Rahul Gandhi on Thursday held consultations with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Members of Parliament from northeast to discuss steps to end the harassment of people.
Students' organisations and political parties are participating in the bandh to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there.
If solutions are not found, adequately and in good time, things could simply slip out of everyone's hands, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
Scattered incidents of violence, including torching of buses and clashes, occurred and 1,600 people were arrested during the 12-hour bandh.
The problem is so severe that multiple agencies have issued several precautionary measures.
India on Tuesday strongly condemned as "provocative" and "ill-intentioned" allegations that it is sending soldiers in plain clothes to Nepal amid the ongoing agitation against the new Constitution by Indian-origin Madhesis.
Sonowal said the judgement is a reflection of India's democratic values where human rights and fairness are respected.
'340 PLA soldiers were dead and over 450 injured -- bodies were strewn outside the bunkers, tossed behind the lines, buried in trenches.' A fascinating excerpt from Probal DasGupta's Watershed 1967: India's Forgotten Victory Over China.
The new army chief's highest priority must be to address the critical hollowness in the Indian Army's operational preparedness, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Mobile internet services have been banned in top towns of the state like Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Mehasana. The restriction will continue till midnight on Monday.
In a time of crisis like this, a government needs its people and politics united. A nation of India's size and diversity can't fight a stronger rival with fraying social cohesion, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
'In one instance of the Pakistani army's violation of the Ceasefire, I ordered a far tougher response designed to deter the enemy.' 'I warned that 'unexpected damage' to their forces will be inflicted if they continued with such ceasefire violations.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
'The NRC had an effect on Assam and I think to cover up or make up for that, CAB has been brought in.'
'Ladakh is a tiny salami-slice issue.' 'The big one for China is Arunachal Pradesh, more than 83,000 sq km.' 'Do they imagine they can grab any of this by force?' 'In the 21st century, nursing those thoughts only means you need to get your heads examined.' 'It isn't going to happen,' declares Shekhar Gupta.
Majuli -- the seat of neo-Vaishnavite Bhakti renaissance -- on Thursday became India's first island district with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurating it as the 35th district of Assam.
The priest-turned-politician is not someone who minces his words.
Born as Ajay Singh, the diminutive shaven headed politician is known for his provocative speeches and mass following across Uttar Pradesh.
During Hasina's visit, which is her first after Modi assumed office in 2014, the two sides will be signing at least 25 pacts in various key sectors including civil nuclear cooperation and defence, but any agreement on the Teesta water sharing is unlikely to be inked.
'Besides electoral opportunism, a sustained vilification of AMU on one or the other pretext helps them sustain their 'everyday communalism', the new strategy of the BJP of the Narendra Damodardas Modi-Amit Anilchandra Shah era,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as Army chief had kicked up a row, on Thursday took over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring.
'India in 2020 is a lot better prepared than in 1962.' 'It is no longer a pushover; and anything other than a crushing Chinese military victory will be a major loss of face for China,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan in the first of a three part column.
The unknown architect of Balrampur Chini, Meenakshi Saraogi's biggest achievement lay in inspiring farmers to grow more cane.
Opponents of the CAA and NRC have gone to town accusing the BJP of an ulterior motive (read, disenfranchisement of Muslims) in implementing the NRC. By the same token it can be alleged that anti-CAA opponents have a nefarious agenda in mind that would be scuttled by the implementation of the NRC: Namely the accrual of dedicated vote banks and the restoration of Muslim hegemony over at least parts of India, especially Bengal and Assam, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The Congress chief will also be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'This is the only place on earth where Elephas maximus climbs to these heights.'
But earnings of main private holding firm get a booster dose from RIL dividend
Besides the polarisation in favour of the BJP, there could be other reasons for the under-representation of Muslims too, says Shafeeq Rahman.
With a 20 hour average delay, the New Jalpaiguri Express is the queen among late-running trains.
Two men alleged to be members of an illegal betting syndicate based in Singapore were charged with conspiracy to defraud on Thursday as part of a match-fixing investigation into English lower league soccer.
With Wednesday's Parivartan rally considered crucial to reassert the popularity of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, the party has booked 13 trains to transport people to the event to Patna.
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
By jettisoning the seniority principle, the government has sent a strong signal that only merit and suitability will count in occupying posts in the higher echelons of the military, writes national security expert Nitin Gokhale.
As the island heads for elections, two major factors worry Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One is the division in the Sinhala vote and the other is the prospect of the Tamils and Muslims voting heavily against him.
The age-old ethnic fabric in Assam faces a grave risk of being torn apart as many of the major tribes have either raised or renewed their demand for separate state carved out of Assam.
Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who suffered a heart attack in May, has been registered by the club to play in this season's Portuguese league.
Let us hope that what happened in 1962 will never happened again, prays Claude Arpi
