'You will see more laws that treat Hindus and non-Hindus, especially Muslims, quite unequally.' 'Once you see this kind of erosion of secularism, it will be very hard to get it back.'
The ex-army chief left for Dubai for medical treatment in March 2016 and has not returned since, citing security and health reasons.
This year, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been conferred Padma Vibhushan for his achievement in the field of public affairs.
'Dr Kalam never felt or behaved like a President during his entire tenure of five years as the President.' 'Not even a single day, he felt he was the first citizen of India, or someone different from the others, or the President of India.'
Iran and the Islamic State are "competing for the crown of militant Islam," Netanyahu said.
The suspect is believed to have already arrived in the valley.
India's Iran imports rise to 276,800 bpd vs 195,600 bpd in 2013.
'A Russia-Iran-China-Pakistan geopolitical grouping is evolving at this point of time.' 'Given that the grouping is in its nascent stages, will this week's terrorist attack in Mirjaveh affect it?' asks Aveek Sen.
Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund is appointed as Prime Minister with two deputies Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Molavi Abdul Salam Hanafi.
The boat's Arab owner says he has paid the fine of Rs 29.5 lakhs, but the Iranians now want parking fees. As the Arab-Persian standoff continues, the Indian fishermen's families live in a state of limbo.
'Russia's interest lies in boosting Pakistan's grit and capacity to withstand US pressure,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Saudi-Pakistan nuclear weapons cooperation is meant to sound alarm bells in Washington, reminding the Obama administration that its overtures to Iran would have serious negative consequences in terms of its ties with its closest allies in the region, says Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad. Exclusive to Rediff.com
Keeps open the option to make payments in yen or yuan in the face of sanctions
A new West Asia is emerging and India must engage at the highest level and help shape this change, says Saeed Naqvi
Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric who was a surprise winner in the recent elections, took oath on Sunday as Iran's seventh president at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of world leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, with which he has pledged to expand ties.
Veteran doctor and educationist from Karnataka Belle Monappa Hegde and archaeology legend B B Lal were also given the Padma Vibhushan awards.
Abbasi will be sworn-in in later at a special ceremony at the President's House.
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"There was absolutely no need or necessity to mount a visceral attack on the religious beliefs of the Hindus. It was unwarranted and utterly unrelated to the occasion. That is what makes it deliberate and malicious," Justice G R Swaminathan of Madras High Court said.
The Indian authorities have to reconfirm that Prabhakaran is dead. It may require seeking assistance from Interpol and also involve the re-opening of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and more so, the investigations, formally or otherwise, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We have done majoritarianism through other means.' 'The Citizenship Amendment Act, read together with the National Register of Citizens, will prove what I mean,' notes Aakar Patel.
Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for developing a template by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to effectively deal with the challenges of extremism and radicalisation.
As Afghans head to the polling booths to elect a new president, a contested and fraud-marred elections could potentially throw Afghanistan into a renewed cycle of violence and instability, says Dr Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
The Modi government's appalling inefficiency and lack of purpose stand exposed, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani Tuesday talked about the greater need for South-South cooperation, an issue closer to India's heart and expected to be addressed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly this Saturday.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
A 27-year-old man, who was allegedly an al Qaeda sympathiser, has been arrested in New York by law enforcement authorities on charges that he planned to carry out terror attacks in the city targetting government workers, military personnel and officials in New York.
Official sources said all the banks, where Naik's and his organisation's accounts were in operation, have been asked to immediately freeze those till further directions.
Abu Anas was arrested by the NIA in January for allegedly planning to carry out a terror strike ahead of Republic Day.
All the four gunmen, who had stormed the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province early on Friday, have been gunned down, Indo-Tibetan Border Police chief Subhas Goswami said.
The recently busted pan-India terror module was in "constant touch" with people perceived to be close to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the feared leader of the Islamic State, receiving instructions for carrying out explosions at important places ahead of the Republic day.
Twelve suspects, arrested from across the country for their alleged links with terror group ISIS, were remanded in the NIA's custody till February 5 by a special court in New Delhi.
The suspect, named as Akbarjon Djalilov, is a Kyrgyzstan national.
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
Incisive Editor, brilliant scholar on Islam, and now BJP leader, M J Akbar is at his intellectual best when he dissects the Muslim world and its problems, and offers up a solution from his unique perspective, as he did in this recent speech at the 10th R N Kao Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
Benchmark Brent oil futures prices more than halved between June 2014 and January 2015.
'Is he one who defends individual liberty at all costs, or is he one who allows some give and take that recognises the primacy of the social contract, our coming together to live in a society?'
India has much paranoia in India about a new 'Terroristan' coming up between Pakistan and a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Pakistan has zero ability economically, diplomatically, geostrategically or militarily to create one. If they try, it will be great for India as they will destroy themselves yet again, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
