Against the backdrop of riots in Muzzafarnagar, Minorities Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan on Wednesday said the Centre would try to build consensus among political parties to get the Anti-riot Bill passed in Parliament.
Sonal Shah, the first Indian-American to be inducted in United States President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, has formally renounced her affiliation with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been accused of fomenting violence against Muslims and Christians in India.Shah, former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has said if she could have anticipated the outfit's role in the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat, she would have never associated with its US branch.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday suggested that if Lalu Prasad Yadav takes initiative, he does not mind joining hands with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh.
The relief camp at Tiangia under 'G' Udayagiri block housing 500 people, was the last one to be closed on Friday, Kandhamal District Magistrate Krishna Kumar told PTI over the phone. Altogether 25,000 people were housed in over 15 relief camps during the violence in the aftermath of the killing of senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008, Kumar said.
Protesters torched 24 houses in Kandhamal on Saturday as the death toll in the week-long communal violence rose to 14, with the recovery of two more bodies in the Orissa district.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was headed for the curfew-bound district to review the situation in the affected areas and the Ashram at Jalespeta, where Vishwa Hindu Parishad Laxamanada Saraswati was gunned down along with three others on August 23, leading to the violence.
"Raj Kumar alias Bittu Bajrangi, who is said to be a Bajrang Dal worker, has never had any relation with Bajrang Dal. The Vishva Hindu Parishad also does not consider the content of the video allegedly released by him to be appropriate," the right-wing outfit said in a statement.
Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and Qureshi have threatened to postpone the Gujarat election process and bring President's Rule in the state if the Bharatiya Janata Party fans communal violence in Gujarat through its new CD, which is to be released in the birth place of Sardar Patel.
They occurred only four days prior to the verdict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case due on Tuesday.
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.
As a precautionary measure, the Nuh district administration has already ordered the closure of educational institutions and banks on Monday, suspended mobile Internet and bulk SMS services, and imposed prohibitory orders in the communally-sensitive district.
Almost no legislative business was transacted making it the worst session of Parliament ever. Devika Malik lists the options out of the current impasse
After imposing ban on calling bandh in the state by various organisations with immediate effect, Assam government has imposed ban on holding all kinds of procession, rallies etc in the State for one month in view of the sensitive situation prevailing in the state in the wake of communal violence in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council and adjoining areas.
Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday over communal violence in Kishtwar that claimed three lives.
Over 1,700 inmates have taken shelter in relief camps in trouble-torn Kokrajhar and Chirang districts of Assam since on Thursday following tension in the wake of a Bodo member of Legislative Assembly's arrest.
In the absence of a conducive environment, India should not show any "hurry" to hold talks with Pakistan when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits New York later this month, BJP president Rajnath Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Sunday paid homage to those who lost their lives during the Partition as the Congress accused the ruling party of using the traumatic events as a 'fodder' for its political battles.
An initial probe into the exodus by northeast residents from Bengaluru and other cities, fearing communal violence, reveals that the problem is multipronged in nature. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
'Nehru's inability to take religion seriously as a category led to serious errors of judgement in his dealings with the Muslim League, and later, also with the Hindu right.'
The curfew was imposed on Sunday after riots left four people dead. However, the situation in the north Maharashtra town is well under control.
Negi's decapitated and charred body was found in Brahmpuri on February 26. On February 24 afternoon, Negi had gone for a nap to a nearby building that served as a storage space for the sweet shop. Around 3 pm, a mob gathered near the shop and started throwing stones. The building was set on fire around 11.30 pm.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government for "reducing states to glorified municipal corporations" by turning a deaf ear to their reasonable demands and described central proposals like the Communal Violence bill as "fascist".
As part of the protest, BJP workers burned tyres, blocked roads, and closed shops in Nandigram, alleging that Trinamool Congress-backed criminals were responsible for the killing of Rathibala Arhi, a saffron party worker in Sonachura village.
"In the last 60 hours, no incident has taken place. We have made arrangements as there are Friday prayers today. Through the extensive outreach programme done by us and the interaction with the people, we get to know that everybody wants peace. We are moving fast towards normalcy. In the Aman Committee meetings everybody has said that they will work for maintaining peace," the special commissioner said.
With 32 people being killed in Assam, the Centre on Sunday said it is determined to curb attacks on minorities as the violence there was aimed at starting a "full-fledged communal conflagration".
The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team has said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took all possible steps to control the 2002 post-Godhra riots and questioned the motive behind filing a complaint against him by a riot victim four years after the communal violence.
The watchdog said human rights violations continued to surge in different parts of India, including Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern states.
Former vice president Hamid Ansari and four US lawmakers have expressed concern over the current human rights situation in India. They were speaking at a virtual panel discussion organised by the Indian American Muslim Council on Wednesday.
As Islamic scholar and reformist, Asghar Ali Engineer passed away on Tuesday morning.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the arrest of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists including Rajdeep Sardesai in connection with first information reports lodged against them for their alleged 'misleading' tweets on the violence during the farmers' tractor rally on the Republic Day.
The situation is now said to be under control.
"Sectarian violence killed thousands of Muslims and drove thousands more from their homes in Gujarat and elsewhere in India, a champion of cultural accomodation," the report said.
The monsoon session of Parliament opening on Wednesday promises to kick up a lot of heat and dust as opposition parties are planning to raise issues like communal violence in Assam, rising prices, economy and drought.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley was on Sunday detained as he arrived at the airport here on his way to communal violence-hit Kishtwar, which was made out of bounds for political leaders by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The Constitution's Preamble says that we Indians have resolved to secure for Indians 'fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual'. Fraternity can come only when we stand up for each other. The desis of the Boston South Asian Coalition actually attempt to do that, points out Aakar Patel.
Four persons, including two policemen, were injured in fresh clashes which broke out in Kishtwar on Monday as locals defied the curfew to protest against the arrest of a youth for his alleged involvement in Friday's communal violence in the area.
Every corner of the town has a police personnel standing while various security teams such as bomb disposal squads have been deployed.
Murder cases have been registered against Krishna Kunal and Hinglaj Dan, who were posted as district magistrate and superintendent of police of Bharatpur when it witnessed communal violence earlier this month.
'Those who win indulge in shooting, looting, throwing bombs and burning houses.'
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