As the international community focuses its attention on the presidential elections, front runners Nasheed and Abdullah Yameen have warned of poll time violence, reports Shubha Singh
The PDP is the front-runner in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The ruling National Conference and the Congress will be lucky to reach double figures.
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
Whether it is Sri Lanka, Maldives, or Nepal, quietly but steadily, India has been reclaiming some of the ground it had lost to China, observes Aditi Phadnis.
'Those who have followed politics even when there was no Twitter know what the word 'jumlebaaz' means,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
'This generation has seen no communication.' 'You have not given them any stake.' 'They don't have a feeling of belonging.' 'They have only seen a man in uniform with a gun.' 'That is why it is taking a more vicious form today -- the attacks on the security forces and the retaliation is causing heavy loss of lives.'
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
The decision comes in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, besides another attempt to target a Central Reserve Police Force convoy with a car bomb on the highway near Banihal in Ramban district on March 30.
'Once the violence is contained, the politicians must play their role, but unfortunately that is not happening.'
Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat are welcome to talk, he said.
Election campaigning has picked up steam in Jammu and Kashmir which goes to polls on November 25.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had to intervene to control a "big fight" in Union Cabinet meeting between Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, over serious differences on Assam and Jammu-Kashmir getting extra grants from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Regional films may have prevailed over the country, but regional leaders still have far mountains to climb to reach Delhi, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Article 370 is an anachronistic decree that has outlived its utility, militates against India's sovereignty, and discriminates against both Indians and Kashmiris by mutually excluding each other from syncretic growth. It is redundant, can be debated and constitutionally discarded, says Vivek Gumaste.
'...for three hours to the seven or eight of us who spoke at the meeting.' 'Talking together and allowing us to express our thoughts on these important issues is a good beginning.'
Six pilgrims and a woman pilot were killed when a chopper crashed in Katra, the base camp of the Vaishnodevi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.
Shatrughan Sinha won't attend, citing 'important personal engagements.' Will L K Advani be present? M I Khan reports on a swearing-in ceremony the likes of which Patna may not have seen before.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 65 on Thursday, with a host of leaders across the political spectrum wishing him a healthy and long life.
Former President Mohammed Nasheed emerged as a clear leader on Sunday in the first round of Maldives presidential election, receiving 45 per cent votes, but fell short of an outright majority, resulting in a run-off between the top two candidates scheduled for later in September.
'It is an uncomfortable situation for a woman.' 'She has been on her own, separated from family.' 'That is the point of isolating her -- breaking her to a point where she bends to their will.'
The absence of Rahul Gandhi at a dinner hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in honour of outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised political eyebrows.
Nehru's sentimental attachment to the Mountbattens deeply vitiated the Kashmir issue. It was certainly the most important factor for the failure to find a solution in the first years of the conflict.
'Respect the pledges you have made to the people of Kashmir.' 'Jammu and Kashmir is not like any other state of the country.'
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
Since Friday evening, 41-year-old Shemir, who works as a logistics manager in Dubai Silicon Oasis, has been making frantic phone calls to different trauma centres in Kerala near the Kozhikode airport to get information of his family members on board the flight.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir have formed a 10-member coordination committee to 'ensure that the agenda for the alliance is implemented within the defined timeframe and all the policy issues adhered to in letter and spirit'.
"Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart..." she said.
The filing of sedition charges against 67 Kashmiri students by Uttar Pradesh police -- which were subsequently dropped -- has evoked a strong reaction across the political and social spectrum in the Valley.
'As a seasoned politician I know how to talk and understand the opinion and sentiments (of other political leaders).'
Handing the Human Resource Development ministry to a first-time minister and the talk of repealing Article 370 may be signs that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are working in tandem
Where do the big guns stand as counting underway for the Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand elections?
A total of 123 candidates, including seven ministers of Congress-National Conference coalition, eight former ministers and legislators are in fray for the Jammu and Kashmir's first phase of elections scheduled later this month.
The Congress leaders maintained that such propaganda against the party would not work and the truth shall prevail.
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with United Progressive A Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday flagged off the first train connecting Banihal in Jammu region with Qazigund in the Kashmir Valley.
Iranian Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni said his country is 'not for war'. "We are looking for peace and prosperity for everybody in this region," he said.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents the names of 10 global terrorists who, according to United Nations Security Council, are operating against India from Pakistan.
The party also said it would be a travesty to treat the current unrest in the Valley as a mere law and order problem.
Mullah Yaqub, who was in his early 20s, was killed by Taliban who didn't want him as their leader and Pakistan, says a top Afghanistan lawmaker
'This is a long haul, god knows where it will end.' 'So it is best to conserve all the funds right now for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.'
