'It would be a folly on our part to believe that the KKK or its Indian version exists only as some dedicated organisation. Rather, the Indian KKK, much like the American counterpart, exists as a fragmented and amorphous collection of independent groups and individuals,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
Six persons allegedly involved in vandalising a cathedral premises and a Catholic school, where people had gathered for a religious convention, were arrested in the wee hours on Monday.
Muslim groups observed 'day of sorrow' while Hindu outfits celebrated 'shaurya divas' on the 23rd anniversary of Babri mosque demolition on Sunday, which passed off peacefully amid tight security in Ayodhya, as well as in other parts of the country.
The Nanavati Commission, which was appointed in 2002, after five years observed that police at some places were ineffective in controlling the mob and said the post-Godhra riots that spread out in the state were "not a pre-planned conspiracy or orchestrated violence.
The high court upheld conviction of 13 people including Bajrangi, and convicted another three for the first time, while acquitting 18 of the 32 people convicted by the trial court in 2012.
The economic muscle in the Mangalore region is generally sympathetic to the BJP, says Aditi Phadnis.
A list of prominent journalists who also became successful politicians.
Following the gruesome incident, Adityanath had announced a compensation of Rs 40 lakh for Singh's wife, Rs 10 lakh for his parents and a government job for a member of his family.
Even Subramanian Swamy, who says he is an ardent supporter of the prime minister, has been taking proxy pot shots at him.' 'At the ground level too, there is resentment from workers and local leaders who have perhaps not got whatever they may have wanted,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Earlier Uddhav had to manage only seniors in the party. Now, he has to manage the leadership of two other parties who have been political adversaries in the past. Aditi Phadnis notes.
The RSS uses its resentment against mosques and loudspeakers to stoke anti-Muslim feelings among other Hindus, whenever it can, be it during riots, or before elections, says Jyoti Punwani.
'The current BJP leadership believes the party's expansion across India, and thus their own survival at the top, depends on injecting communal tension into areas where it has so far been largely controlled,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
'When you read that for the first time, areas in Gujarat dominated by Patidars/Patels have been declared 'sensitive' for the civic polls that were held this week, you sit up and take note,' says Jyoti Punwani.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan appealed to people to boycott products from China and also directed officials of his ministry not to procure any Chinese products for day-to-day office use while his ministerial colleague Ramdas Athawale said all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down.
The rising pitch of road shows and long rallies with hectoring pitches seem to have exhausted and numbed the audiences, rather than motivating them to vote for the party, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
Where does one find a man who shows no bitterness or animosity towards Hindus, even after a frenzied Hindu mob burnt his house down?, Jyoti Punwani asks in this tribute to a truly extraordinary Indian.
Since the historic judgment of the apex court that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town, a large number of devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya, several among them making their maiden visit to the city.
As the news of the children's death came in, locals forced closure of shops and other business establishments in Chitrakoot town
In George Fernandes's passing, many will mourn him -- even those who disagreed vehemently with him, writes Aditi Phadnis.
AK Antony's statement of the Congress appearing to no longer being secular and playing minority politics just might be one of the reasons for the party's poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. Renu Mittal reports how the Congress may be adopting a new approach.
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
Jeetu alias Fauji of Mahav village is a named accused in the case, Inspector General (Crime) S K Bhagat told reporters in Lucknow when asked about his alleged involvement in the mob violence.
Police said the FIR was filed at a police station in Dakshina Kannada district based on a complaint against the writer whose utterances on Hinduism and Hindu Gods have come under vicious attacks from fringe rightwing outfit.
There are indications that the Modi dispensation was disinclined to bring the VHP into the temple-mosque frame.
The Rajput Karni Sena, the Sarv Samaj Sangathan and some other outfits have a problem with the movie -- calling it disrespectful.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
Cracks in the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is frittering away the ground gained in social justice and contributing to increasing polarisation in the state, says Mohammad Sajjad.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
'And this mirror imaging is the most dangerous thing because it leads to tremendous misunderstandings.'
'How better can we depict the Mughal heritage?'
'If chutzpah nationalists brought the Babri Masjid down, chutzpah secularists did precious little to stop it from being torn down.' 'If chutzpah nationalists ensured carnage in Gujarat, chutzpah secularists allowed Muzaffarnagar to become their next hunting ground.' 'Chutzpah secularists readily banned SIMI, but dragged their feet when it came to banning the Bajrang Dal.'
The 1992 Babri Mosque demolition was an "act of planned sabotage" and not a by frenzied mob of Hindu outfits, a news portal claimed on Friday on the basis of a sting operation it had carried over a period of two years.
'If India adopts a punitive and unforgiving stance against the Rohingyas, it will be courting disgrace,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Indian democracy has become an oxymoron.I am hopeful that more people will boycott this politics of perversion and hatred and realise that this isn't sustainable for our great nation to prosper.
'Public dissent is the highest public duty and I will continue to speak out,' says Harsh Mander.
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
Most of the opposition parties blamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliates for the cow vigilantism.
'Certainly if Advani had agreed to Vajpayee in sacking Modi, then we would never have been talking of Modi today.'
'The poor manner in which the RJD stitched its alliance and mismanaged its electioneering, now reveals that Tejashwi was more interested in enhancing his political stature by cutting down many senior leaders, by downsizing and shrinking RJD allies, by displaying arrogance and inaccessibility and by committing silly mistakes in candidate selection,' points out Mohammad Sajjad.
