'Many Indians are not voting mostly on the basis of issues like the economy and their own well-being as measured by data provided by the government.' 'They seem to be as concerned and perhaps more concerned about other things, especially those that have to do with the harassment of India's minorities,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Former Union minister and controversial Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anantkumar Hegde has once again stoked a row by calling the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi a "drama". However, this is not the first time a leader from the ruling party has insulted the Father of the Nation. Here are other instances when BJP leaders took a swipe at Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
The modern world will not accommodate bigotry of the sort India is showing the world today, argues Aakar Patel.
Chinese hubris and the slippery slope it finds itself on have important lessons for authoritarian leaders elsewhere, including in India, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Pakistan high commission has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for consultations with Sartaj Aziz ahead of the National Security Advisor-level talks with India in New Delhi next week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying tributes to the valour and sacrifices of Bangladeshi freedom fighters and Indian armed forces on the 50th anniversary of the occasion 'Vijay Diwas'.
'Partition was a two-sided story in a very big way.' 'We've oversimplified it, blamed the British, thought of ourselves only as victims.' 'We've been both victims and perpetrators.'
The European Parliament has urged India and Pakistan to resume dialogue in pursuit of a peaceful solution in Kashmir, while urging for 'normalcy' in the region.
The Congress slammed the government on Tuesday after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the proposed legislation is an attack on the Constitution and anyone who supports it is attempting to destroy the foundation of the country.
India and Indians can ignore Pakistan, but that cannot be said of other nations in the neighbourhood, where New Delhi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy constantly reverberates. Four of the eight SAARC member-nations are Muslim -- Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rulers decide the nation's India or anti-India policy in the first two, and street-opinion contributes to the same in the latter two, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
"No lndian Prime Minister has so brazenly indulged in an unethical and undemocratic act and violated the Model Code of Conduct by indirectly campaigning for his party from foreign soil," he said.
Blaming state actors in Pakistan for making attempts to destabilise India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the neighbouring country has not abandoned its efforts to harm the country through "various tactics".
India maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral one and no third party has any role in it.
In his address, 69-year-old Khan also expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court's verdict on the National Assembly deputy speaker's controversial decision on the rejection of no-trust motion against him.
In a statement issued on Monday, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom said that it was deeply troubled over the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha.
By supporting Ranaut and through its stand in the Sushant case, the BJP wants to win Bihar polls, Raut said.
We reproduce Aditya's letter to Rajdeep Sardesai in its entirety:
The Pak PM reiterated his government's firm resolve to extend its fullest moral, diplomatic and political support to the indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiri people.
Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Shafiqur Rehman Barq has been booked for sedition following his recent remarks allegedly defending the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and equating it with India's own freedom struggle, police said on Wednesday.
While the Gandhi siblings have had their way with Amarinder Singh's ouster, the future of the party under the temperamental Navjot Sidhu's leadership is uncertain, reports Sai Manish.
Terrorists have stepped up attacks in the Kashmir valley over the past week.
She also hit out at the government for posting retired bureaucrats, who she alleged were its 'yes men', as head of institutions.
In Sialkot, people found five empty ballot boxes near Kashmir Park in the Cantonment area, the report said.
'The war of 1962 exposed the hollow intellectual foundations of Nehruvian foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis China and that is why it was such a shock.'
Kalicharan Maharaj also used an abusive word against Mahatma Gandhi while delivering a speech at Dharma Sansad organised by an organisation at Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur, drawing flak from the leaders of the ruling Congress.
Savitri Bai Phule said a 'mahapurush' like Jinnah should be installed with respect... Jinnah is respected from the times of freedom struggle... His portrait is installed in the Lok Sabha... His name should be taken with respect."
Ramya, a former Congress MP, is facing a private complaint on sedition charge for her "pro-Pakistan" remarks recently.
Kolhe, facing criticism from a senior party colleague and also political opponents over the role, clarified that he does not support the ideology of Godse.
For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.
'They tell us that we have kept our women in the front. Only the lionesses have come out and you are already sweating. You can understand what would happen if all of us come together'
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
Expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent persons, including former ministers K Natwar Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Wednesday urged the government to continue engaging with the Taliban and not allow any political party to use the developments in that country to communally polarise Indian society for electoral gains.
Secularism as a principle and practice in India is in "danger", but "forces of hatred" cannot alter the country's secular character, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said during an interview on his new book 'The Battle of Belonging'. In the book, Tharoor makes a stinging critique of the Hindutva doctrine, asserting that it is a political doctrine, not a religious one.
The Sena also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for blaming Pakistan for protests against CAA.
Earlier, Pakistan People's Party had elected first Hindu woman named Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla as a senator.
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
AIMIM's Maharashtra unit chief and Aurangabad MP Imtiyaz Jaleel said, "Our party does not support the statement made by Waris Pathan. The party will seek an explanation from him over the remarks."
Jawaharlal Nehru University students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday in connection with a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy over holding of an event at the prestigious institute against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution urging the Centre to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 to protect and ensure unity and communal harmony and uphold the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution.
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