'Especially at a time when truth is being twisted and a new narrative is being manufactured.'
With Bihar and West Bengal assembly elections in sight, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Trinamool Congress on Saturday demanded implementation of a 17-year-old Supreme Court order to provide salaries to Imams (clerics) of government-aided mosques.
It is in no way a government of the economic Right. The Right is limited to religion and nationalism. The rest is as Left as the Congress or any other party, observes Shekhar Gupta.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday attacked Union Home Minister Amit Shah over violent protests against the new citizenship law, saying his job is not to set the country on fire but to put it out. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' slogan, she said the BJP government has brought "satyanaash" (disaster) for everyone in the country.
The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint filed by Rupa Verma on Wednesday, the chairperson of Child Welfare Committee of Ranchi district, they said.
Intelligent, well educated and bold, a trait common among the transgender community, when Laxmi is not courting controversies, she is busy working for the welfare of the sexual minorities through her non governmental organisation Astitva. Laxmi speaks to rediff.com's N Ganesh on the discriminations faced by her and the members of her eunuch community in today's world.
The protesters carried banners and placards reading "Shame on Pakistan" and "We will expose the real face of Pakistan". Some of the banners and placards urged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to protect the gurdwara, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism.
The Congress in Karnataka got a shot in the arm with former state minister and JD-S leader Iqbal Ansari joining the party on Tuesday.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict with one of the judges favouring striking down the provision, and the other holding it was not unconstitutional.
'These children are wards of the State. They were exploited because the state government and its officials didn't do their jobs.'
Among the three Deputy Chief Ministers are Govind Karjol, who has also been given the charge of PWD and Social welfare; Ashwath Narayan the portfolio of Higher Education, IT & BT, Science and Technology; and Laxman Savadi with Transport department.
The CBI has booked officers and employees of the shelter home.
Observing that Hindu-Muslims ties are under "severe test" lately, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday appeared to target Narendra Modi as he asked the countrymen to be vigilant of those who work against India's secular thought by attempting to "redefine secularism".
The top three states which have the highest number of primary health centre's functioning are Uttar Pradesh (3,497), Karnataka (2,353) and Rajasthan (2,083).
The Maharashtra CM also maintained that he had opposed the offer of Rs 5 crore contribution from makers to the army welfare fund.
In a historic move, Pakistan's parliament has passed the much-delayed bill to enable the country's minority Hindu community to register their marriages.
'If the BJP wants to build a minimally inclusive and secure society, in which vulnerable groups and religious minorities don't feel persecuted, then the Sangh Parivar, the party and its government must change their ways. Or else, they risk dividing India further -- violently and irreparably -- for narrow political ends,' argues Praful Bidwai.
The first need is to stop all the rumour-mongering. The government should ensure that none of the victims who are living in the camps are forced to reconvert under duress. If they want to reconvert willingly, there isn't any problem. But the State must ensure that they are not forced, says NCM vice chairman Michael Pinto
All the officials, suspended with immediate effect, have been charged with "failure to take adequate legal action" with regard to "assault.
'We will do a holistic review of the entire act and the policy at the state level and I need to be convinced that not a single Jharkhandi is uprooted from his or her home due to this law'
Complaints to NCM fall down sharply...4,000 Indian women deserted by NRI husbands since 2016...79 districts in India still don't have blood banks...
PM Modi's assurance came against the backdrop of violent protests against the CAB.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said India will be benefitted economically by having peace with his country as it will enable New Delhi to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory.
British national Fiona Mackeown, who was summoned by Goa's Women and Child Welfare Department, failed to appear before the authorities on Friday, citing that the notice issued was inadequate to make alternative arrangements for the safety and care of her children."My client is a single mother of seven minor children and her presence in England with her children is essential for their care and safety," Fiona's legal counsel Vikram Varma said.
'One one hand, the BJP puts Uniform Civil Code as a goal in its manifesto, and on the other, it pushes massive discrimination against Hindus.' 'This is not sabka saath, sabka vikas. Rather it is "Haj ka saath, church ka vikas",' argues Sankrant Sanu.
After meeting Shah, Patnaik said he briefed the minister on the current situation in Hauz Qazi area.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's craving to get the country's top job once again came to the fore on Tuesday, when prominent Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan openly called upon madrasas of the state to strive towards making the Samajwadi Party supremo the next prime minister.
Indian politics, held captive in one way or the other by Ayodhya, may now well seek its emancipation from this issue, and the pursuit of welfare, asserts Congress leader Salman Khurshid in this excerpt from his latest book, Sunrise over Ayodhya.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday received a shot in the arm when Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Monday lauded her work for the minorities in West Bengal, and said she would make a better prime minister for secular India than others.
'As soon as the BJP feels they are going to lose power, they will publish the caste census data of 2011 and conduct the caste census of 2021.'
Nithyananda was booked on the similar charges after police recorded statements of the four children who were rescued from a flat and the ashram, "Yogini Sarvagyapeetham", a police officer said.
The PIL said that the ban on entry of Muslim women in mosques was 'unconstitutional' and violative of fundamental rights to life, equality and gender justice.
The development is being seen as a blow to the opposition Congress which was planning to forge a grand alliance in Chhattisgrah to unseat the ruling BJP.
The Friday morning encounter of all the four accused in the brutal rape-and-murder case of a 25-year-old woman veterinarian last month in Hyderabad triggered a nationwide debate on justice delivery, with one side supporting it as speedy justice and the other raising concerns over 'extra-judicial' measures. Here is a look at the legal status of some rape cases which shook the country.
"It is surprising that even after going through with the completion of recording of evidence of witnesses and arguments, the commission has failed to submit its findings. So much so that Mumbai High Court had to comment adversely regarding the functioning and delay in the completion of inquiry by the commission. "Consequently, there is genuine feeling among the vast sections of the society, especially among Muslims," the resolution noted.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Constitutional narratives are forged both inside and outside courtrooms,' says Rohit De.
'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.' 'To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar,' suggests Virendra Kapoor.
Seventy-two chairmen and advisors of different organisations and institutions enjoying minister of state rank in Uttar Pradesh were sacked by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday with immediate effect, an official spokesman said.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
