The Indian government has revoked the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was held under the National Security Act following protests in Ladakh.
The Congress party has expressed outrage over the death of ex-serviceman Tsewang Tharchin, a Kargil War veteran, in firing by security forces during a protest in Ladakh. The incident occurred amidst ongoing protests for Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, leading to continued curfew and detentions.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on India and China to view each other as partners rather than rivals, emphasising the importance of cooperation for regional stability and development.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
'The prime minister didn't come to Parliament.' 'But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister.' 'Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges.'
The incident took place right outside Parliament's Makar Dwar, the main entrance which MPs take to enter the new Parliament building, where Gandhi was standing in solidarity with suspended Congress MPs, mostly from Punjab.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane's memoir has triggered a controversy by revealing behind-the-scenes decision-making during the 2020 India-China standoff in Ladakh. Its candid account of military and political responses at a critical moment has reignited debate over civil-military relations, accountability, and the limits of disclosure in matters of national security.
Gandhi held up Naravane's unpublished "memoir" and said he would like the youngsters in India to know that this 'book' exists despite the government claiming otherwise.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it held a formal meeting with a Chinese delegation openly, given the "improved" relations between New Delhi and Beijing, unlike the Congress which, it alleged, "secretly" signed a memorandum of understanding with the neighbouring country's ruling party.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
The Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases, the first between April and September 2026 and the second in February 2027, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
What should have been a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency is now a three-corner fight with an alliance of local groups fielding an Independent to challenge the national parties.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
The agreement was to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), two days before a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
An uneasy calm prevails in Ladakh as authorities enforce a curfew following clashes between security forces and protesters demanding statehood and constitutional protections. The violence resulted in fatalities and injuries, prompting detentions and political reactions.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday by a police party in Leh, two days after violent protests by supporters of the movement for statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule of Constitution left four persons dead and 90 others injured, officials said.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the Census of India, 2027, which would include the caste enumeration for the first time.
'...than free Sonam Wangchuk.'
The Congress party has criticized the Modi government's approach to China following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, questioning whether the government is legitimizing Chinese aggression.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) is demanding a judicial probe into the recent violence in Leh, which resulted in four deaths and numerous injuries. The LAB co-chairman, Chering Dorjay, denies any foreign involvement and alleges excessive force by police and CRPF personnel.
Of the 26 seats for which elections were held on October 4, results of 20 seats have been declared so far, they said.
"The new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang, will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny," he said.
The Congress party has accused the Modi government of a 'deny, distract, lie, and justify' (DDLJ) policy regarding China, alleging territorial setbacks and misplaced economic priorities.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
Raking up the border issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said every individual in Ladakh knows that China has "taken away our land" and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that not an inch of land was taken away was "absolutely false".
Veteran politician Satyapal Malik, who served as governor of multiple states and later became a vocal critic of the government, has died at the age of 79.
India-US relations, like Rome, were not built in a day, nor can they be demolished in a day.
All said and done, when the new global order emerges, India can only remain with the democracies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Malik had served as the 18th governor of Goa between November 3, 2019, and August 18, 2020.
The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said.
Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, on his 79th birth anniversary on the banks of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh, August 20, 2023.
In response to a question on President Donald Trump offering to "mediate" on the issue of Kashmir, Bruce said, "Well, I - obviously, I can't speak to what's on the mind or the plans of the President. What I do know is that I think we all recognise that President Trump in each step that he takes, it's made to solve generational differences between countries, generational war."
With United States President Donald Trump reiterating his claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the Congress on Wednesday asked what do the 'typically loquacious' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have to say about this revelation and did they 'mortgage' India's security interests in the face of US 'pressure'.
"China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan," Tharoor said.
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
On Sunday, August 20, his father Rajiv Gandhi's 79th birth anniversary, Rahul will perform a pooja at Pangong Lake.
In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
Gandhi, who is currently on a tour of the Union Territory of Ladakh, covered a distance of about 130 km to reach Lamayuru where he will stay overnight before moving to Zanskar, a tehsil of Kargil district, on Wednesday. He will be in Kargil town on Thursday.
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