Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
Here are the top 10 images from the big news that shook the world in the previous week.
"Our armed forces have shown utmost restraint in tackling terrorists in Kashmir Valley despite grave provocations," he said in his address on the All India Radio on the eve of Independence Day.
It was a rare event for the Pakistani experts and strategists dealing with India when former chief of Research and Analysis Wing A S Dulat went to Lahore in the last week of January. He was there to attend a closed-door seminar to discuss range of issues concerning India and Pakistan.
'The unfolding events indicate a dangerous internal security situation in Manipur and the region. It can have external ramifications also.'
'The strategy has to be restoring order in one part and countering the very effective propaganda through a very nimble monitoring and response system,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, who retired as the General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.
One wonders where the inestimable Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his gang of separatist leaders have disappeared.
While the Congress demanded immediate sacking of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the Samajwadi Party and a few others sought imposition of President's rule in the state that has witnessed sporadic violence in since May 3.
Unless the anarchy in Manipur is brought under control quickly, we are sowing the seeds of a flare up in the entire North East and the end of our dream of checking China in South East Asia, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'A new doctrine now needs to be evolved for a new situation, and the army will do it.' 'You won't see more Kashmiris driven in front of army columns.' 'Nor will the army massacre hundreds, Dyer style,' says Shekhar Gupta.
With floods rendering the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway inoperational for 12 consecutive days on Monday, Valley residents are facing an acute shortage of essential commodities even as people in some areas of north and south Kashmir accused the administration of concentrating only on Srinagar city.
Incumbent Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal also got another term at the post, as BJP candidate Soni Pal withdrew her nomination. Iqbal and Pal were the two rival candidates for the post of deputy mayor.
The officials said the SSG will be "right-sized" by reducing the number of the elite force to the "bare minimum".
The BSF has unearthed at least five under-ground tunnels in the about 192 km of the Jammu front (of the India-Pakistan IB) in the last three years.
'Knowing him personally, I can safely say that the usually soft-spoken, qualified medical doctor would not have said what he was 'caught' saying if only he had realised that he was stepping on a political landmine across the emotional LoC, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
In written replies to two separate questions in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir shared data about Kashmiri youths taking up arms, infiltration attempts and law and order situation in the valley.
'Dulat's professional successors in the game would now find it that much harder to access/create meaningful sources/assets needed for effective functioning in a place like Kashmir. By blowing their cover the former top spy has undone whatever he might have been able to add to his organisation's resource kitty.'
National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has rejected the notion that the threat of a nuclear war would solve the Kashmir issue, asserting that the region would never be a part of Pakistan and dialogue is the best way to "move forward".
As Azad ended his decades-old association with the party, leaders across political spectrum praised his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir, with the BJP hailing him as a "towering leader".
'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).
Modi emphasised on the need for taking Kashmir ahead with peace and unity while ensuring that it remains 'paradise' in the real sense.
Delhi Capitals will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Women's Premier League (WPL) opener in Mumbai on Sunday.
A goal on either side of the break powered Real Kashmir to a 2-0 win over Indian Arrows in the I-League, in Margao, on Sunday.
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
'We are certainly disappointed by our inability to win a single seat in the valley... We will analyse what led to this kind of dismal -- in terms of seats -- non-performance by the BJP.' 'I certainly don't want to attribute any religious or so-called communal reasons for it; for the simple reason, that even in Ladakh, a Buddhist majority area, we failed to win seats.' BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, the man in charge of the party's election campaign in J&K, discusses the verdict with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Three other terrorists, believed to be severely injured during the gunfight, managed to escape.
'Rahul Gandhi might not be holding any post as of now but everyone knows that he is the "captain of the ship'
Markets in Uttarakhand's Purola and neighbouring towns remained closed amid heavy police deployment on Thursday in protest against the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' that was scheduled to be held there over alleged incidents of 'love jihad'.
In 10 games so far, he has taken 15 wickets at an average of 22.60 and an economy of 8.92. His best bowling figures are 5/25 against Gujarat Titans.
Even those with no knowledge of the inner workings of the media and police, would find Scoop absorbing as a human drama and the story of the resilience of a woman, her family and true friends, applauds Deepa Gahlot.
Ten people died and 28 more were injured when an overcrowded mini-bus plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday, officials said in Jammu.
"Several (Congress) meetings happened, but not even a single suggestion was taken," Azad said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had reservations against the holding of assembly polls in the state soon, on Saturday said there was no question of not contesting the elections and "we will put our best foot forward."
The sweets were presented by the Indian Army personnel to their Pakistani counterparts at Chilehana Tithwal Crossing Point in The Tangdhar sector in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
'At a time when there's a lot of conversation happening around how AI has made art directors and production designers jobless, we will simply say that if your work speaks for you, you will never be out of work.'
Pakistan does not want another war with India over Kashmir, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said while describing the current status of bilateral relations as the "best" the two countries had ever had.
"I will not be contesting for the post of president any longer. The elections for the post will be held on December 5. It is time for the new generation to take over the responsibilities," Abdullah told PTI.
