Six pilgrims and a woman pilot were killed when a chopper crashed in Katra, the base camp of the Vaishnodevi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.
Normal life has been paralysed due to curfew-like restrictions and separatists-sponsored strike since Saturday.
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
Naidu, a former BJP ally, said he will meet non-BJP political leader and convince them about the need to fight collectively against the BJP.
Puran Krishan was attacked near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir district, they said, adding that doctors declared Krishan brought dead after he was shifted to Shopian hospital.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality of Indian civilisation must be kept in mind and cannot be wasted, in remarks that come against the backdrop of the Dadri lynching over rumours of beef eating.
Alleging that V K Singh had not only damaged the reputation of the army but also of India, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the former army chief should be stripped of the title of Colonel of Rajput Regiment for "lying".
The political impasse in Jammu and Kashmir has taken a new turn with Omar Abdullah deciding not to continue as caretaker chief minister, arguing that the state needed a full-time administrator to deal with the situation along the border with Pakistan.
The Minister assured the House that security requirement of the Election Commission will be met for free and fair assembly election in the state.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday condoled the death of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and said his contribution to public service will always be remembered.
'For a man who had just received news of his daughter's kidnapping, he showed no sign of anxiety or agitation.' 'Here is a cool customer, I thought to myself.' 'The only thing he said was, 'I would not have been so anxious had they kidnapped my son'.' 'He told me that his daughter Rubaiya, who was a medical intern, was returning home from the hospital in a minibus when it was stopped close to the Mufti's house.' 'She was taken by four armed militants.' A gripping excerpt from Moosa Raza's Kashmir: Land Of Regrets.
Authorities in Kashmir have decided not to allow 'Shab-e-Qadr' and 'Jumat-ul-Vida' congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Sringar, a move denounced by mainstream and separatist parties.
'Viewed militarily, the cease-fire puts the brakes for sure on the hard fought dominance that our security forces have achieved.' 'The ensuing weeks will witness their losing ground to the terrorists,' fears Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
Facing fire over his remarks that ministers in Jammu and Kashmir were given money by the Army, former Army chief Gen V K Singh today sought to do damage control by saying it was not a bribe but the Centre expressed its willingness to order a probe.
Government will bring a resolution in Parliament against the one passed by Pakistan's National Assembly accusing Indian troops of "unprovoked aggression" on the Line of Control.
It has registered 2,000-plus money laundering cases and about 12,000 forex violation ones in the 14 years since it was established. Yet, its probes have resulted in no more than 13 convictions from nine cases of money laundering since 2005.
Officials said there was no discussion on constituting a delimitation commission.
A division bench of J&K HC stayed a single bench order directing the govt to hoist the state flag on official buildings along with the National Flag.
The decision comes in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, besides another attempt to target a Central Reserve Police Force convoy with a car bomb on the highway near Banihal in Ramban district on March 30.
The passage of the Union Budget and other key legislations such as triple talaq will be on top of the agenda for the government.
The man identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar speaking of his ordeal says that the army personnel tied him up to the jeep and paraded him through several villages for nearly five hours before his family members and villagers got him released.
Over 20 political parties, except the Biju Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front, took part in the massive rally.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday undertook a train journey through the 11-km long tunnel under the Pir Panjal mountain ranges along with school children most of whom travelled by rail for the first time.
One wonders where the inestimable Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his gang of separatist leaders have disappeared.
'It is an uncomfortable situation for a woman.' 'She has been on her own, separated from family.' 'That is the point of isolating her -- breaking her to a point where she bends to their will.'
Former Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday asserted that Article 370 of the Constitution cannot be scrapped and the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir cannot be eroded further.
Sayeed said he was disappointed over the abrupt cancellation of talks but hoped that break would be "temporary".
The leaders are Ishfaq Jabbar and Ghulam Nabi Bhat (NC) and Bashir Mir Zahoor Mir and Yasir Reshi (PDP) and one Independent ex-MLA.
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
"The people, who were in power earlier, now are suddenly taking U-turn. They are making such statements shamelessly," he added.
A senior police officer said the terrorists, allegedly dressed in army fatigues, ambushed a Srinagar-bound convoy of the BSF.
Mehbooba also became the second Muslim woman to become the chief minister of any state in India.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah on Thursday asked the leaders of the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference group to hold talks with the government of India as well, after their return from Pakistan.
It is not unlikely that ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government comes up with more imaginative schemes aimed at constituency-building. The party under Modi's leadership has a more modern thinking in such matters unlike its rivals, which are still steeped only in ideology, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Lok Sabha, Modi also attacked the Congress for its politics in the last seven decades, saying the party's politics of last 70 years has been such that no Congress leader can be self-sufficient.
'This generation has seen no communication.' 'You have not given them any stake.' 'They don't have a feeling of belonging.' 'They have only seen a man in uniform with a gun.' 'That is why it is taking a more vicious form today -- the attacks on the security forces and the retaliation is causing heavy loss of lives.'
'Mufti is much more mellowed, much more accommodating. He knows he is stuck and he knows that he cannot retreat now.'
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference denied the charges levelled against him by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. Speaking to rediff.com from his residence in downtown Srinagar, the Mirwaiz said "the charges levelled by the chief minister were baseless and unfounded".
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