The Supreme Court today decided to hear a petition seeking laying down of guidelines for preventing communal violence like the Kandhamal riots in Orissa in which the Christian community was targeted after the assassination of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader.
The controversial Communal Violence Bill and the bill for creation of Telangana will be tabled in the next session of Parliament, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday.
'The humanity displayed by ordinary, lower middle class residents of north east Delhi -- Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs -- will be remembered perhaps even more than the evil wrought in the riots,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday warned that the country may witness more communal violence ahead of the 2014 general election as he indicated that some political parties could be behind the riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
The Hindu-right group carried out its demonstration despite the imposition of CrPC Section 144 in the city.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday warned that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will spawn a host of problems, including political instability, Naxal threat, terrorism and communal violence.
"Alleged Bajrang Dal elements were involved in vandalising churches, prayer halls and schools," Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry M L Kumawat said after camping in the violence-hit areas of the state for two days.
Wondering what to watch on OTT this weekend? Namrata Thakker lists options to choose from.
Police on Monday detained a close associate of cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Tauqeer Raza Khan in connection with the recent violence in Bareilly during a protest in support of the 'I Love Muhammad' campaign, officials said.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
The Centre on Monday said it is seeking a report from the Jammu and Kashmir government on the incidents of violence in Kishtwar and adjoining areas where three people lost their lives and 75 business establishments and 35 vehicles were damaged in incidents of arson.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Altogether 77 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence that erupted in Bihar Sharif town in Nalanda district during the Ram Navami festivities, police said on Sunday.
The minister appealed to the people to use social media responsibly and refrain from sharing inflammatory content.
"The main imam of the masjid had gone out of station, and Saad felt duty-bound not to leave the premises until his superior, who was scheduled to return on Thursday, was back," said the bereaved uncle.
A showdown between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party appears imminent over the communal violence bill with the ruling party dismissing as "pernicious propaganda" the latter's criticism that the law was fraught with dangerous consequence.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged a 'well-planned' conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, where a team of Congress MPs led by Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit on December 4 amid restrictions imposed by the district administration.
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
As forty-five people lost their lives and 200,000 people were rendered homeless in the week-long communal violence between the Bodo tribals and the Muslim immigrants, the Assam government in northeast India ummed and ahhed, says Bibhu Prasad Routray
The recent tragic events in Orissa, Karnataka and Assam pained all right-thinking persons, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. The most disturbing and dangerous aspect is the assault on our composite culture, said Singh, while inaugurating the National Integration Council meeting in New Delhi.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Necessary action should be taken to restore law and order in the national capital, RSS general secretary Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi said.
The high court's 111-page order came on the appeals moved by the 26 accused against the special court's orders denying them bail.
The lawyer had sought a ban from the high court on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.
"The violence in Assam is not a communal clash as alleged by the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is a clash between Bodos and religious minority community triggered by some elements with vested interests. Both communities have been affected by the clashes," Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said vehemently refuting BJP's allegation that it was a communal clash sparked by illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
'The implementation of the judgment has largely been left to the discretion of the very executive authorities it sought to restrain.'
Security has been increased across four districts in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly division for Dussehra, with internet services suspended in Bareilly district for 48 hours to prevent the spread of rumors and maintain public order.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have ignited political debate in West Bengal, with the ruling TMC and opposition BJP utilizing the issue to advance their respective agendas. While the TMC emphasizes communal harmony and calls for international intervention, the BJP criticizes the TMC's inaction and links the situation to its push for the Citizenship Amendment Act. The issue has also brought other opposition parties into the fray, with all sides highlighting the interconnectedness of the region's socio-political fabric.
India has strongly rejected a UN expert's report claiming that Myanmar refugees in India faced pressure after the Pahalgam terror attack, calling the analysis biased and unfounded.
According to the police, the organisers had sought permission for the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the Jahangirpuri area and the route has been regularised.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has busted a terror module and arrested four individuals for allegedly promoting the ideology of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The arrests were made in a multi-state operation, with the accused involved in sharing radical content on social media to incite violence and establish 'sharia' law in India.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
Around 15 other temporary structures were also demolished as part of the drive, police said.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader Jahanzaib Sirwal threatened to resign from the party, citing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "unacceptable" remarks and the state police's "vindictive" attitude against the Muslim community.
'Some people came on motorcycles on Tuesday night, threatening us that if we do not leave, they would set fire to our slum'
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
Security forces in Manipur have launched a major crackdown on the banned People's Liberation Army (PLA) following an ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy. Fifteen cadres have been arrested, including suspects directly involved in the attack. Investigations are underway to determine if the PLA has political patronage and if weapons looted during ethnic clashes are being used against security forces.
The Nigerian city of Jos almost turned to a ghost town as residents fled to seek refuge in churches, mosques and military barracks on Wednesday, even as Muslim-Christian clashes spread to new regions leaving more than 300 dead in three days of communal-violence.
At least 192 people have been killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, even as the country's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan ordered country's military to step up efforts to put an end to the communal violence in the north of the country.
Mobs killed a cleric in a late night attack on a mosque, torched an eatery and vandalised shops as communal violence that began in Haryana's Nuh spilled over into Gurugram, taking the death toll to five, the police said on Tuesday.
