Over 300 eminent personalities from the creative and scholarly community of India, including actor Naseeruddin Shah, filmmaker Mira Nair, vocalist TM Krishna, author Amitav Ghosh and historian Romila Thapar have expressed solidarity with the students and others protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. Writers Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, actors Ratna Patak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Lillete Dubey, sociologist Ashis Nandy, activists Sohail Hashmi and Shabnam Hashmi were also among the signatories.
From Black Lives Matter protests in the United States to deadly floods in Japan, here's all the top stories in images from the past week.
The crowd at the protest sites in Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders was visibly thin on Thursday two days after the tractor parade turned violent, even though the farmer unions said it was because the protesters, who had come to the national capital to take part in January 26 march, have returned home.
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
'There was outside intervention which is what led to the initial violence.' 'Once the violence started, there was a brutal lathi-charge by the police.'
Azad has been restrained from visiting Delhi for four weeks. The court also directed him not to hold any dharna in the national capital till the elections are over.
'Just as coronavirus has come to us from China, this disease is also coming from that country.' 'India is a strong democracy and you cannot compromise on labour laws in this manner.' 'These changes will be challenged in court.'
The country witnessed over 100 incidents of racial abuse and hate crimes, including alleged racist graffiti and cards reading "no more Polish vermin" posted outside a school.
The SC said where is the question of going on protest once a party has already approached the court challenging the validity of the laws.
Threats were often communicated to Pandit homes through notes tied to stones chucked through a window, or a notice pasted on a wall. Those sometimes came from neighbours eyeing that Pandit family's property. Those threats often worked in the atmosphere of terror during that awful season of vacuous exercise of State authority, writes David Devadas, longtime Kashmir watcher and author of two books on the Valley.
Scores of students on Friday staged a protest outside the CBSE office in Delhi against the paper leak.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came under fierce criticism in Monday for leading a dharna with outside supporter Congress saying a government cannot be run from the streets and opposition BJP calling the protest "anarchic and a gimmick".
The SAD also castigated the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly betraying farmers by not opposing the passage of the bills in Lok Sabha.
The two "terrorist incidents" at London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday night are among several attacks that have taken place in the United Kingdom in recent years.
Nepal's constituent assembly on Monday rejected calls to remove the key term secularism from the new constitution and revert the Himalayan nation to a Hindu state, triggering protests by Hindu activists.
A fascinating glimpse from Somak Ghoshal's 10 Indian Heroes Who Help People Live With Dignity.
The US had also said there was an "urgent need" for dialogue among all actors to reduce tensions and to avoid a potential military escalation in South Asia.
The Rajiv Gandhi assassination, investigation and trial were all jinxed in parts, recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said military personnel would replace armed police "on guard duties at certain protected sites which are not accessible to the public".
While a police official said that over 15,000 people were present inside the sprawling ground in the garrison city, private estimate put the number of those attending the funeral nearly 1,00,000.
Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
Shops remained closed in some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for a few hours and internet services were restricted in sensitive areas to check 'rumour-mongering', but normal life remained largely unaffected
IOC has been forced to shut down its Digboi refinery in Assam and is operating Guwahati unit at minimal throughput, while OIL has been forced to shut LPG production and its crude oil production has dropped by 15-20%. Sources said the agitation has blocked the movement of tankers and trucks, which are mostly used to supply petrol, diesel and LPG from the refineries to different parts of the North East.
For two decades after his release in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999, Azhar has since been the darling of Pakistan's external snooping agency Inter-Services Intelligence.
A delegation of journalists also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought a thorough probe into the incident and strict action against those involved in the assault at the Patiala House Court Complex.
According to official details unveiled by Downing Street on Friday, Trump will arrive for the two-day "working visit" next Thursday afternoon straight from a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium.
Scotland Yard also conceded that they may "never understand" the 52-year-old attacker's motive.
A day after his ministry rebuked Twitter for not complying with its orders to take down inflammatory content, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said social media platforms cannot give differential treatment while handling problems on Capitol Hill and the Red Fort.
The man charged with the brutal street killing of UK's first-time woman lawmaker Jo Cox on Saturday gave his name as "death to traitors, freedom for Britain" when he appeared in a court in London, as the European Union referendum campaigning was suspended nationally until Sunday in tribute to her.
'Once such conduct becomes legitimate through political and popular sanction, then the ordinary citizen will have no defences left,' warns Shyam Saran.
Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, said in a sarcastic way that personnel of security forces such as the CRPF, BSF, CISF and the Army are present at convoys of every BJP leader visiting West Bengal.
The anti-CAA protest was an ugly rant more consistent with the violent chaos of anarchy, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The officials said they had no information other than that Azhar was undergoing treatment at an army hospital after suffering renal failure.
The government and the farmers must come back to the negotiating table with only the interest of the country in mind, suggests Vivek Gumaste.
The Conservative Party will form a minority government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
Seeking to strengthen Indo-UK economic ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Britain on his first visit to the country during which he will have a hectic schedule that will start with talks with his British counterpart David Cameron.
Why you are so egoistic? You have branded everyone in the country a black marketeer and have yourself turned into a saint ," Banerjee said.
'If the envoys are satisfied, it will either mean they are naive or that they are not serious about their trip, which they probably regard as some kind of a picnic, a much-needed break from their dreary routine in Delhi,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
The Delhi high court had on February 27 adjourned till April 13 hearing the PIL filed by activists Harsh Mander and Farah Naqvi for FIRs against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra and Parvesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches in connection with protests over the amended Citizenship law.
Modi is seen as exceptional not only on account of his acts but also owing to his style. He appears to sacrifice his life for the people -- like a fakir, a figure he came to epitomize even more in 2020 by growing a long white beard. Charisma is above accountability, and Modi has grasped these dynamics.
