With the judgment in the Ayodhya court case just round the corner, the Bhartiya Janata Party is striving to raise the pitch on the controversial issue. This was amply demonstrated at the party's two-day long state executive meet that concluded in Lucknow on Sunday.Spelling it out in the valedictory address, amidst reverberating cries of Jai Shree Ram, former national BJP president Rajnath Singh declared, "The Ayodhya temple is bound to be a reality -- come what may."
Irrespective of their voting preferences, most voters would find this comparison with ISIS revolting. More specifically, would it persuade anybody who voted for Narendra Modi to change her or his mind? asks Shekhar Gupta.
If the PM gives the historic opportunity of laying the foundation stone of the Ram temple to a Dalit girl, it will send a transformational message to the Dalits in India and will give them a sense of belongingness, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Babri Masjid demolition was a pre-planned conspiracy.' 'It did not happen on the spur of the moment.'
All eyes will be on what the prime minister says as his August 15 addresses have often been marked by big announcements, his government's achievements and bringing to people's attention what he believes to be the major challenges facing the country.
A special judge holding trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, involving Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and others, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking six more months to conclude the trial in the case.
The court granted bail to Advani, Joshi and Bharti after they appeared before it.
The much-awaited verdict on the title suit of the disputed site at Ayodhya will be pronounced on September 24 by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.The long pending case is about the ownership of the Ayodhya land to which Hindus and Muslims had been making rival claims over the past one and a quarter century.While Hindus claimed the land to be the site of the birthplace of their most revered Lord Ram, Muslims asserted their right over the same.
Shifting positions on religiosity and Covid may confuse the Hindutva citizenry, but you can rely on Bengal to turn a non-arguable issue into a raging controversy, notes Kanika Datta.
Ram Vilas Vedanti said Advani tried to persuade the karsevaks to come down from atop of the structure.
Hailing from a family of lawyers from Maharashtra, he was part of a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court which in August 2017 declared the right to privacy as a fundamental right of an individual.
Mahesh Sharma Lord Ram looked set to occupy political centre-stage in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh despite the Bharatiya Janata Party's claim of a temple to the deity not being on its agenda
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
What Saisuresh Sivaswamy learnt about the election from television and the newspapers. A must read column, folks!
He took exception to an "ideological group of people", activists, intellectuals for giving "identification marks" to as to "who is an independent judge" and said that according to them a judge must be necessarily anti-establishment.
Journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on August 18 for a retweet and has been in custody ever since.
'Someone who has lost a dear one to Covid; that person is not going to forget and will not vote for the BJP.'
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A total of 74,44,260 voters will exercise their franchise using ballot papers to elect their representatives.
'Prince' Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy likes to introduce himself as a great-great grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
The EC notice stated that it was a violation of chapter 4 of the model code of conduct, which pertains to maintenance of harmony between castes, communities, religious, linguistic groups.
"No explanation can satisfy me," the Governor told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a 'mute spectator' as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The RSS also described Modi's comments as a 'positive step' towards the temple construction.
The relative ranking of castes can vary across regions and localities and depends on a number of factors including control over land, wealth, and political power. Castes have often tried to 'upgrade' themselves (a process sociologists refer to as Sanskritization), and sometimes get 'downgraded'. A revealing excerpt from Upinder Singh's Ancient India: Culture Of Contradictions.
Challenging the verdict is a deterrent to future peace and harmony and a socially irresponsible act, argues Vivek Gumaste.
"Let them hear us, we are prepared. But we are not ready for out-of-court settlement," Jilani said.
The encounter is an attempt by authorities to distract people from the government's failures to safeguard women's rights, the activists said.
After a wait of nine years, the judgement in the Godhra case is likely to be delivered on February 19.
Modi is seen as exceptional not only on account of his acts but also owing to his style. He appears to sacrifice his life for the people -- like a fakir, a figure he came to epitomize even more in 2020 by growing a long white beard. Charisma is above accountability, and Modi has grasped these dynamics.
A bench headed by Justice P C Ghose said the appropriate bench comprising him and Justice R F Nariman will be hearing the matter on Thursday. Justice Nariman was not present in the court on Wednesday.
As and when the pandemic recedes from these shores, rebuilding the economy will be the biggest challenge for Modi in the remaining three years of his term, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The Technical Education minister, who tested positive for COVID-19 on July 18 and is the first minister in the state to succumb to the disease, breathed her last at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPIMS).
Kerala Devaswom Minister Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the government would not support those who make announcements about entering the hill shrine for the sake of publicity.
A Bangladeshi national, having links with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami terror outfit, was on Wednesday awarded death sentence by a local court in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh for the 2005 Shramjeevi Express train blast which had killed 12 people and injured scores others.
'It is imperative that all parties make a commitment that they shall abide by the final decision of the Supreme Court.' 'This will be the best way to bring a closure.' 'It is time India moves on to face several other challenges.'
Mr Modi and Mr Shah will need him if they want to win UP again in 2022 and India in 2024. This signals a Yogi Adityanath-sized change in BJP politics, even under Mr Modi, Shekhar Gupta.
"We direct the government to either bring in a law or an ordinance (for the construction of the Ram temple). There will be no compromise on this," Ramanandacharya Hansdevacharya, the patron of the ABSS, said in his concluding remarks at the conclave.
Chief Justice of India designate Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, who will assume charge as the 47th Chief Justice of India on November 18, in a wide-ranging interview discussed the significance of dispensation of timely justice, criticism of judges and the lack of infrastructure in judiciary.
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Justice N K Mehrotra on Tuesday recommended an inquiry by an independent agency, including Central Bureau of Investigation or Enforcement Directorate, against former sports minister Ayodhya Prasad Pal in a disproportionate assets case.
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