Toomey said he has personally witnessed the spirit of Sikhs and has come to better understand the Sikh tradition that is founded on equality, respect, and peace.
Modi also virtually flagged off a new train between Antagarh in Kanker district and Raipur and kickstarted the distribution of cards of the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme to beneficiaries in the state.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday lashed out at opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties over Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against 'Sanatan Dharma', accusing them of insulting 'Sanatan Dharma' for votebank and appeasement politics.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution urging the Centre to extend the benefits accorded to Scheduled Castes also to those among the SCs embracing Christianity.
'It is only when those who are oppressed stand for themselves that society is forced to create space for them,' says Aakar Patel.
The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
A magisterial court in Mehsana on Thursday convicted Gujarat independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and nine others in a five-year-old case of holding an 'Azadi march' without permission and sentenced them to three months' imprisonment.
Sukanya Verma plans your OTT menu this week.
Despite Sharad Pawar's categorical stand, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
'The British Empire came to India too late and left too early. Without England, India would have been 20 republics and not better than the Afghanistan of today,' says Dalit activist Chandra Bhan.
'There are too many competent people better suited and poised to take on Modi. The Gandhis are not among them,' argues Harishchandra.
'Our great Indian nationalists are rousing passions against their own people, not against another nation. Our fraud nationalists go after their own citizens for their religion, or for their views. Their concern and their passion is the enemy within. That is not love of nation or love of anything else. It is hatred and it is bitterness,' says Aakar Patel.
Talking about the brutal killing of Krishnaiah in 1994, G Uma Krishnaiah said her husband was killed for no fault of his.
A bill seeking to explicitly ban caste discrimination has been introduced in the California Senate by a Democratic lawmaker, which, if passed, could make America's most populous state also the country's first to outlaw caste-based bias.
A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh asked the UGC to furnish the details of steps taken on a plea by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit directed Kappan to remain in Delhi for the next six weeks after the release from an Uttar Pradesh prison.
'There is dissatisfaction and disaffection for the BJP, but there is no anti-incumbency against the government in UP.'
Religious freedom and related human rights in India are under ongoing threat, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom alleged on Tuesday in an unusual year-end update of the status of its assessment of religious freedom in the country.
Kerala-based journalist Sidhique Kappan, arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped, has approached the Supreme Court seeking bail in the case.
'Our children are waiting to welcome him home. Their happiness was taken away. Can they forget their father? They are proud to say that Siddique Kappan, a journalist, is their father'
16-30 people have been arrested and more arrests were likely by Tuesday evening.
In a major cabinet reshuffle, Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Kiren Rijiju as the Union law and justice minister, a communique from the President's Secretariat said on Thursday.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
Rahul also tagged a media report which asked why police was denying rape when the woman repeatedly reported rape.
It should announce its candidates 45 days before the elections; trust rooted leaders; start its campaign focused on five guarantees six months before elections.
'Anyone on Indian Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other forms of social media that matter (except elite forums like Instagram) understands instantly that it is dominated by upper-caste North Indian men.' 'Other voices are silenced and attacked,' says Mihir S Sharma.
The former BJP corporator was named by a villager in a police complaint made three days before the January 1, 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon. Yet, the police did not include his name in the FIR.
'And don't underestimate the enabling power of bribery.' 'Hark back to demonetisation.' 'All of the cash did come back.' 'The same thing will happen with the alphabet soup of the NRC, NPR and CAA except that this exercise will deal in documents, not cash.' 'Bribes will be paid.' 'Documents will be magically generated,' points out Devangshu Datta.
Lawyer Seema Kushwaha, who is representing the Dalit woman's family, said on Thursday that they will challenge the verdict in the high court.
'If Rajpath was a symbol of slavery, how is the Central Vista not a symbol of slavery?'
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
A single bench of Justice Krishan Pahal passed the rejection order on Thursday.
"Reaching this office is not my personal achievement but that of all the poor people in the country," Murmu said.
'... of protecting the lives and property of a large section of society.' 'It may further deepen the communal divide which already exists in the country.'
The case was earlier registered at Chandpa Police Station, in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, on a complaint by the victim's brother.
The case was registered recently to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
'He was directly involved in the rarest of rare crimes -- the killing of an IAS officer.'
'Modi is now the biggest messiah of OBCs and Dalits as V P Singh once was.'
Modi said the new Parliament reflected the aspirations and resolve of the "new India" to set and work towards achieving new targets.
