If an elected government had been sworn in, Jung's tenure and the government would have been more or less co-terminus and Jung would have been just the ceremonial head of Delhi. Now, he will run Delhi, pending another round of assembly elections, says Aditi Phadnis
The National Technical Research Organisation, the ambitious project to protect India's cyber space, is all set to roll out in May. However, experts are sceptical on how the government will maintain a balance between cyber security and civil liberties, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Bangladesh on Monday banned an Islamist militant outfit that is believed to be behind the gruesome hacking deaths of three secular bloggers.
While the government's new Central Monitoring System looks extremely impressive on the technological front and could be a vital tool to fight terrorism, there are several questions regarding the privacy aspect that are being raised. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A group of retired civil servants also called upon the PM to reach out to the families of the victims in Unnao and Kathua and "seek their forgiveness on behalf of all of us".
'If Modi had followed Vajpayee in Kashmir, then there would have been absolutely no problem in Kashmir.'
Names of CMs of Punjab and Karnataka along with a former CM found mention in the list.
"Talks are the only option," Mehbooba said. "How long can you have a confrontation?"
Was Flight MH370 diverted en route Beijing? What exactly caused the fatal crash? Even as Malaysia confirms that the wing part washed ashore Reunion Island was from the missing jet, crucial questions remain unanswered
India and China on Friday agreed to set up a dedicated communication channel to boost security cooperation as Home Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with China's security czar on issues like cross border terrorism from Pakistan and the Afghan situation.
Is the Modi government serious about the safety of women in India?
Political and communal divide in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed such proportions that even the horrifying rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl is not bringing society together, writes Athar Parvaiz.
Back in 2007, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt had profiled Yakub after he was sentenced to death by the Terrorist and Disruptive Actives (Prevention) Act court for criminal conspiracy and financing air tickets to send co-conspirators for arms and RDX training to Pakistan.
Back in 2007, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt had profiled Yakub after he was sentenced to death by the Terrorist and Disruptive Actives (Prevention) Act court for criminal conspiracy and financing air tickets to send co-conspirators for arms and RDX training to Pakistan.
Far from the metros and big cities, the coronavirus crisis in the country's districts, towns and villages is being led by district magistrates.
The responsibility of keeping the pandemic under control lies with the DM or collector.
Subrat Kumar Sen, the young district magistrate of Saran, north Bihar, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how he and his staff are combating a crisis that no one has confronted before.
Former Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence boss Hamid Gul was brought under the radar on Monday by the Delhi police after arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba 'bomb expert' Abdul Karim Tunda revealed that he was in touch with him.
Around 700 migrant workers, women and children have lost their lives in this reverse migration. But what is happening today with the migrant labour is only a continuation of the policies pursued by the Modi regime during the last six years. It is not for nothing that India was ranked the most dangerous country in the world for women in 2018 by the Thompson Reuters Foundation poll, points out Rashme Sehgal.
He has left no one in any doubt about his ability to take bold, even out-of-the-box, decisions, to gauge the feelings and aspirations of the common people at the grassroots and to ensure that polices and schemes do not remain on paper, but are implemented, says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
There's a certain amount of drama to the profession. Sample these taglines: 'We can see the unseen'; 'I can plant my detective in your guest bedroom.' One agency has even ensured that all its phone numbers end in '007'.
'The fragility of this case is that taking a side could be a fallacy to do. Because you don't have all the answers. So how do you take one particular side?' Meghna Gulzar asks Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
Javadekar, along with Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan, is among the few ministers who have party as well as ministerial responsibilities.
'Counter terrorism does not appear to be good guys fighting the bad ones; it is about people being picked up, detained and charged with crimes they did not commit.'
'The court came to a conclusion using one person's case... Based on that one case, the term "rampant misuse" was used as if it is a generalisation.' 'If one in 10 cases turns out to be false, is it possible to call the Act a charter for blackmail or charter for personal vengeance?' 'Is there any Act either in India or anywhere in the world where there are no false cases?'
In comments that are likely to create a political storm over the next few days, former Research and Analysis Wing chief A S Dulat has reveled that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had expressed his discontent over the 2002 Gujarat riots and called it "our mistake".
NIA officials told rediff.com that they have intimated both the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing to seek more information from Bangladesh regarding the operational capabilities of an outfit named Hizbut Tahrir, which since the past three years has been working closely with the Indian Mujahideen.
A military court has sentenced United States Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan to death for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, considered the deadliest attack on a domestic military base in American history.
'We eat first, they later; we sit on chairs and they on the floor; we call them by their names and they address us by titles,' writes Tripti Lahiri, author of Maid in India.
India does not have a stringent privacy or data protection Act.
Some officials, despite repeated warnings, continue to browse the Internet and visit social networking sites from the very same computer in which classified information is stored, says Vicky Nanjappa
Modi said bribery was not possible as the money was transferred directly into accounts of the beneficiaries.
Recruiting women works for the terror groups, as in most cases it is found that a woman draws less suspicion from security agencies. But the bigger advantage is that women terrorists have been found to get the job done nine out of 10 times, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The Indian Army and more recently the Indian Navy have already set up dedicated intelligence branches. It is surprising indeed that the IAF, where real time and timely intelligence is most vital for effective and safe prosecution of the air war, has still not done so itself, says Group Capt (retd) P I Muralidharan.
'My wife was asked to get out of an autorickshaw because she was married to me. My children were targeted and branded a traitor's children. In spite of the Supreme Court and the NHRC having cleared my case, the state government is yet to close it. Local politicians are behind this. Why can't they close the case, give me compensation, accepting gracefully that they have wronged me?' Dr S Nambi Narayanan, the scientist who was accused and then exonerated in the 1994 ISRO spying case, speaks to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about his continuing travails and his recent meeting with Narendra Modi.
'Crap cannons' can be an effective mob-control weapon.
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It's perverse to rationalise 'controlled' killings or torture -- without going down a slippery moral slope. Once the state stoops to torture, it's liable to sink into tyranny, says Praful Bidwai.
The company has an estimated user base of 22.2 million in India.
The government does not seem to have sufficient grounds to invoke the CBI against Teesta Setalvad.
'This is social reform, which has to be conducted from within society and by its institutions, like religious bodies, not by public officials and ministers. That is why I think the big change Modi seeks is actually not in his power to bring about,' says Aakar Patel.
'Ishaqzaade released on May 11, 2012. It has been seven years. But if you had spoken to me on May 10, 2012, and said that I would do 13 films with so many good directors and actors, I would have said, 'Chal jhoota.''
Most juvenile remand homes are in appalling condition and need a massive overhaul. But whether redrafting the law will bring down juvenile crime is the moot question. What is required better remand homes, more specialised care rather than to expose young people to the trauma and stigma of adult jails, says Rashme Sehgal.
