Sharmila said a section of people even wanted her 'martyrdom' during the 16-year old fast against the AFSPA that she decided to end last year.
The BJP knows the CAA, combined with a fresh nationwide NRC process, is an idea that's dead on arrival. Where it lives on is as a divisive, polarising instrument as its rivals have to take a position against it and thereby be exposed to the charge of 'Muslim appeasement' again, points out Shekhar Gupta.
When powers vested by the Finance Bill 2017 begin to get mildly used, fellow Indians living in the corporate bubble will get a faint whiff of what life can be like when you run a grocery store in the streets of Kashmir or the North East.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "blatant U-turn" on the issue of transparency.
Young soldiers blame commanders of for the debacle at the Uri army camp. Ajai Shukla reports
Najima Bibi is a candidate of PRJA party of Irom Sharmila and is contesting from Wabgai constituency.
The tension between the way the law views justice, and the way public opinion views justice, is the best reason not to make laws based on public opinion, says Mitali Saran
Having known Vice Admiral Hari Kumar personally and professionally, Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd) wishedshim a fantastic tenure as Chief of the Naval Staff. Under his command may the Indian Navy grow in all dimensions as the nation strive to establish itself as a credible sea power in future.
Tripura should be taken as a case study on how misuse of the AFSPA can be avoided even while transforming public opinion and controlling insurgency, says Sanjib Deb.
'Till the time the chief minister continues to have command over the state forces, we don't think that gives any hope of peace coming back to Manipur.'
Russia has informed the United Nations Security Council that Russian buses are ready at crossing points to go to the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy to evacuate Indian students and other foreign nationals who are stranded there, amidst the raging conflict in the East European country.
A new law that defines how companies should process users' data came into force with the President giving assent to the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act passed by Parliament in the just-concluded monsoon session. The law arms individuals with greater control over their data while allowing companies to transfer users' data abroad for processing, except to nations and territories restricted by the Centre through notification. It also gives the government power to seek information from firms and issue directions to block content.
This is for the first time the UNHRC has issued a report on the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and PoK.
While the government interlocutor for J&K may be tasked with holding talks with 'all stakeholders', the central government is singing a very different tune in the Supreme Court, Aditi Phadnis points out.
Singh, who is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, said that a permanent solution to Kashmir issue is based on five 'Cs' -- compassion, communication, coexistence, confidence building and consistency.
On the occasion of her breaking the world's longest hunger strike, Rediff.com reproduces this 2011 feature on the activist and her life.
The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
Negotiations between the BJP and the PDP to finalise the Common Minimum Programme have intensified
My travels made me realise how different the ground situation and people's mindsets in the two states are. People seemed happy and secure in Tripura whilst there was only complaining and suspicion in J&K, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
India is only the fourth country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability after the United States, Russia and China.
Russia has almost completed the delivery of major components of the second regiment of the weapon systems.
The ex-army chief left for Dubai for medical treatment in March 2016 and has not returned since, citing security and health reasons.
'Criticism that Amnesty is interested in those in favour of independence for Kashmir is unfounded.'
The army of the future needs a system of transparency and research. An open sociology of the army is a democratic necessity. An openness of information is a necessity of the army of the future fighting the next peace and next war on behalf of society, says social scientist Shiv Visvanathan.
'Worryingly, intelligence assessments indicate that growing disaffection amongst the youth is ceding ground to fundamentalist Islamist groups like Islamic State,' reports Ajai Shukla.
Iconic rights activist Irom Sharmila on the highs and lows of her long fast, why she gave it up and her plans.
The BJP will focus on the dozen constituencies that eluded it in the 2014 assembly elections. A better performance in these seats could help it reach as close as possible to the halfway mark of 44 seats by the time the next elections are held and have its own chief minister.
'If the NSCN-IM is cold shoulderd, the chances are that it will slip back into insurgency,' caution Sandeep Pandey, Meera Sanghamitra and Babloo Loitongbam.
'The CPI-M workers first destroy houses of our people and then kill them.' 'There is anarchy in Kannur.'
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
There are significant differences in the scope, jurisdiction, functions and personnel requirements of RPF and GRP.
We must repeal AFSPA to begin to heal Kashmir, and to enhance India's moral stature and that of the army, says Ajai Shukla
'Savarkar was the closest the RSS had to a freedom movement icon, however flawed.' 'Indira Gandhi wasn't going to gift him to them.' 'And a non-career politician like Dr Singh understands it.' 'It is just that his party never listened to him,' says Shekhar Gupta.
In a powerful signal to New Delhi that the United States is a reliable defense partner, Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn introduced US-India Defense Technology and Partnership Act in Senate
'Abrogation of Article 370 is not legal because it is the legal basis of Kashmir's accession to India.'
'If the nub of India's sensitivity over the Chinese presence in Doklam is the enhanced threat to the Siliguri Corridor, a vital link to the northeast, does it serve the national purpose to have the districts along it, and then much of the tribal northeast, in turmoil?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
Deepa Gahlot lists some 2023 movies that you need to watch if you haven't already.
The Theatre-level Readiness and Operational Exercise was conducted to test combat readiness of the combined fleets of the Navy, the Air Force, the Army and the Coast Guard.
When he was chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was able to blunt inter-regional and inter-communal tensions which Farooq and Omar Abdullah could not do. Whether he can repeat it with the BJP by his side would have to be seen, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
