The relief material consists of items required urgently by the affected people, namely rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, tea, ready to eat noodles, biscuits, mosquito nets etc, it said.
President Ram Nath Kovind signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in the state, which plunged into a political crisis in June after the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government was reduced to minority following withdrawal of support by the 25-member Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.
Nepal on Sunday adopted its new fully secular and democratic constitution, achieved after seven years of painstaking deliberations, amid violent protests by minority Madhesi groups over a seven province federal structure.
This hill town has been in grip of violence since Thursday after a fight between residents of Shillong's Punjabi Line area and Khasi drivers of state-run buses.
The political fight for the Dalits' cause escalated on Thursday with Congress president Rahul Gandhi accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having an "anti-Dalit" mindset and the Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah alleging the opposition party had a legacy of insulting the community.
'When the clouds lift and the mists clear, when saner heads and minds sit down to parse the outcome, they will find that the Congress was not lacking in either fight or spirit,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'A hotline between the Chinese and Indian military establishments is essential if the possibility of conflict is to be minimised.' 'When relations are uneasy, even minor incidents can spiral out of control,' warns former senior RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
The lawyer of Zakia Jafri on Thursday alleged before the magistrate's court here that Special Investigation Team probing the 2002 Gujarat riots cases "ignored and manipulated" conclusions of National Human Rights Commission and Chief Election Commissioner.
Arvind Kejriwal is poised to return to power with a simple majority. Even if the BJP wins 20 to 25 seats, it will be seen as a victory, says R Rajagopalan.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the trajectory of Lal Kishan Advani from the highs of the 1990s to the present, when he may have to watch the elections from the sidelines.
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
Coal Secretary Anil Swarup has been appointed as school education secretary.
'The military officers at China's National People's Congress reflect Xi Jinping's preference for elevating politically reliable, younger, officers with good professional qualifications,' says former RAW officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Important for India was Xi's meeting with representatives of PLA officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet. The video of the encounter was interesting to watch, especially the large number of lieutenant generals and major generals, observes Claude Arpi.
His demise marks an end of a glorious era of the Indian Air Force.
A high voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal, Assam Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections on Tuesday. The massive polling exercise following COVID-19 health protocol and involving lakhs of personnel began at 7 am and the last hour from 6 pm to 7 pm was set aside for COVID-19 patients and those under isolation. The counting of votes in the states will be held on May 2.
It looks like Hindi, which faces political opposition at the front door, is entering Tamil Nadu through the kitchen, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
India's majoritarian regime is now making a dangerously fast-paced move towards theocracy, like its western counterpart did a few decades ago, warns Mohammad Sajjad.
The European Union on Friday reached out to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is considered one of the important leaders from non-Bharatiya Janata Party opposition, ahead of next Lok Sabha polls.
'Who is the government to decide about my religion?' 'We are governed by the Constitution. The Constitution has given me the independence to follow my religion.'
An alert has been sounded by the Delhi government after the water level of Yamuna river crossed the danger mark, an official said.
'Fear is not created by those who are defending minorities and Dalits.' 'Fear is being created by the actions of political leaders like Yogi Adityanath and police forces.' 'The kind of hate statements that are being made to which there is silence from the prime minister's side.'
New Delhi is approaching Gota with an open mind, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Javadekar was at the event, where presence of his ministerial colleague V K Singh last year had drawn flak from the media, for around 20 minutes, and extended his 'best wishes' to the Pakistani people on the sidelines.
The top court issued notices to Union ministries of law and justice and minority affairs as well as the National Commission of Women after taking note of the plea of Delhi-based woman Nafisa Khan challenging the practice of polygamy and 'nikah halala', and said that the matter will be taken up a five-judge Constitution bench.
'The current BJP leadership believes the party's expansion across India, and thus their own survival at the top, depends on injecting communal tension into areas where it has so far been largely controlled,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
'The Congress shall have to take some brave-tough decisions to give a new social face to the party and its leadership composition,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The Congress party on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues, latching on to the controversy surrounding newly-inducted minister of state for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria over his graduation marksheet.
'Which path should Muslims take politically as they have been completely marginalised?'
He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries.
The families of the Muslim youth from Hashimpura who were shot dead 28 years ago had some committed supporters in their long struggle for justice.
'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
'These trends put at risk not only minorities or the media or some other out-of-favour group, they can and do concern everyone,' warns T N Ninan.
'Whom do I want to marry and what decisions I make for marrying the person I love are totally personal decisions, in which neither the State nor the courts have any right to interfere.'
'We were expecting death sentences, but now the court has acquitted them, despite Aseemanand himself admitting to his crime in front of a judge.' More importantly, it seems the tag of 'Hindu Terror' coined by the United Progressive Alliance government was wrong all along. Amjedullah Khan, spokesperson for the Majlis Bachao Tehreek, has been tracking the Mecca Masjid blast case from day one and was also involved in securing the release of more than 100 Muslims youths who were falsely accused in different terror cases in the aftermath of the blast. He spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com about the acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and what it means.
The EU ambassador to India hoped the principle of equality will be upheld in the CAB. He also said that Pak must take action against terror groups.
What will a split in the AIADMK mean for Tamil Nadu?
The president-elect has vast public, social, and political experience which will help him better to discharge his duty as the First Citizen of India.
'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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