The iconic activist has said that she won't go home till the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is repealed.
There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Mufti said relation of J&K with India will end if the terms and conditions of the state's accession to the Union were changed.
On the controversial AFSPA, the home minister said, "We will also think of revoking AFSPA."
Uproarious scenes on the concluding day of the special session on Thursday turned the West Bengal Assembly into a cauldron of chaos, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech was repeatedly drowned out by slogan-shouting, leading to the suspension of five Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and the collapse of two legislators during forcible eviction by marshalls.
Survivors of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts express shock and disappointment after the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused, citing lack of evidence. They feel justice has not been served after 19 years.
Banerjee, who met party MPs, discussed various issues that need to be brought up in Parliament, including the Nagaland tragedy in which 13 civilians were killed in firing by security forces, the COVID-19 situation and the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members.
Activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on fast for the past 12 years demanding withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, from Manipur, has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The army said on Friday it has completed the Summary of Evidence against two of its men involved in July's Amshipura encounter in Shopian district.
"Border skirmishes have been rising and people are dying... A way has to be found to deal with this. Except for talks... As you are talking to China to attempt that it withdraws (from Ladakh border), we should also talk to our (other) neighbour to find a way to get out of this situation," he said in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour amid protests from treasury benches.
The latest amendments to the NIA Act will allow the agency to probe terrorist activities against Indians and Indian interests abroad, cyber crimes and cases of human trafficking.
This Act was imposed in the state on February 16, 1997 following spurt of violence by the ultras.
Minister of State Kiren Rijiju, who looks after the northeast division in the home ministry, seems to have been bypassed in recent decision to declare entire Nagaland as 'disturbed area' under the AFSPA with clear indications emerging of his unhappiness.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
'Due to the imposition of AFSPA, our people have for so long suffered untold miseries and discrimination at the hands of security forces'
Illegal weapons proliferation through the porous India-Myanmar border in the north-east has been a boon for the Maoists operating in the rest of the country. It has been disclosed by the Bharatiya Janata Party's national security cell convenor P Chandrasekhar following his situation review meeting with convenors of state BJP security cells in the north-east.
In what was perhaps the most critical meeting before full-scale war broke out, Shastri defined India's immediate war objectives to his defence minister, army, and air force chiefs: 'To defend against Pakistan's attempts to grab Kashmir by force and to make it abundantly clear that Pakistan would never be allowed to wrest Kashmir from India; To destroy the offensive power of Pakistan's armed forces...' A fascinating excerpt from Shiv Kunal Verma's must-read 1965: A Western Sunrise India's War With Pakistan.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the recent statement by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde wherein he had said that 'the state government would be taken on board over the revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Curfew was relaxed in three Imphal Valley districts on Tuesday and the suspension on broadband internet lifted with conditions, even as Chief Minister N Biren Singh blamed the Congress for the present crisis in Manipur and NDA MLAs called for a "mass operation" against militants responsible for the killing of six women and children. Peaceful rallies were also staged across the state, with hundreds taking to the streets with empty coffins in Churachandpur district, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam, and members of various civil society organisations bringing out a procession in Imphal West district to protest the reimposition of AFSPA in parts of the state.
Presenting the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on May 12, 2025, in which he dictated India's new doctrines on countering terrorism.
Exploiting the killings to ratchet up the tension in the region and harden negotiating positions with the central government serves nobody, least of all the people of Nagaland. The peace process must not be stalled because of this incident or distracted by calls to repeal the AFSPA, argues Vivek Gumaste.
'The government needs to think if a draconian, outdated and colonial law is needed in a democratic, multi religious, diverse country governed by a democratic government.'
In its election manifesto -- 'Sankalp Patra' -- the Bharatiya Janata Party has vowed to implement the Union Civil Code (UCC), maintain peace in the Northeast, among other key poll promises.
Demand for repeal of the act found echoes in the nation's Parliament with National People's Party (NPP) MP Agatha Sangma, a former Minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, terming the act as 'the elephant in the room which (needs to) be addressed' and seeking the 'draconian' Act be repealed.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
Almost every year, three to four waves of flood ravage Assam. The average annual loss due to the disaster is to the tune of Rs 200 crore, according to a state government website.
Discussions and deliberations need to be held on the purpose of imposing AFSPA and how to revoke it, Rio said during the public funeral of the 14 daily wage earners of a coal mine, who were shot dead by security forces on Saturday at Oting village on their way home from work.
The tribunal also granted conditional bail to Captain Bhoopendra Singh and directed him to appear before its principal registrar at a regular interval starting from January next year.
The move prompted a strong reaction from the Congress, with its state unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu equating it with the 1919 Rowlatt Act or Black Act and saying that the party will explore legal options to challenge it.
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists why India must not do away with AFSPA, but ensure enough transparency to avoid confrontation with human rights.
The BJP had no option but to get Jagdeep Dhankhar out of its way for the sake of the Modi government's stability, reveals Sheela Bhatt, the legendary political journalist.
A mother of two girls, Arambam Robita Leima said she would launch her fast-unto-death against AFSPA.
The Centre on Thursday welcomed the Tripura government's decision to lift Armed Forces Special Powers Act saying there was no need for the state government to take the consent of the central government while taking the move.
A day after AFSPA was extended in most parts of Manipur, rights activist Irom Sharmila said the "oppressive law" was not a solution to the conflict in the state.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The home ministry said the entire Assam, besides bordering areas of Meghalaya, have been declared 'disturbed' under the AFSPA for three months with effect from May 3.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday made it clear that reduction of footprints of security forces and phased withdrawal only needs a "courageous statesman" and not referendum.
Now, the chief minister is under pressure to make good his promise after the December 4 incident in Nagaland's Mon, where 14 people were killedAFSPA has eclipsed all other achievements of the Biren Singh government.
