Inarguably the biggest gainer in the Grand Alliance, the CPI-ML, often working in the margins of mainstream politics, had 19 candidates in the fray, most of them students and youth leaders.
'Openness is a great weapon in the armoury of more open societies. That's why the fight with Pakistan isn't just about India be six times bigger, but equally bitter and insecure Pakistan,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
Justice Chandrachud also said that use of state machinery to curb dissent instills fear, which violates the rule of law.
India and Indians can ignore Pakistan, but that cannot be said of other nations in the neighbourhood, where New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy constantly reverberates. Four of the eight SAARC member-nations are Muslim -- Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rulers decide the nation's India or anti-India policy in the first two, and street-opinion contributes to the same in the latter two, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama entered final hours of the election campaign with a solid, though narrowing, lead over his powerful Republican rival John McCain.
The Government of India has extended the ban on the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland with a fresh notification making it clear that operation against hawkish factions of these two outfits would continue notwithstanding the on-going peace process involving doves of both the outfits.
Aseem Chhabra brings you the Best of the Berlinale.
A wise politician would disarm his critics, try to take them along, co-opt them, or, at least, take the criticism in his stride. Developing a thick skin ought to be an essential part of any politician's toolkit, notes Virendra Kapoor.
The Blinken visit indicated that the Biden administration is still somewhat tentative about the specifics of its relations with India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who has served multiple stints at India's embassy in Washington, DC.
The actress plans to challenge incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic party nomination.
'When Sachin Tendulkar bats, no one in India cares if he is from Mumbai or if he is a Hindu or a Brahmin or whatever.' 'We just want him to win it for India.' 'The same is with Modi and the people who voted across caste and regional lines for him.' We want him to win it for India,' says Madhu A K.
The backing of a major liberal media establishment will undoubtedly be seen as a shot in the arm for both major party candidates as they wrestle through the nomination.
The Centre has sent "feelers" to several separatist leaders in Srinagar that they would soon be invited for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'The Kerala saga also requires a reappraisal of Nehru himself. 'The real Nehru is to be found somewhere between the syrupy panegyrics on him and the demonisation of him that is currently happening,' says Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar.
For this dispensation, ideas are dangerous. Those who propagate liberalism and democratic traditions are even more dangerous, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Hazem el-Beblawi, a liberal economist and Egypt's former finance minister, was on Tuesday appointed as the country's new prime minister in a transitional government as the interim president unveiled a roadmap for fresh polls by early next year to end the raging political crisis.
'The best thing that Modi can hope for in this visit is that he is able to mobilise Indians in America to vote Republican and try and help Trump return to power,' argues Aakar Patel.
Various probe commissions have visited Assam and come up with multiple versions about the recent spate of violence, which has claimed 65 lives so far, and why it erupted.
Polling for three parliamentary seats and 29 assembly constituencies were held on October 30, an exercise being seen as a barometer of the political mood in the country ahead of assembly elections in politically critical Uttar Pradesh as well as other states.
Japan's economy unexpectedly slipped into recession in the third quarter, setting the stage for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay an unpopular sales tax hike and call a snap election half-way through his term.
Under the new rules, a British citizen who wants to bring in their spouse or dependent from India or any other country outside the 30-member European Economic Area has to earn a minimum 18,600 British pounds a year.
Today, in addition to Aam Jan Lokpal, the country seeks liberation from non-governmental institutions which takes birth due to legislations passed by British Parliament in 1860 and 1882. Gopal Krishna explains.
Today, in addition to Aam Jan Lokpal, the country seeks liberation from non-governmental institutions which takes birth due to legislations passed by British Parliament in 1860 and 1882. Gopal Krishna explains.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Perhaps the most important political trend affecting armed conflict in the 21st century, will be in the relationship between civilians and those who fight on their behalf,' points out Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd), who served as chief of the Integrated Defence Staff and Central Army Commander.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to bring to an end the authorised international military action in Libya on October 31, following the death of Muammar Gaddafi that brought an end to the bloody conflict in the country. The resolution passed on Thursday said that the liberation of the North African country after Gaddafi's death offers better prospects for a "democratic, peaceful and prosperous future".
It is important to approach the belief of people in ancient India's achievements with a sense of proportion, balance and empathy, argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Nita Ambani hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has great vision to transform India into a global sporting powerhouse.
A railway engine driver abducted by a little-known tribal outfit called United Democratic Liberation Army, from a remote area in Hailakandi district in southern Assam last month, was released unharmed by the abductors on Friday much to the relief of the Railway authorities and his family members.
'If there were no Ahmedabad programme -- no flashy town hall event in a huge cricket stadium with thousands cheering him on -- then Trump may well have decided not to go to India.'
'For any government in India the core ideological issue as far as governance is concerned is very straightforward; which is how do you produce growth of 9 to 10 percent and then use the proceeds of that growth to create a more inclusive society. Unfortunately, for the UPA government there are too many internal ideological divisions for them to be able to tell this large story very clearly,' says Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, Centre for Policy Research.
A high-level delegation of Union Home ministry is in Assam to prepare the ground for starting political negotiations with various militant outfits including the United Liberation Front of Asom, United People's Democratic Solidarity, Dima Halim Daoga-Jewel which have come forward for dialogue to resolve their problems.
'It will be normal, regular, everyday politics whether you like it or not.' That's what this country needs,' a New Yorker tells Payal Singh Mohanka.
With militants belonging to anti-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland and Kamatapur Liberation Organisation trying to strike fresh routes along the thickly forested and rugged terrain on the India-Bhutan border in North East and North Bengal (West Bengal), both the countries have decided to mount vigil along the border.
The narrative in America after Donald Trump's victory sounds like the questions and debates that took place in India after May 2014. Were both electoral results all about jobs and economic anxiety? Mihir S Sharma doubts it.
The decision to enhance AI fleet came after Tatas withdrew from the race to pick up stake in the national carrier in December 2001.
Warming up for his visit to Bangladesh in the company of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on September 6 and 7, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday showered praise on Bangladesh Prime Minister Seikh Hasina and her government for being very helpful in evicting militants leaders of the northeast, including those from the United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which has been instrumental in containing insurgency in the state of late
'Hot Mess Holiday airs on December 11 -- it's a really fun story.'
Secularism as a principle and practice in India is in "danger", but "forces of hatred" cannot alter the country's secular character, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said during an interview on his new book 'The Battle of Belonging'. In the book, Tharoor makes a stinging critique of the Hindutva doctrine, asserting that it is a political doctrine, not a religious one.
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