Shahzad Ali, a sales and marketing manager at a mobile phone company, was among the group of Muslims from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 16, 2020.
'I was never a politically active student throughout my life. But now I have to do it because they (those in power) are not listening.'
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
Students' organisations and political parties are participating in the bandh to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there.
'Quiet back channel advice will probably be rendered by Saudi Arabia to India that international perception on both issues does not favour India and that it should be prudent to look inwards and introspect on where the failing has been,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
A Muslim man's beard was allegedly shaved off in Gurugram.
'There must be thousands if not lakhs of people the government is illegally spying on.' 'Why should we enable this criminal activity by volunteering our details?'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
After the 18-member 'Assam Advisory Committee' suggested the two organisations to form a political party, a source close to the development said the new outfit will be launched within the next 10 days.
With Modi's international image seriously damaged -- perhaps, irrecoverably -- and Indian foreign policy finding itself in drift, we move on to the New Year in a depressing scenario, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"Saudi Arabia continues to be a land of opportunity for Indians. Indians have benefited the most from the amnesty scheme as 1.4 million people got their residency and work status legalised," says Faiz Ahmad Kidwai, Consul-General of India, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
As defence minister, Singh's most crucial challenge will be to speed up the long-delayed modernisation of the three services besides ensuring overall coherence in their combat readiness.
Justice Gogoi's tenure as judge and as CJI was marked by some controversies and personal allegations but that never came in his way of his judicial work that was reflected in the last few days when benches headed by him delivered some path-breaking judgments.
Akhil Gogoi, member of the legislative assembly from Sivasagar in Assam, is likely to be released from jail on Thursday as a special NIA court cleared him and his three associates of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged role in the violent anti-Citizenship Amendment Act stir in Assam in December 2019.
If Amit Shah is likely to take to the home ministry like a duck to water, Nirmala Sitharaman's handling of finance will show whether she will justify the confidence which Modi has placed in her.
Terrorism has to be fought at its root of origination. Today we are just removing cobwebs but not killing the spider, asserts counter-insurgency expert Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
'General Secretary Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we haven't seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India'
'Any normal human being, even if he is the American president, will find it hard, at least in the initial stages, to get over the gnawing feeling that Modi is Trump's man.' 'Modi should not be surprised if India and its requirements are treated as of low priority by Joe Biden,' warns B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'Paying my taxes, diligently repaying my loans, following the rules, scrupulously doing things by the book, when there's this big, beautiful world of unregulated chicanery I could have indulged in for years before just flying off to greener pastures, like Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi,' says Mitali Saran.
Hitting out at the report, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in New Delhi that the update of the earlier OHCHR report is "merely a continuation of the earlier false and motivated narrative" on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The agency has written to the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice which would mean that the member countries of the Lyon-based international police cooperation agency can arrest and extradite Nirav Modi
Responding to a question on the meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and United States President Donald Trump in the US, Rawat said that Pakistan can do anything to get money.
Mahathir said his govt would always ensure it looked into all factors.
The bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
'There are 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh and we, in the north east, see this Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as a route for them to enter India on the plea that they are facing persecution in Bangladesh.'
Isn't National Intelligence Grid and UIDAI engineered by vested interests, asks Gopal Krishna.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said 28,252 cases of mucormycosis have so far been reported from 28 states/UTs in the country, of which 86 per cent cases have a history of COVID-19 and 62.3 per cent with a history of diabetes.
'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.'
The Election Commission must ensure that soldiers, paramilitary forces and railway employees who work outside their home states are given proper avenues to cast their votes, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If this is the India you're talking about, where there is no space for minorities, where you have hate, where people can enter universities and beat students up, let me be anti-national.' 'I'll carry that as a badge of honour.'
She wondered why PM Modi is not removing his own cabinet secretary or the Union home secretary, if he was so 'fond of making last-minute changes'.
With her various overtures and right noises at the right time, Mamata is once again trying to reshape her image from being a regional leader to one with national appeal and acceptability. After all, the charge of building a Federal Front may also bring to the fore Mamata's chances to become prime minister in 2019.
Choksi, who was allegedly the partner-in-crime of his nephew Nirav Modi in the banking fraud, refused to say anything further on the issue, on the advice of his lawyers.
The American had expressed a desire to meet the Sentinelese tribe, which is known to resist all contact with outsiders, often firing arrows at anyone who comes near.
As many as 17 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Surat were raided by the ED.
During the day, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting to review preparedness for COVID-19 management, through video conference with health ministers, chief secretaries of all states and UTs, central ministers and representatives from the related organisations and stressed on the need for keeping testing and quarantine facilities, isolation wards, and labs in active readiness.
The Centre should focus on achieving peace either through long-term ceasefire agreements or sustained military operations. Military operations which are just intermittent responses to particular incidents won't lead anywhere, says Devanik Saha.
A large number of people took out a 'solidarity march' in South Delhi on Sunday in support of Jamia Millia Islamia students and those facing police action during protests against the contentious law.
India needs to come up with new ideas to make the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas more appealing to overseas Indians. The Diasporas talents should be used for the country's development, says Thomas Abraham, founder of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin
Narendra Modi government is working for 'making India' whereas the Congress is working for 'breaking India'.
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