A man was arrested and three minors were detained on Sunday after a video surfaced on social media purportedly showing a group of people, while playing with colours, harassing a man and two women of the Muslim community.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expanded his Cabinet, inducting 23 more legislators as ministers, including two from the Congress party, marking their return to governance in the state after nearly 60 years.
The BJP in Kerala announced the launch of a 'Muslim Outreach Programme' aimed at building trust and dispelling what it claims are lies spread by other parties about the BJP's stance towards the Muslim community.
'You cannot suppress a section of society permanently.' 'The spark of revolt will catch fire sooner or later.'
'When I read the Tamil translation of the Quran, I discovered that all these practices had no sanction at all in the Quran. I increasingly came to realise the magnitude of the problems faced by many Muslim women, the need to address these, and also the fact that many Muslim men were wrongly interpreting Islam in a very patriarchal manner to justify the subordination and oppression of Muslim women,' says Daud Sharifa Khanum
Three All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam legislators who were part of the rebel group led by C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani, met Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker JC D Prabhakar on Monday and tendered their resignation.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, marking the first non-DMK, non-AIADMK government in the state in 60 years. The ceremony was attended by Rahul Gandhi, and Vijay promised transparent governance and asserted his sole authority. He signed files to implement key promises, including free power for domestic consumers.
This election is different. It is no longer simply about governance or welfare. It is about identity, fear, and who belongs. The BJP has successfully shifted the terms of the debate from what the government has delivered to who the real Bengali is and who is an outsider, points out Ramesh Menon.
Have Muslim women taken to the BJP under Modi even while their menfolk cling to 'secular' politics, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP government of mistreating his party workers in Ghazipur, following allegations of sexual assault and murder of a 17-year-old girl. Yadav also criticised the police investigation and announced financial assistance to the victim's family.
The SC is dealing with legal and constitutional issues relating to discrimination against women in various religions and at religious places including Kerala's Sabarimala Temple.
A triple talaq case in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district has sparked controversy after police did not register it under the state's Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Legal experts are questioning the failure to enforce the UCC, which prohibits practices like triple talaq and halala, citing potential issues with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).
A triple talaq case in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district has sparked controversy as police did not initially file it under the state's Uniform Civil Code (UCC) due to reported technical issues, raising concerns about the UCC's enforcement.
V D Satheesan was sworn in as Kerala's Chief Minister, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by prominent political figures, including Congress leaders and Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states.
The BJP must respect Bengal's pluralistic ethos and with this historic mandate give the state the constructive change it truly deserves, expects Kolkata native Payal Singh Mohanka.
'They will have to adjust themselves to the new reality. Because if they don't understand this changed political perception, their future will be difficult.'
She said, 'women covering their heads, women dressing modestly, I have no problem with at all. I think, however, that if you get to a stage where a woman is not able to express her personality because you cannot see her face, then you do start to have to ask whether this is something that is actually acknowledging the woman's right to be a person in her own right.'
Activists of the Muslim Mahila Andolan, who converged from different parts of the state in Lucknow on Sunday, also demanded "immediate ban" on the malpractice of divorce by sheer tripe utterance of the word 'Talaaq' on which a debate is already been going on in certain parts of the country.
Following reports of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death, widespread protests erupted in Kashmir, with demonstrators expressing strong anti-US and anti-Israel sentiments.
Four TCS employees have been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing and attempting to forcibly convert a colleague, including forcing him to wear a Muslim cap and perform Namaz.
Hindus will offer prayers from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami while Muslims to offer namaz from 1 pm to 3 pm on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the ruling TMC in West Bengal, alleging corruption and appeasement politics, while promoting the BJP's development agenda ahead of the assembly elections.
Zakia Nizami Soman, one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, speaks of her organisation and and reflects on the daunting challenges facing Muslim women in India today.
A group of right-wing activists disrupted a birthday party in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, alleging 'love jihad'. Police intervened and fined two Muslim youths and a staffer for disturbing the peace.
If the newly-formed All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board would have its way, a Muslim would be entitled to seek divorce if her husband was found ton be having illicit relationship with another women. Divorce could also be sought by a Muslim woman if the husband forces the wife to indulge in unnatural sex. She could also seek 'talaq' (divorce) if the husband contracts AIDS. The new nikahnama adds that a husband is expected to provide 'cooked food' and 'stitched food'.
The Congress party's delay in naming the next Chief Minister of Kerala has drawn criticism, particularly from key ally IUML, which warns of potential political fallout from the prolonged uncertainty.
Many persons were up in arms following a fatwa by the Dar ul-Uloom Deoband, which many believed prevented Muslim women from working. The members of the seminary who issued the fatwa say that it has been misinterpreted and it was aimed at offering protection to working women from the Muslim community.
Justice S N Srivastava held that the Hindu law provides for alimony in such cases and Muslim women are also entitled to it under the Constitution.
The Chinese military has began recruiting Uygur Muslim women for its navy in what appears to be first such experiment to open up its ranks for minorities, especially from volatile Xinjiang province where Islamic militants are fighting a separatist movement.
Initial vote counting in the Kerala Assembly elections indicates a significant lead for the Congress-led UDF, suggesting a potential shift in power.
'Male domination is not coming down but women have started standing up and questioning the authority of men.' 'I was attacked in such a crude manner only because I am a woman. Had this been written by a man, he would not have been attacked like this.' 'If at all the fascists are using this as a stick to attack Islam, it is not because of my post but because of the intolerance of those who abused me in foul language.' V P Rajeena, who created an online stir by claiming that a madrassa teacher had sexually abused her, says what she wrote on her Facebook page is just a sample, more will follow.
A Nashik court denied pre-arrest bail to a TCS employee accused of sexual harassment and forcible conversion, citing a 'systematic plan' to brainwash the victim and send her to Malaysia. The court emphasised the need for custodial interrogation to uncover the root of the case, highlighting the multi-dimensional nature of the alleged offence.
Overruling a nearly five-decade judgment, the Kerala high court has restored the rights of Muslim women for divorce without resorting to judicial proceedings.
Iltija Mufti, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party leader, filed a police complaint in Srinagar seeking a first information report against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over a widely circulated video showing him removing a woman doctor's naqab at an official event in Patna.
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the BJP for allegedly attempting to divide people on religious and caste lines during a community outreach programme in her Bhabanipur constituency.
On Thursday, Kashmiri Pandits offered special prayers at the historic Raghunath temple in Srinagar on the first day of its reopening after a gap of 36 years, coinciding with the festival of Ram Navami.
'The BJP successfully merged governance with identity. That's a powerful combination in Assam's political context.'
