Adopting an evasive approach, India on Friday abstained from a United Nations Human Rights Council vote to appoint, for a period of three years, an Independent Expert to help protect the rights of homosexuals and transgenders worldwide.
"Though we reiterate our commitment to peace, our defence forces -- the army, the air force and the navy -- are adequately mobilised in a well-coordinated move to thwart any attempt to undermine our security. Our national interest will be protected at all costs. We have also ensured a widespread understanding in the international community of India's firm and principled stand," the President said. India and China are locked in a nearly nine-month long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Nandini Gupta who interned at an IT firm explains how Artificial Intelligence can change our future.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Lakshadweep Research Collective said it along with 60 other signatories from the scientific community have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention to withdraw the "incautious draft" Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation of 2021.
The massive crowds of devotees in temples, elaborately decorated tableaus and Dahi Handi revelry were all missing this year on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, as celebrations were dampened by COVID-19 restrictions.
'...to come back to power because it was not doing well.'
'While we may speculate about personality politics, the reality is that there are more important issues that drive the India-US relationship.'
The modalities of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were discussed during the meeting.
When Rani Hong was just seven, she was taken from her family and sold into slavery. At an age when she should have been enjoying her childhood, she was subjected to treatment that left her close to death.
Few people know Ratan Tata as well as R K Krishna Kumar does. Widely perceived to be among the managers closest to Tata, Krishna Kumar assesses Ratan Tata, the man and business leader, in this exclusive interview to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'The international community should call upon Pakistan to take sustained, verifiable and irreversible actions against terror outfits operating on the territory under its control'
Kang, 45, beat writers including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and international bestseller Elena Ferrante to win the 50,000-pound award on Monday night which she shared with her novel's translator Deborah Smith.
Parvez was arrested on September 16 and placed in administrative detention in a jail in Kupwara for allegedly posing an imminent threat of breach of peace.
As President Biden moves ahead with a new 'strategic concept' for China and Russia, the going is bound to get rough for the US and its G7 partners, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
"Pakistan has always been fishing in the troubled waters of Jehlum," he added.
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday expressed deep concern over the declaration of the state of emergency in Myanmar by the military and called for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders arbitrarily detained by the military.
"Whenever we do compromise those rights, the world is worse off," Pompeo said.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
The SC in its judgment said that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression. "Sexual orientation of an individual is natural and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression, Supreme Court," the court said.
If Irrfan could have been our finest professor of empirical philosophy, and Nawaz is our foremost poet of that space halfway between the gutter and the stars, then Jaideep Ahlawat has to be our greatest artist-scientist, asserts Sreehari Nair.
'Today, the State is permanently going after politicians, but also civil society, academics and all those it is threatened by or irritated with.'
'Yes, we engage when those issues come up and try to strike that balance between what is an internal domestic matter for the government to resolve, and what's an issue that actually should be raised on the bilateral level.'
Illustrious international thinkers met at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2021 and many discussions addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world at large.
'The BJP's modus operandi is not just to be intolerant of dissent, it is to create mistrust and doubt between communities and the electoral process itself.'
India, Australia, Japan and the US on Friday pledged to work together for ensuring peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and the world, as top leaders of the Quad grouping announced a slew of new initiatives to take on common challenges, amidst muscle flexing by an assertive China in the strategic region.
In the wake of Fathima Lateef's tragic suicide at IIT-Madras, A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com speaks to students and professors to find out if one of India's leading educational institutions has a dark side to it.
Addressing the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Ajit Kumar hit out at Pakistan for destabilising the situation in Jammu and Kashmir by promoting infiltration and cross-border terrorism, inciting, promoting and glorifying violence.
India should observe October 22 as Kashmir Martyrs Day to pay tribute to those who lost their lives to Paakistan's State terrorism, suggests Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu would be India's Sherpa at the 14th meeting of the world's top economies in Osaka, Japan.
The resolution, drafted by France and Tunisia, 'demands a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on its agenda and supports the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General and his Special Representatives and Special Envoys'.
In an impending Talibanisation of Pakistan, we face hordes entering our country to carry out mayhem. Once the state of Pakistan is taken over by the Taliban, we face a prospect of use of nuclear weapons against us, either through direct or indirect means of delivery.
The Indian government is concerned only because Indian names are involved, the source said.
Rediff Labs analysed the data on happiness, peace and human development for countries all over the world.
Ananya Agarwal, who led the Indian delegation to the UNESCO General Conference being held in Paris, told the panel that Pak is home to all shades of darkness; from extremist ideologies and darker powers of radicalisation to the darkest manifestations of terrorism.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
Known for her outspoken nature and unrelenting pursuit for human rights, Asma, 66, was the first woman to serve as the President of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.
The amount was pledged as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which over 50 countries, business leaders, United Nations agencies, civil society, government ministers, heads of state and country leaders participated.
Not just in the fight against COVID-19, but also in politics, economics and society, observes Ajit Balakrishnan.
Lakme Fashion Week Gen Next designer, Chandrima Agnihotri, tells Rediff.com what she has planned for her runway debut.
"The Kashmiri people, like people everywhere, deserve their fundamental human rights... They should live free of fear and repression," Malala said.
