The deportation of 104 Indian nationals from the US, followed by another 119 set to arrive in Amritsar on Saturday night, has sparked controversy in India over the treatment of returnees. The US government's intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants has led to criticism of the use of handcuffs and shackles for deportees, even those who have committed no crimes beyond immigration violations. The issue has led to heated debates in the Indian Parliament, with opposition leaders demanding an inquiry into the deportation process. The Indian government is engaging with US officials to ensure the humane treatment of deportees, while also facing the challenge of reintegrating returnees into Indian society. The deportations highlight the ongoing tension between border control and human rights, and the complexities of US-India relations.
Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has launched drone-powered deliveries of critical medicines - cardiac, respiratory and other essential chronic therapies - to hospitals and pharmacies across Himachal Pradesh in partnership with Skype Air Mobility, a Gurugram-based drone delivery company. Cipla is the first among large Indian pharmaceutical companies to adopt drone-based deliveries to facilitate expedited supply to stockists in remote areas, it claimed. The Mumbai-based firm said the use of drones will support the on-time delivery of its medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, and minimise risks of affecting cold chain products due to temperature excursions.
The Election Commission on Friday cited convention followed in 2017 for not announcing the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat together and underlined that the model code this time has not been "unnecessarily extended".
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Himachal Pradesh assembly speaker's order disqualifying the six Congress rebels who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in the state.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
Vijay Singh had fired at assistant town planner Shail Bala Sharma, who was leading a SC mandated demolition drive against illegal structures, and fled.
The 77-year-old former Congress president is set to enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan.
Several Indian states bordering Pakistan have implemented stringent security measures, including school closures, blackouts, and cancellation of leave for police and administrative personnel, in response to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. These measures were taken after India conducted airstrikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and West Bengal have all implemented these precautionary measures.
Bypolls are due in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.
Kangana later apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
With respect and gratitude we honour the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Operation Sindoor.
'The government has pushed HP in a debt trap. Nepotism has reached the zenith,' says senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister. Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
Modi said it was time to rid 'Devbhoomi', or the land of the gods as Himachal Pradesh is known, of monsters.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday alleged that despite all efforts by the Centre, including an increase in funds for the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Himachal Pradesh has ignored the development of the state.
The legislation is aimed at streamlining various services related to immigration and foreigners, including their entry, exit and stay in India.
As Chandigarh braces for a fierce contest between Congress candidate Manish Tewari and the BJP's Sanjay Tandon, its industry leaders harbour a fervent wish: Replicate the success of the National Capital Region model in this Union Territory.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season has been officially suspended due to escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan.
Bodies of four students from a Andhra-based engineering college, who were among their 24 classmates washed away in Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, will be flown to Hyderabad by Monday night, Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Daljit Singh, one of the 116 illegal Indian immigrants deported from the US on Saturday night, has claimed that they were handcuffed with their legs chained during the journey. Singh, who traveled via the 'donkey route', an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US, said that he was deceived by a travel agent who promised him a direct flight to the US. The C-17 aircraft that landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday was the second batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants. A third plane carrying 157 deportees is expected to land at the Amritsar airport on Sunday.
It was not immediately known whether the deportees were in shackles, as the previous batch was.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts are on to rescue the 300 stranded people, and they could be airlifted as the weather clears. Power and water supply has been snapped in several areas.
In a scathing letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party's senior leader Arun Jaitley has made a number of allegations against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut visited some cloudburst-affected areas in Rampur, in Shimla on Tuesday, taking stock of the situation.
Though seven opportunities have been granted to the states, it appears that full compliance has not been affected and several states are in default, it said.
The Indian government has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools it governs. This means that students in these classes who do not pass the year-end exams will be allowed to fail. The decision comes after the amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, which has already led to 18 states and union territories doing away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two classes. The new policy will be implemented in over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
The Andhra Pradesh government is considering taking the assistance of space agencies Indian Space Research Organisation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration to trace the 17 missing engineering students from Hyderabad who were swept away in Beas river after sudden release of water from a reservoir.
All educational institutions in Shimla and Kullu districts will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rains continue to lash the state, district officials said.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he interacted with soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army along the Sino-Indian border near Tawang during a visit to an Indian Army post on Diwali.
The Congress opened another front against the Bharatiya Janata Party, as it raked up the row surrounding allotment of land to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association during its rule and accused former CM PK Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur of causing a loss of Rs 100 crore to the state exchequer.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has criticized comedian Kunal Kamra for his recent remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, calling them "disrespectful" and "in bad taste." Ranaut, who was speaking to reporters outside Parliament, said that Kamra's comedy was "disgracing" and that Shinde had earned his position through hard work. She also echoed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' call for Kamra to apologize for his "low level comedy." The controversy comes after Shiv Sena members damaged the comedy club where Kamra's show took place, in response to his jokes about Shinde's political career and recent developments in Maharashtra.
The row between Himachal Pradesh government and military over ownership of Annandale ground on Sunday escalated, with the army saying national security cannot be ignored for "game and gimmicks".
