The Supreme Court has raised concerns about the low conviction rates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that over 90 per cent of trials result in acquittals. The observations were made while granting bail to an accused in a narco-terrorism case.
A senior Pakistani minister has admitted that the country failed to capitalize on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), citing attempts by the previous government to undermine Chinese investments, leading to investor flight.
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
Pooja Oad was said to have been shot in the middle of the street after she put up resistance to the attackers in Rohi, Sukkur.
Non-availability of army personnel due to Indo-Pak tensions has forced authorities to indefinitely postpone Pakistan's census, the first in 17 years, according to a media report on Sunday.
As Sachin turns 50, Rediff brings you 50 fascinating facts about the God of Cricket.
The US spent $1.5 million a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. After hundreds of airstrikes failed to curtail the Taliban's $200-million-a-year opium trade, the US military quietly ended the campaign when the Trump administration officials engaged in direct peace talks with the Taliban, notes Atanu Biswas.
'India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan's journey to make,' says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the government's geo-political flagship initiative "Raisina Dialogue-II".
Alleging that there had been politicisation and criminalisation of government officers in the state, the BJP leader, who was on a two-day visit, said the TMC government had stopped sending crime statistics to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) after 2018.
'We are also seeing the birth of new evil, the new face of drug distribution where human interface has reduced; consumers are using the Dark Web to source supplies and using cryptocurrencies as payment mode.'
'In the case of an India-Pakistan confrontation, the Chinese may undertake more than just posturing, thereby constraining us from deploying adequate forces for decisive results,' warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Delhi Police faced a tough time in 2016 when crime cases surged by over nine per cent in the national capital while 73 per cent cases remained unsolved.
India's unpopularity coincides with China lengthening its shadows in Nepal, says Rajeev Sharma.
In 2013, a total of 28,481 Indian websites were hacked
'Much of the Socialism that we attribute to him actually came during Indira Gandhi's time,' says M J Akbar who believes that Nehru's convictions helped shape modern India.
Narendra Modi's success at the BRICS summit is the best Diwali gift for India's diplomacy and marks her ascendancy to global leadership, says Tarun Vijay.
'The Kashmiri identity and its unique blend of Sufi Islam, its culture and language can best survive in a plural and secular India.' 'Neither independence nor merger with Pakistan can achieve that objective.' 'Peace will return to Kashmir only when Kashmiris realise this, else they will be part of the 1,000- year war,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India's snooping programme is officially underway and multiple agencies will use internet surveillance system Netra and National Cyber Coordination Centre to keep a tab on suspicious activities on the internet, says Vicky Nanjappa.
Rising skills gap, falling exports, low productivity, rising debt and low foreign investment is jeopardising the target set for the textile and apparels sector
Over 20 political parties, except the Biju Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front, took part in the massive rally.
The Enforcement Directorate has managed to sniff out over Rs 9,000 crore as suspected haul from money laundering in a decade, but it has yet to link those against anyone successfully in a court.
As Myanmar refuses to accept that the boat-loads of refugees abandoned at mid-sea are its people, claiming instead that they are from Bangladesh, the plight of the Rohingyas has worsened, reports Prakash Bhandari from Dhaka.
Mohammad Salim cited a news magazine which quoted Singh as reportedly saying -- after Narendra Modi and BJP's victory last year -- that India had the first "Hindu ruler after 800 years."
If the high security notes introduced in 2015 were kept in the system, the pain due to demonetisation can be ameliorated to a certain extent. But unfortunately, such thought process have no place in the hasty demonetisation decision.
'Over one million people served in various battlefronts during World War I. And yet, even today, we know so very little about them.' 'It is absolutely essential to acknowledge this part of India's colonial history,' Santanu Das tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
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