Narendra Modi was at the receiving end of 'neech (low-level)' barb again, this time from Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who berated his "insult" of Rajiv Gandhi and said such "low-level" thought and words do not suit him and national politics.
Intense cold conditions prevailed in parts of north India on Sunday as the mercury plummeted to minus 12.6 degrees Celsius in Leh, while the Kashmir valley braced for possible snowfall over two days from Monday
Officials said there was no discussion on constituting a delimitation commission.
The home minister said Indian youth should stand up to face forces which want to destabilise the country.
The police chief asked the youth to focus on studies and their careers and not indulge in violence by getting swayed by the propaganda.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government has no other option but to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission wants to hold assembly elections in the state by the end of 2019.
Using phones and computers to spread rumours, jihadis are waging a new, unconventional war.
Ahead of resuming his controversial yatra, Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy paid tributes to his late father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at the place where he was buried, on Tuesday. Jagan, who arrived at the family estate at Idupulapaya, near Kadapa, from Hyderabad by train in the early hours on Tuesday, offered tributes to his father at the burial site inside the estate.
'India should be able to weather the storm, given its enhanced standing among the major powers. However, India's international clout is partly from its rapidly growing emerging economy and a large and expanding commercial market. 'If the Indian economy continues to slow and protectionist barriers advance, then our international clout will also diminish. The international fallout from bringing the Valley to heel may be more difficult to handle,' says Shyam Saran.
However, not an inch of movement has taken place on the implementation of the 'Agenda of Alliance', the manifesto of the PDP-BJP coalition government. Unless the BJP plays ball, the PDP will be in serious trouble, warns Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Breaking his silence on the over-a-month-long unrest which has claimed more than 55 lives, Modi said it was painfully to see innocent youngsters, who should be holding laptops, book and cricket bats, have been given stones
The situation in the Valley is tense as the fresh order directing the zonal SPs to provide the list of mosques here and its management committees has added to speculation about some major decision in the offing regarding Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Hard-line Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked Kashmiris to desist from allowing people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to stay with them as tenants.
Tour operators in Odisha are set to suffer losses as tourists and pilgrims have started cancelling their bookings to various destinations in north India following the devastating floods in Uttarakhand.
The valley is under the iron grip of the armed forces and Pakistan does not have the military power or political support to change the status quo, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), after a recent visit to Kashmir.
'All the benefits of democracy will flow to Kashmir now. This has not happened in the last 70 years.'
For a Valley on the boil, there is ample proof that New Delhi simply does not care.
Two people have been killed as protesters on Saturday attacked police posts and security personnel in several areas and targeted BJP office in Kulgam as violence broke out in Kashmir Valley, a day after Burhan Wani, a poster boy of terror outfit Hizbul Mujhaideen, was killed in an encounter.
Snowfall brought cheer to many Kashmiris.
Kashmir Valley on Thursday experienced fresh snowfall with most places, especially the plains, witnessing the first snow of the season, breaking the prolonged dry spell at the fag end of 'Chillai-Kalan', the 40-day period of harshest winter. While the snowfall was mild and brief, it nonetheless brought much joy to the locals.
The joint separatist camp, including Hurriyat Conference factions led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik-led Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, has asked the people to march to Tral to pay tributes to Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on this day last year.
2016 saw the worst unrest in the Kashmir valley in 26 years.
Hygiene and cleanliness of trains and stations a must
It is often alleged that half the Indian Army is based in J&K. It is bewildering why there has been no rebuttal or clarification of this issue from the central or state governments, or from the army itself, wonders Ajai Shukla.
Major General Sujan Singh Uban, a legendary veteran of the Second World War, was a natural choice to raise, train and command the Special Frontier Force and mould them into a well oiled fighting machine, recalls his son Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd), who led SFF troops during the Kargil War.
'As of now, this one move seems to have precariously altered the balance of forces on the volatile ground, between separatists and the mainstream. 'The landscape today presents a fearsome picture of the future of mainstream politics in Kashmir. 'Conversely, the separatist ideology looks to have got an unearned boost,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs
'Worryingly, intelligence assessments indicate that growing disaffection amongst the youth is ceding ground to fundamentalist Islamist groups like Islamic State,' reports Ajai Shukla.
Hundreds others were wounded many of whom received bullet and pellet injuries and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
The foundations of the army's own peculiar secularism are potentially being destabilised
The chief said that the reason for the fall is because of the combined efforts of NIA, state police and security forces.
It was another chilly morning in the national capital as icy winds swept the city while early morning fog disrupted rail operations, delaying 52 trains.
'In times to come this will be considered a watershed event, but only if the establishment can see the flag which is up and the straws in the wind which are flying,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The controversy over Sant Rampal and his army of followers taking the law into their hands has once again thrown the spotlight on the clout that India's godmen possess.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned that there could be a backlash if the force loses patience.
The kind of freedom Kashmir is enjoying today is not there even in Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey and Pakistanis, Mufti said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.
Fifty-nine per cent of reserved tickets on Indian Railways are now booked online.
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