Noted Scottish-born travel writer Bill Aitken, known for his writings on Indian mountains, rivers, and railways, died in Dehradun at the age of 90. Aitken, who arrived in India in the late 1950s, traveled extensively throughout the country, especially in and around the Himalayan ashrams of Kausani and Mirtola. He lived between Delhi and Mussoorie since the 1970s. In over two dozen travel books, Aitken explored India's religious and natural landscapes, wrote intimately about its people and their beliefs, and had a keen interest in Indian railways. Some of his noted works include "Seven Sacred Rivers," "Divining the Deccan - A Motorbike to the Heart of India," "Footloose in the Himalaya," and "Exploring Indian Railways."
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
According to sources, Sonia Gandhi took a jibe on party leaders, "You all are sitting together right but otherwise you don't even talk to each other."
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.
When the votes get counted for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will be hoping to set a few new records.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season has been officially suspended due to escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan.
On the implementation of the old pension scheme, Baghel said Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have written to the Central government to return the people's money with the National Pension System to implement the old pension scheme, but they refused.
If the Congress comes to power in the state, it will not allow his government to work, Modi claimed.
The message for 2024 is that the man on the street is not going to be euphoric if the G-20 crowns Modi as king-emperor for 2023, or if India sends its first man to space just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Even a 'temple consecration' in Ayodhya, or a Uniform Civil Code, or both of them together, may not have enough electoral purchase if fuel and commodity prices are not rolled back, and money-in-the-pocket does not fatten, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to arrest their slump and stay in contention for a play-off berth when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in a crucial IPL match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Himachal Pradesh has not witnessed such 'widespread heavy rains' in the past 50 years and the state has suffered a loss of about Rs 3,000 crore in this monsoon season so far, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.
'Muskaan brutally stabbed Saurabh in his heart, puncturing it. His neck was severed and both palms were cut off. The body was cut up into four pieces to fit it in the drum'
In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The prime minister will address a public meeting after inaugurating AIIMS in Bilaspur and participate in the famous Kullu Dussehra celebrations during his visit to the state.
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.
'The Indian Army, despite facing extreme weather conditions -- from searing heat in the summer in Rajasthan to bone-chilling cold in the winter in Ladakh, J&K, Himachal, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim -- remains steadfast in its duty.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 25 seats in the Himachal Pradesh elections, suffered a setback in the assembly segments falling under Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra parliamentary constituencies in the hill 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.
"More voters were added in Maharashtra in five months between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls than in five years," the former Congress president said.
Exit polls on Monday predicted a big majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat while most of them gave an edge to it in Himachal Pradesh, indicating re-election of the ruling party in both states.
Shubham Arora came out all guns blazing with his maiden List A century as Himachal downed five-time champions Tamil Nadu
The casualties were reported hours before India and Pakistan agreed to end hostilities, which soared after the Indian Armed Forces hit terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir earlier this week in response to the Pahalgam attack.
The Supreme Court of India has made public the asset details of its judges, including Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna who has Rs 55.75 lakh in a fixed deposit, a three-bedroom DDA flat in south Delhi, and a four-bedroom apartment measuring 2,446 square feet in the Commonwealth Games Village. The court has also uploaded the complete process of appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court on its website for public awareness.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has recommended the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma following an investigation into a cash discovery incident at his residence. The recommendation follows a report by a Supreme Court-appointed committee that confirmed allegations of cash discovery against Justice Varma. The CJI's recommendation is based on the established in-house procedure for dealing with allegations against judges of constitutional courts.
"Sahil got Muskan to kill her husband. First, he made her sit on Saurabh's chest. Then he brought a knife from the kitchen, showed her how to wield it and directed her to insert the knife in Saurabh's heart thrice.
Many travellers are now opting for domestic destinations like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, and the North East.
Rekha, a resident of Koh village, was alone at home watching TV when the incident occurred. Her children, aged seven and five, were at school and her husband Sanju, a farm labourer, was away at work, Farah police station in-charge Sanjay Kumar Pandey said.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
With respect and gratitude we honour the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Operation Sindoor.
He said the multi-party committee formed by the Speaker in Himachal Pradesh would discuss all issues about street vending on October 3. Singh's remarks came a day after the Congress top brass chided him over his remarks on mandatory display of names by the street vendors and told him that no one was allowed to go against the party's policies and ideologies.
Allocation of portfolios would be the immediate vexatious issue for the party, with supporters of Virbhadra Singh already feeling sidelined after the elevation of the late chief minister's professed rival Sukhu.
North India is shivering under an intense cold wave as temperatures plummet across the region.
While six of them have been held from Punjab, five were nabbed from neighbouring Haryana, and one from Uttar Pradesh.
If the BJP doesn't do something quickly, Anurag Thakur and P K Dhumal will be the ones having a quiet last laugh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was on Thursday poised for a landslide victory in Gujarat to retain power for a record seventh straight term but was behind the Congress in Himachal Pradesh which could go with the trend of alternative governments in the hill state.
The veteran leader breathed his last at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla at 3.40 am, senior medical superintendent Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Dr. Janak Raj said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
A new report, "India Justice Report 2025", highlights the stark gender disparity in India's police force, with less than 1,000 women holding senior positions like Director-Generals and Superintendents of Police. Despite growing awareness about the need for gender diversity in law enforcement, not a single state or Union Territory has met its target for women's representation in the police force. The report also emphasizes the significant challenges faced by the justice system as a whole, including infrastructural deficiencies, overcrowding in prisons, and inadequate staffing levels. The report calls for systemic reforms to address these issues and ensure a more equitable and accessible justice system for all.
As we continue our climb, I meet 59-year-old Pushpa Devi from Banaras. I stare at her in wonderment when she tells me this is her 45th visit to the temple. She is equally bewildered to hear this is my first visit!What is it that draws her here each year? 'Bas ek shabd hai. Shraddha. (There is just one word. Faith.)'
AAP's presence in both states has complicated the contests for the BJP and its Congress rival.
