There are indications that the Modi dispensation was disinclined to bring the VHP into the temple-mosque frame.
An insistence on only one language will inevitably be resented as a form of imperialism and resisted.
The Sabarimala Karma Samiti, a platform of right-wing outfits, including VHP, appealed to media houses not to depute women journalists in the menstrual age group to cover the developments in Sabarimala.
'Slightly more than 50 per cent of all Keralites are Hindus. If we can unite as many as we can, we can create a huge difference in the political scene in Kerala.'
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
'If the BJP wants to build a minimally inclusive and secure society, in which vulnerable groups and religious minorities don't feel persecuted, then the Sangh Parivar, the party and its government must change their ways. Or else, they risk dividing India further -- violently and irreparably -- for narrow political ends,' argues Praful Bidwai.
'They thought he can separate the Muslim votes and win, but the Kerala mind is completely different.' 'It is a secular mind because Hindus, Christians and Muslims live together.' 'We don't like somebody coming from outside, contesting in our state, winning and going and avoiding us.'
"This year, I was honoured to kindle the first-ever diya in the Oval Office -- a lamp that symbolises how darkness will always be overcome by light. It is a tradition that I hope future presidents will continue," Obama said on the White House Facebook page, which became viral on social media.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that meaning of Sanskrit 'shlokas' is a universal truth and merely because it is written in Sanskrit, it does not make it communal.
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'India is a strange place.' 'On the one hand we have the most advanced science working on our origins and our ancestry.' 'On the other we are at war with ourselves over a temple to a god whom our first ancestors knew nothing of,' says Aakar Patel.
The director general of police said everyone in the force should have to perform their duties irrespective of their religion and politics.
With Parliament rocked by constant disruptions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the Congress, accusing it of making a "mockery of democracy" and deciding to "destroy" the country as it cannot reconcile to the Lok Sabha poll defeat.
The Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other evil and Aghori practices Act, which faced immense opposition for over seven years, was passed in the Maharashtra State Vidhan Sabha (lower house) on Friday.
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.
Nand Kishore Balmiki, the main accused in the alleged forced conversion of about 100 people in Agra recently, was arrested after he surrendered before the police on Tuesday.
Indians want change and progress. They should be willing to accept tough decisions, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'The cadres who die for the party are from the backward and scheduled caste communities while the leaders and those who enjoy power are from the forward community.' 'When this is the reality, who will stay with them?'
The alleged forced reconversion of about 100 people to Hinduism in Agra by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate set off a chorus of criticism against the government today by the opposition inside and outside Parliament with its leaders calling it illegal and demanding 'strict' action.
Though EPS has sworn peace for now, or so it seems, his camp is said to be considering the possibility of calling an early meeting of the party's general council, to get a mandate in his favour before things went out of control. Ground-level indications are that OPS had lost his limited base, which alone had forced him to patch up with the other, reportedly at the instance of the BJP ally at the Centre, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We are a national party that wants to remind people about Bharatiya sanskruti, which, at the moment, is being remote-controlled by an Italian lady and her agents,' says former Union minister O Rajagopal, the BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram who will challenge Shashi Tharoor.
Authorities said social media posts will be monitored to ensure that no attempt is made to vitiate the atmosphere.
Opposition Congress termed the government's decision as 'unilateral' and said it was against the interest of a majority of Ayyappa devotees in and outside the state.
He is neither a victim of the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 nor an eye-witness to it. Yet, Bhimrao Bansod testified for a full 14 days before the judicial commission of inquiry set up to inquire into the violence.
'If policy-makers hold the lives of animals to be more significant than the welfare of a human populace, I can't believe that they're likely to do anything progressive for India.'
'Narendra Modi is one person who came up fighting many injustices. So, he is a fighter all the time, and that makes all the difference.'
'These guys did not even issue an apology to me and were taken back into the party.' 'They were reinstated on the grounds that they will contribute to the Congress campaign.'
'I hope he will continue to be what he is. And doing so, he won't be much different from those whose example he is being given right now,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
Meet 28 year-old Dusyant Sridhar who is a techie by day and an Upanyasakar after work, giving discourses on ancient scriptures.
'Hindus are proud of what the Dharmashastras symbolise, but they don't want to do any work to preserve it!,' Sanskrit scholar Donald Davis tells Kanika Dutta.
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, newly elected co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, discusses her vision for US-India ties with Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar.
The vituperative campaign against the BJP by the Shiv Sena does not make for an easy post-poll tie-up should either of the two be forced to come together to cobble the numbers. Either must get a clear 145 seats to avoid a forced remarriage to the same political spouse. Any one going with Congress or the NCP only means the platter serves up a goulash, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Religion is but one trait where intolerance manifests itself. We come across 'chosen' races, communities, political ideologies, economic systems, all lending themselves to discriminatory arrangements, which trample the rights of those considered beyond the pale of whatever is the favoured calling.
'The BJP can kill two birds with one stone by wresting back control of the message; and the steps are fairly obvious. Once the media is neutral, there is a level playing field,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
'No one has ever heard of a thulabharam scale collapsing before.' 'I was very fortunate to have escaped with a head injury, which could have been a lot worse if my optic nerve was hit or say if the hook had landed on my neck.'
'The appointment of 60 priests from the Dalit community is a historic moment.' 'Imagine this is happening in Kerala when Dalits are not even allowed to enter temples in some states even today.'
'Neither the Congress nor the BJP has the political will to take on the Sanatan Sanstha.'
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