Observing that the final NRC list, which validates bona fide Indian citizens of Assam, has excluded 19 lakh residents, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom on Friday said that a number of domestic and international organisations have expressed concern that the NRC is a "targeted mechanism to disenfranchise Assam's Bengali Muslim community, implicitly establishing a religious requirement for citizenship and potentially rendering large numbers of Muslims stateless."
If the BJP wins by getting Hindu voters to consolidate, its opponents can't beat it by bundling together the Muslims and some of the 'others', observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The BJP and RSS were working on the ground to define who is an illegal immigrant.'
'He will always live in the hearts of the millions of children who have studied in schools and colleges established by him and the faithful Hindus to whom he was a symbol of the invincible spirit of glorious Hindu Dharma,' says Tarun Vijay.
Two Hindu organisations, Hindu Sena and Hindu Front for Justice, have moved the Supreme Court seeking to intervene as parties in a pending plea in which notices have been issued to the Centre and others on allegations of hate speeches made against the Muslim community at Haridwar and New Delhi.
'Segregation suits the BJP at the moment. It will not suit them forever.'
Indian agencies have been engaged in countering Pakistani cyber-attacks on social media platforms for a very long time. But just like the fight against the coronavirus, only through the active participation of ordinary citizens that this war on fake news can be won, suggets Colonel S Dinny (retd).
'The political fallout of the verdict on national politics is pregnant with incredible opportunities.' 'Post-judgment politics can change the ground rules of election campaigning in the coming decades,' says Sheela Bhatt
Controversial MP and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sakshi Maharaj stirred a fresh controversy by holding Muslims responsible for population boom at a public event in Meerut on Friday.
'My confidence in the Indian judiciary is absolute after I saw justice being delivered in Gujarat even when a BJP government was ruling the state. The Muslims of Gujarat believed that they will never get justice in a BJP-ruled state, but the facts are before all of us to make a judgment.'
Speaking at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Dussehra rally in Nagpur, Bhagwat said community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored.
A mob attacked the temple at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district of the province, some 590 km from Lahore, in protest against the release of an eight-year-old Hindu boy, who was arrested for allegedly urinating in a local seminary.
Rahul Gandhi could be where Modi has not been. Modi aspired to be with the pantheon of gods on the walls, while Rahul could sit with the family because there is a family member in the picture.
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The violence in Bangladesh has been used as an excuse to start violence by communal political fanatics.'
'How can someone who has never been associated with the movement and never had darshan of Ram Lalla mediate on the matter of temple construction? We have gone to jail for it, faced house arrest and have been fighting court cases. Sri Sri does not qualify to mediate on the matter.'
The noted screenwriter and lyricist said he finds many commonalities between the mindsets of the Taliban and the Hindu right-wing.
'The BJP has ordered the AIMIM to defame the Shiv Sena, to raise questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva'
'The test of true secularism in India is when a girl in your family decides to marry someone from another religion. If you accept her decision happily, then you are truly secular. If you don't, it means your secularism is fake,' argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Shivaji made sure that his soldiers respected the sanctity of mosques and the Quran Sharif to ensure that his fight against the Mughals did not become fight against Islam, explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Jailed gangster and former member of Parliament Atiq Ahmad and his wife on Tuesday joined the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen in the presence of its chief Asaduddin Owaisi, drawing a sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will not allow "Jinnah's jihadi mentality" to flourish in Uttar Pradesh.
The alleged forced reconversion of about 100 people to Hinduism in Agra by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate set off a chorus of criticism against the government today by the opposition inside and outside Parliament with its leaders calling it illegal and demanding 'strict' action.
'As demonetisation showed us, the Shah-Modi duo can take big risks.' 'Risking economic damage for political benefit, however, is one thing, stoking old fires in complicated Assam is another', warns Shekhar Gupta.
'The mandir-masjid issue led to a lot of blood, pain and anguish on both sides. It scarred this nation.' 'It is time to educate ourselves and move on.'
Kapil Mishra had been invited because he was an "anti-corruption crusader", one 'IIT B for Bharat' organiser said. But in his half hour-long speech, Mishra didn't mention corruption. His entire focus was on the long "battle" Hindus had fought for their identity.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has neither accepted nor rejected the demand but the protest had to be suspended as stopping of salaries is 'choking us financially', protesters affiliated to the All Migrant (Displaced) Employees Association Kashmir (AMEAK) said.
In a section entitled 'Sikh Extremism' the review goes into detail of how members of the British Sikh community expressed their growing concern over a small but extremely vocal group "hijacking" the Sikh faith to push a subversive pro-Khalistan narrative.
'Modi has presided over an ultra-nationalism that has stunted India's growth, been unable to change the country's external situation, brought foreign intervention into Indian affairs,' explains Aakar Patel.
'The idea of aligning with different political parties -- parties that are relevant at a particular period -- is opportunistic and unacceptable.'
A blood-soaked Nandigram made Mamata Banerjee what she is today and underpins the hopes of the combustible West Bengal leader of clinching a third straight term in office.
Many anticipate that by the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP may come to power, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The government is scared of this Congress yatra, that is why various orders and letters are being issued'
The substantially increased economic dualism may exert lasting negative influences which could include a reduced potential for economic growth; the persistence of a very weak employment and poverty situation; rising social and political discord; and heightened vulnerability to geopolitical challenges, cautions Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
'The Muslim community is disappointed with this judgment.'
After a 6.5-hour debate, the upper house clears the bill. Amit Shah said the bill is not anti-Muslim and Indian minorities have nothing to fear from its passage.
The plea argued that any changes such as inclusion of same sex marriage in the Customary Law are much easier, convenient and practical in marriages which are a type of contract between the partners as they are very remotely based on religion and more generic in nature.
'It did not start as a Hindutva slogan.' 'It started to tease the TMC and slowly it got internalised and the BJP started countering with Jai Shri Ram slogans because Mamata was getting provoked.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have photos of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes.
The MP from Thiruvananthapuram was taking a dig at the BJP president for holding the Congress responsible for India's partition on religious lines. Tharoor said, in fact, it was the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League who were espousing the two-nation theory.
'If the Citizenship Bill passes, then the very principle of Indian citizenship, which is called jus soli (right of birthplace) will convert to principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood) on the basis of religion.' 'Citizenship is being given on the basis of religion and it is against the Constitution.'
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