Drones are a new technology added recently to the weapons used in the violence between the two large ethnic groups -- Meitei and Kuki -- in the northeastern state, which left over 200 people dead since May last year.
High nitrate levels have been found in groundwater of 440 districts across India, with 20 per cent of the samples collected exceeding the permissible nitrate concentration, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has said in a report.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks that the Constitution of India is 'blank' because he has never read it.
Hours before a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur's ethnic violence, the state's high court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district, while ITLF, an apex tribal body also said it was postponing burial service plans following requests from the Union home minister.
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
For the Mizo people, tribal and family identity are important. But so are jobs, farmers' access to markets, roads, and health facilities for a young population where drugs are a big affliction.
The issue at the core of it is the perceived fear among the locals of getting outnumbered and uprooted by 'others' and eventually losing their identity
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
'Manipur is critical to India's Look East policy.' 'It's a strategic state. In the Second World War, the Japanese entered Manipur through Burma.' 'China can use the same direction to approach India.'
Indigenous people's groups in Manipur have launched a statewide agitation demanding introduction of Inner Line Permit system in Manipur to 'protect the interests of locals' by regulating the flow of outsiders to the State.
Out of a total of 17 aspirants who had sought party tickets to contest in five different assembly seats, so far only one -- Md Anwar Hussain -- has been given the green signal to be the candidate from Lilong -- a constituency with the largest Muslim population in the state.
In more than a dozen assembly constituencies, the Muslim community, locally known as 'Pangal' or 'Meitei Pangal', can swing results.
A majority of over 50,000 internally displaced people are currently staying at relief centres across five valley districts and three hill districts.
'If the government can conduct elections during such a time, I am sure they can find ways to bring peace and address the concerns of people. Everything that we had built over the years got burnt and now we are supposed to start our lives from scratch and we should also vote?'
'Unfortunately, there is no movement towards peace in Manipur.'
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
They saluted 'the hands that weave timeless stories'.
Blockade is an issue which has seemingly widened the divide between the hills and the plains.
Muslim population in India has grown by 24 per cent between 2001 and 2011 against national average of 18 per cent with the community's representation rising to 14.2 per cent from 13.4 percent of total population.
'And (the prime minister does so) without giving any hint of a recognition of the political violence resulting in the ethnic cleansing (of tribals and Kukis) which he simply equates it with atrocities against women in other parts of India.' 'This is not acceptable.'
'They have come here to protect people, but the allegation is that they help the armed organisations attack and burn down the houses of the Meiteis.' 'Many people have lost faith in the central forces as they believe these forces are involved in the escalation of the problem.'
The indefinite economic blockade by United Naga Council since November 1, 2016 in Manipur against the state government's decision for creation of seven new districts has severely hit supply of essential commodities, including fuel.
Addressing a party rally in Rajasthan, Gandhi also flayed the BJP over the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur and said the ideology of the BJP has set the northeastern state on fire.
The Imphal Valley in Manipur remained peaceful but tense on Friday, however intermittent gunfights between militant groups and security forces were reported from the hill districts surrounding the valley.
According to a health department source in Imphal, so far close to 10,500 people were scanned by medical teams from over 1,700 households.
'It has been doing yeoman service for the people of the North East.'
'Is this how you plan to run India? Is this how you plan to save India?' 'If this is your plan, then what happened in Manipur will start happening all over the country.'
'Given the blood on his hands, it's really hard to believe that he (Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh) has the audacity and the moral numbness to hold onto power.'
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The consequences are dire as essential medical treatments, including dialysis, and medicines for cancer and anti-AIDS drugs remain out of reach for those in desperate need.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
He was trolled during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, but despite the tactics by his rivals, action hero Suresh Gopi rose to national stardom in cinema style on June 4, winning the Thrissur seat on a BJP ticket and scripting history for the saffron party in Kerala.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
'If such a practice were feasible, every state would seek additional funds, posing a significant risk to the overall health of the economy.'
Mufti said her father Sayeed was not power hungry and wanted to deliver Jammu and Kashmir from its problems and troubles.
Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
Refuting the opposition's claim that Manipur 'is burning', a senior government functionary said on Thursday that no killing has happened in the state since July 18 and asserted that peace and normalcy will be restored soon through ongoing talks with the two warring communities -- Meiteis and Kukis.
India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above was recorded at a six-year low of 3.2 per cent during July 2022-June 2023, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2022-2023 released by the National Sample Survey Office. Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, the NSSO launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
'No country can go from zero to hero at the Olympics.' 'A hundred Indians now feature in the world's top 25 and that's progress,' says Shekhar Gupta.
