'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'This is what Hindu Rashtra looks like, which has been enabled by conditions of democracy.'
'The boys allowed themselves to become tools of politicians.' 'That age is a dangerous one, children or young men and women can easily be moulded to hate.'
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
The Hindus were going towards the Shiali Mahasmashan temple while singing kirtan during the Esha prayers, one of the five mandatory Islamic prayers. which led to the scuffle, said the local mosque's Imam Maulana Nazim Uddin.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi's remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sparked outrage in the Maharashtra legislature, leading to calls for his suspension and accusations of treason. The issue, which was politicized by both the ruling coalition and opposition parties, led to the adjournment of both Houses of the state legislature. Azmi later retracted his statements, saying they were twisted and that he had not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj or Sambhaji Maharaj. The BJP, however, seized the opportunity to slam the Congress and other opposition parties, accusing them of trying to "eradicate" Sanatan Dharma. The Mumbai police have initiated a probe into the matter, registering a case against Azmi for his remarks.
'We can't sit back clutching our memories of the riots. The country, the future of our children are more important.' Jyoti Punwani reports on an unusual election meeting in Mumbai.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill took an ugly turn as the Trinamool Congress MP smashed a glass water bottle and threw it towards panel chairman Jagdambika Pal of the Bharatiya Janata Party during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge.
'Violence begets violence, crowd begets crowd. We thought if somebody would see sticks or rods in our hands from a distance and large crowds standing guard, it is likely they would want to come prepared. This could fuel violence'
Queenie Hallegua, who passed away at 89 in August, was almost the last of the Sephardi Jews in Fort Kochi. Her son Dr David Hallegua reflects on his mother's death and of his life growing up in Kerala.
According to a police officer, the arrest was made following complaints by the public that the juice seller had been serving fruit juice to the customers after mixing human urine in it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday charged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with 'deliberate insult' to Hindu sensibilities for taking along a minister from another faith inside an ancient temple where it is prohibited.
"Just like if any Hindu commits female foeticide he will have to go to jail, similarly what is the crime of my Muslim sisters that some one says talaq over phone and her life is destroyed," he said
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, remains on high alert following violence that erupted on November 24 over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Police have deployed heavy security ahead of Friday prayers and a court hearing on the survey, which is expected to be tense. The violence, which left four people dead and several injured, stemmed from claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site of the mosque.
It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The security has been stepped up in view of the Friday prayers to be offered by the Muslim community members at the site, a police official said.
A complaint petition was filed in a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur against State Information Technology Minister Mohammad Israel Mansuri for visiting the Vishnupad temple in Gaya.
In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, one of its MLAs has been accused of hurting Hindu sentiments by allegedly berating Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati and Lord Hanuman.
There have been numerous cases of Hindu girls, some under the age of 18, being abducted and forcibly converted to Islam before being married to Muslim men.
'BJP has risen to second spot, ahead of the BSP, as the political party of choice for Muslims in UP.' 'Only the BJP government has worked tirelessly to usher in the minorities to the mainstream of society'
The ministry also submitted that the identification of scheduled castes is centred around a specific social stigma that is limited to the communities identified in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
Bill Aitken came to India nearly 60 years ago. He never returned. An Indian citizen since 1972, he tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how India changed his life forever.
This Women's Day Week, we celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of Justice Anna Chandy, Justice M Fathima Beevi and Justice Leila Seth.
'Muslims know they cannot defeat the BJP, why then come in its firing range?' 'And they know, ultimately it is the BJP MLA who is going to get elected and only he or she can do their work.' 'The BJP may do a different kind of politics for Muslims, but when they sit in the chair they work for Muslims too.'
He also said if Hindus want to remain Hindus then Bharat has to be made 'akhand' (undivided).
The educated, respectable and established Muslims voices, that were on the modernising side on the Shah Bano issue, are fighting on the opposite side now, mostly because they worry about Narendra Modi, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Delhi police has registered an FIR against two Twitter handles of a journalist and a news portal for allegedly inciting hatred between communities after they claimed manhandling of scribes during the controversial 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' event, officials said.
PM Modi's remarks at the rally at Akbarpur come amid a row in Karnataka where schools have stopped Muslim girls from attending classes while wearing hijab.
'Initially, I didn't think much of him. But when I walked alongside him, I realized he has what it takes.'
While the Congress is not willing to campaign in Muslim areas, the BJP encourages Muslims to attend its public meetings, reports Archis Mohan.
'Till now, many political parties indulged in Muslim appeasement.' 'This is one experiment, successfully carried out by the AAP, in indulging in Hindu appeasement.'
Abdullah said if the gap between the communities is to be bridged, the hateful campaigns like The Kashmir Files film and incessant Hindu-Muslim debates on the media have to be stopped.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
'The idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' only emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.' 'The context at that time was the clear British attempt at 'divide and rule' between Hindus and Muslims and within Hindus on caste lines,' argues military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Hindutva will not win any elections. Hindutva as a political plank never works.'
Palshikar and Yadav, who were chief advisors for the original Political Science books for classes 9 to 12, said, "While the modifications have been justified in the name of rationalisation, we fail to see any pedagogic rationale at work here. We find that the text has been mutilated beyond recognition. There are innumerable and irrational cuts and large deletions without any attempts to fill the gaps created.
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Muslim wing, has backed the burqa-clad student who was heckled by youth shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans at a Karnataka college, saying 'purdah' is a part of Indian culture.
