Modi invoked the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to assert that it is in Indian tradition to avoid war be it in Lanka or Kurukshetra and the country stands for world peace.
The ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi culminated on Sunday as thousands of devotees immersed idols of the elephant-headed deity.
The Congress vice president wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was saddened at the decisions of the government taken in the last few weeks
People visited their kith and kin, exchanged festive greetings and sweets while social media, including the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, was flooded with Diwali messages as many took the virtual route to convey their wishes.
Voting is being held in 59 of the total 60 seats .
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S P Vaid on Friday lauded the restraint shown by the Central Reserve Police Force jawans who were heckled by some youths in Budgham on Sunday, saying "any armed force in the world would have retaliated with force".
Two Army personnel were injured in the gunbattle.
The names of all the 3.30 crore applicants as per draft NRC and supplementary list of inclusions and exclusions (final NRC) have been published.
At the devastated Tapovan power project site rescuers worked nonstop even as the odds of finding the trapped workers alive seemed slim.
The paramilitary force on Tuesday night had issued a statement and said that "almost all patients are in need of uninterrupted oxygen."
Despite the national capital recording its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, pollution levels may rise due to low night temperatures and sporadic burning of firecrackers though there is a ban on their manufacture, storage, sale and use within the city.
Niranjan's lungs got punctured due to the impact of the blast of a grenade that was kept in the pocket of a slain terrorist and the officer died before being taken to hospital.
Security agencies apprehend that terrorists may target some part of the country during the visit of US President Barack Obama, avoiding Delhi, and have alerted state governments, particularly Jammu and Kashmir, about the "serious threat".
India and China on Monday admitted to intrusion by Chinese herdsmen into Ladakh last week but both the sides sought to play it down saying the issue was resolved amicably through a flag meeting.
Modi visited the border district in Jammu region, his first to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, coinciding with Infantry Day celebrations.
Over the last few weeks, bipartisan support for India against China has been increasing.
'One is happy. The moment one starts criticising the BJP, ED, IT and CBI comes to one's house.'
Even as Union ministers allay misgivings over Agnipath, figures show a meagre 2.4 per cent of the ex-servicemen who applied for a government job could get one as the Centre and the states have been unable to recruit against the reserved quotas. Public sector undertakings (PSUs), ministries, and officials of Sainik Boards have blamed it on the lack of skill among ex-servicemen. They say veterans' inability to qualify in selection exams is one of reasons for this. Also, non-recognition of qualifications obtained from the military are reasons why their recruitment has remained significantly low, pushing them towards low-skill jobs.
If the responses of the three persons to the interrogators are to be believed, it was the charm of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan that apparently drove them to India. They were detained last month.
A total of 946 medals have been announced by the Union home ministry for personnel and officers of Central Armed Police Forces and state police forces, out of which three have been decorated with the President's Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) while 177 have been awarded the PMG.
As lakhs of Patels gather for a rally seeking reservations, Ahmedabad has 20,000 cops ready with water cannons, drones, surveillance cameras, bomb disposal squads and quick response teams to maintain law and order, reports Prasanna Zore/ Rediff.com from Ahmedabad.
After a brief suspension due to bad weather early in the morning, the rescue operations in rain-hit Uttarakhand resumed on Sunday on a war footing to evacuate 22,000 pilgrims still stranded in high altitude areas amid a MeT department warning of light to moderate rains in the region from Monday.
The entry of the 152-members three NDRF teams and six canines into the disaster zone was swift, and their exit "moving and emotional".
The three-page guidelines, issued by the home ministry recently and notified to Central Armed Police Forces headquarters in New Delhi, speak specifically of instances where force personnel have used personal cell phones to click pictures of an ongoing or concluded ambush or operation
The death toll from the Uttarakhand glacier disaster rose to 31 with five more bodies being recovered, officials said on Tuesday as multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing.
The Indian Air Force is probing the incident, an IAF source said.
'Me and my boys had never ever thought in our wildest dreams that we would be taking part in a rescue mission of this kind.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
Amid a spate of incursions by China in Ladakh, its troops are also resorting to tactics like preventing the Indian army from patrolling posts in this sector along the border, which is well within India's territory.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said a total of 2,51,447 persons travelling in 2,315 flights have been screened so far.
The Supreme Court on Monday said that averments made against Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha, arising out of entry list at his residence, are "serious" in nature and directed him to respond to the allegations in "black and white".
Singh said if there is an attempt to hurt the self-respect of India, then it will not be tolerated and will be given a 'befitting reply'. "Whatever progress has been made in the talks, there should be a resolution of the matter. But to what extent it will be resolved, I cannot guarantee."
Abducted Indian aid worker Alexis Prem Kumar in Afghanistan is safe and India is confident of getting him rescued unharmed soon, according to a top Indian diplomat.
'If the central government does not give rights to the people of Ladakh, then it won't be good for our country.'
He said both sides reaffirmed to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC.
Rescue teams on Wednesday fished out the body of a student from the Beas River and intensified the hunt for 19 others missing even as a case of negligence has been registered against authorities of the Larji Hydropower project in connection with the incident.
Indira Gandhi valued Rahul Gandhi's 'grit and determination' and often considered him mature enough to be taken into confidence on subjects she avoided discussing even with his parents when he was barely 14, according to a new book.
'The BJP has done the Uri surgical strikes, handled the Dokalam crisis and the Balakot strikes.' 'So if there is a de-escalation only at the diplomatic level and not resolving this issue of a colonel being killed, then it translates into public anger.'
Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the Uttarakhand glacier disaster three days ago and more than 170 remained missing, hopes of finding them alive fading with every passing hour.
'We thought Oh Jiya should give a message to the young generation.' 'That you are beautiful, you are one-of-a-kind.' 'It doesn't matter what shape, size or colour you are.' 'You should be beautiful from within; that is what makes the difference.'
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said saving lives and extending all help to the families of the deceased is the state government's priority.
