'it looks like India wants to follow Pakistan on the slippery slope of stupidity masquerading as religion.'
The US President also encouraged Prime Minister Modi to improve relations with Pakistan.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta.
Not everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is optimistic about the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartaiya Janata Party. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com spoke to Kashmiri pandit organisations to find out how they view the new coalition politics in the valley.
Not just Article 370 but all such special status articles must go, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
'On the drive to the airport, the streets are lined with men in battle camouflage carrying assault rifles and bearing familiar faces -- Tamilians, Bengalis, Punjabis, feared by the locals and in turn fearing them,' notes Aakar Patel during a visit to Srinagar.
The university said it followed procedure and believed that the motorcycle procession was meant to polarise students on the campus.
The Modi government's defeat on farm laws underlines the perils of governing an entire continent-sized, diverse and federal nation like the chief minister of a state, observes Shekhar Gupta.
"A total of 808 Kashmir Pandit families, comprising 3445 people are still living in the Valley," he said.
'Worryingly, intelligence assessments indicate that growing disaffection amongst the youth is ceding ground to fundamentalist Islamist groups like Islamic State,' reports Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan's Taliban leader Maulana Sufi Mohammed has indicated that Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammedi, which signed a peace deal with Pakistan government in restive Swat region, would not wage a struggle for Kashmiris.
When we can raise your voice for 2,000 Muslims (the official figures are much less) killed in Gujarat and we should, we must cry from the rooftops for 2.4 million Hindus killed in 1971 or the 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits forced out of their homes in Kashmir. Why do we not?
'It is impossible for a decent man to live in Kairana town.' 'Any man who is not able to pay extortion money has left Kairana.' 'The people involved in this extortion want it to become a Hindu-Muslim problem.' 'The intention in Kashmir was that if Pandits leave Kashmir, all the property left behind will go to Muslims. The intention is the same in Kairana,'
Backing writers and others over the issue of "growing climate of intolerance" in the country, music maestro Zubin Mehta today said government should not ostracise them as doing so would amount to "cultural dictatorship".
'Those who say the Indian Army is persecuting Kashmiris... I will tell them that the reality is that the Kashmiri loves the fauj and what all the Indian Army has done.'
The moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference has urged the Narendra Modi government to adopt the path of Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Atal Behari Vajpayee with regard to Kashmir.
'Media reports have highlighted that hawala money is coming from Arab countries. And this money is used to create disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir.'
'The best course for India is to wait out the implosion that is bound to take place in Pakistan sooner than later.' 'We have to ensure that the fallings debris from a collapsing State does not damage us,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
It is critical to think seriously about how to provide opportunities for children to not only learn but also imagine, dream, ponder and create, notes Chintan Girish Modi.
For far too long, people in J&K have felt the government doesn't exist for them.' 'My first priority is to make them feel that not only does it exist, it is there to work for them.
veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah says citizens of the country should give more time to it before making perceptions though he feels a bit worried by the "changes made in few textbooks".
Children have to go to schools, study and come out as doctors, dental surgeons, engineers, teachers, Muft said.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
The team of 30 doctors of 'Muslim Medical Mission' of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah applied for a visa through online and courier.
India witnessed religiously motivated killings, arrests, riots and coerced religious conversions and the police in some cases failed to respond effectively to communal violence, according to the US State Department report on International Religious Freedom.
'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'
Mohammad Sajjad profiles Professor Riazur Rahman Sherwani, 94, versatile mind, intrepid intellectual.
All India Ulema Organisation president Maulana Anjar Shah Kashmiri alleged that the verdict was a part of American conspiracy to increase its influence in West Asia.
'Embedded with the divisive regime, they administer heavy doses of the opium of religion and nationalism day in and day out,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
The hour-long meeting, also attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and senior home ministry officials, apprised the Muslim clerics about activities of the West Asian terrorist group and its efforts to attract Indian youth to its fold.
The formal talks have yet to resume," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said.
'A couple of Pulwamas will bring the two nations to war and it will be limited to J&K itself.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday threw a challenge to Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying he was ready for a debate on Article 370 "anytime, anywhere".
'Afzal Guru was convicted of supporting the attack on India's Parliament. The Supreme Court said "the collective conscience of society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded" to Guru.' 'Till we can think up similar justifications for hanging non-Muslims, I do not think we can delink terrorism from religion in our minds,' argues Aakar Patel.
'It is time to not merely assert that Kashmir is an internal problem, but begin to act on it,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
If he doesn't, two things are guaranteed: Failure for him, and continued slide for his nation despite its talented people, strong nationalism, the gift of geography and a formidable army, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'I don't see people standing up against what is happening in Kashmir. I feel this clampdown can exist as long as the government wants it to.'
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