose remarks on President Pratibha Patil triggered a controversy, on Thursday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
India on Monday signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal with South Korea, allowing a framework for Korean companies to participate in atomic power plant projects in the country.
Governments being the biggest litigants should exercise restraint in approaching courts in order to decongest the system and reduce overall pendency of cases, President Pratibha Patil said on Saturday.
The President, while addressing the concluding ceremony of celebrations for 150 years of the Income Tax Department, also made a strong case for tightening laws to book tax evaders.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ajit Singh was sworn in as the 33rd member of the Union Cabinet, and 77th in the Union council of ministers on Sunday morning. Singh is widely expected to be allotted the civil aviation portfolio. This is the fourth time Singh has been inducted into the Union Cabinet.
President Pratibha Patil has approved the conferment of Padma Awards 2011. This year the President has approved 128 awards, including one duo case (counted as one) and 12 in the category of Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. These comprise 13 Padma Vibhushan, 31 Padma Bhushan and 84 Padma Shri Awards. There are 31 ladies among the awardees.
Both Houses of Parliament will mark the 60th anniversary of their first sitting by holding a special sittings on Sunday.
Having returned the house alloted to her in Pune after controversy surrounding the land, President Pratibha Patil is yet to decide where to settle down post-retirement.
Under fire from the Opposition over the delay in carrying out the death sentence of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the government on Tuesday put the onus on President Pratibha Patil saying a decision on the issue has to be taken by her.
Nonagenarian Rajya Sabha member Rishant Keising of Manipur and Resham Lal Jangde, 87, of Chhattisgarh will have the proud honour to be felicitated by President Pratibha Patil at the celebrations of Parliament's 60 years on May 13, for being the only live members of the first Lok Sabha constituted in 1952.
Fifteen-year-old Sangita Bauri never feared her parents and society when she opposed her forcible marriage in a remote village in West Bengal but she trembled when she was honoured in New Delhi by President Pratibha Patil for her feat.
A technical snag detected in the special aircraft of President Pratibha Patil as the IAF Boeing 737 was being readied for takeoff on Wednesday morning from the NSC Bose International airport in Kolkata delayed her departure to Pune.
Journalists across the country will on Saturday hold demonstrations in protest against frequent attacks on scribes and to press their demand that the Centre form a national security policy for them.
Russia has described its bilateral ties with India as a "weighty" factor of global stability and security as Moscow underlined the need to deepen the "privileged strategic partnership".
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma laughed at the suggestion that his name has been floating as a potential presidential candidate for the forthcoming elections to the office of President of India. President Pratibha Patil's term ends on July 24, and the new President would be sworn in on July 25.
I do not agree with Parpola's unproven 'decipherment' of Indus script with the premise that old Tamil was the underlying language. It is simply a belief system and not premised on evidence of the corpus of inscriptions and the underlying cultural foundations of the civilization of 4,000 years ago, says Indologist Dr S Kalyanaraman.
"Mercy petition filed by Tabassum, wife of the Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru, should be rejected. Nature of the crime committed is heinous and he deserves no mercy," a ministry note said. Guru was awarded the death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi led the nation in mourning the death of former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, hailing him as a "visionary" leader and a "true patriot."
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Gujarat government on Friday said that Congress was trying to spread a 'charter of lies' against the Chief Minister Narendra Modi to tarnish his clean and transparent image.
Taking on Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj for recommending president's rule, the National Democratic Alliance on Monday decided to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to demand his dismissal and asked Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to parade all his supporting MLAs in front of the president.
She was speaking at the inaugural function of the India Trade and Exhibition Centre at which Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah, was also present.
Sons and daughters of top leaders made a political debut tasting victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls carrying forward dynastic politics with President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Singh Shekawat leading the pack.
A ceremonial reception was accorded to United States President Barack Obama at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Monday morning. At 9:45 am, Obama's cavalcade arrived on the red clay path outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, flanked by horses. Obama and First Lady Michelle were welcomed warmly at the presidential palace forecourt by President Pratibha Patil and her husband Devisingh Patil.They were then greeted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
In this interview with rediff.com's Sahim Salim, Advocate M L Sharma says that he is not against an effective Lokpal bill, but that he is against the inclusion of five members, who by "no stretch of imagination represent the public."
Two Army Majors were on Friday decorated with the country's second highest peace-time gallantry medal Kirti Chakra, including one posthumously, for their bravery during counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa will watch the World Cup final match between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Authorities in charge of security arrangements had asked the two presidents to cut down the size of their entourage from 40 to 20. President Patil then intervened to save the government from a potentially embarrassing situation, said sources.
President Pratibha Patil said on Friday government's efforts to provide medical facilities to the common man should be supported by the private sector and asked the corporate world to adopt such social responsibilities.
Santosh Singh is waging a battle to retrieve his 12.1 acre-land in Chittoni village in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district that was usurped by his cousins after declaring him dead.
Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court resigned on Thursday, five days before his impeachment motion was to taken up in the Lok Sabha.
Narang won four gold medals at last year's Commonwealth Games. The 28-year-old rifle shooter, who was the first Indian marksman to qualify for next year's London Olympics with a bronze in the World Championships last year, was disgruntled at being "ignored" for the award last year.
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