The annual 'People's Choice' for Royal Air Force image of the year has opened for public voting.
President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:
A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar, gave the unanimous verdict on several identical petitions pertaining to the duration of disqualification of a politician under Article 62(1)(f) of the Pakistan Constitution, reported Samaa TV.
'One of R&AW's greatest achievements is in projecting itself as benign.' 'This work -- done in tandem with the Diaspora and the MEA -- sells a story of India as mostly the victim.'
The BJP's message is that the past must be reinvented as creatively as imagination allows, states Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Kanika Datta visits the Cu Chi military tunnels -- a testimony to a plucky little country's 30-year war of resistance against, first, French colonisers and, then, the US.
India cannot afford to be complacent about a possible Pakistan resort to military options across the LoC, warns Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi read out the Preamble to the Constitution of India as part of the 'Satyagraha of Unity' protest.
On a visit to relief camps of riot victims in Muzaffarnagar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday blamed both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party for the communal violence here even as he heaped praise on Rahul Gandhi, saying Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal were nothing in front of the Congress vice-president.
'Often reviled, mostly ignored, sometimes venerated, he has taken it all in his stride.' 'He has stood by the nation through thick and thin,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Trump said that the US will defeat its enemies with the full force of American might.
The Pakistan army killed at least 120 suspected terrorists in the North Waziristan tribal region during the Zarb-e-Azb operation.
He said he spoke whatever he felt from within and added 'neither I dream it, nor there is any liaisoning, nor any PR'.
Ghafoor warned that military response this time will be different in case of war.
This was not Sharad Pawar or Prithviraj Chavan speaking. It was Uddhav Thackeray, the undisputed chief of the Shiv Sena!
'I was alone in the room, injured and facing possible death.' 'The terrorists had taken a head shot and since there was complete silence from my end, they thought that I was either dead or grievously injured...' 'I was now changing the position of the gun, sometimes firing from the top of the sofa, sometimes from the left and sometimes from the right side.' 'This was to confuse the terrorists and to manipulate them into thinking that there are two or more commandos in the room.' A must read excerpt from Praveen Kumar Teotia's 26/11 Braveheart: My Encounter With Terrorists That Night.
Is there a likeness between the characters from Ved Vyas's timeless epic and those prancing about on the political proscenium? Saisuresh Sivaswamy finds out.
The All India Tennis Association says an unflattering perception is being created about it in the wake of Mahesh Bhupathi's removal as captain when it actually selected Rohit Rajpal because the ITF, till the last moment, had not given the impression that it would move the Davis Cup tie out of Islamabad.
"From now on, we will follow a very simple rule: Every day I am president, we are going to make America first, not somebody else, not some other country. We are going to make America first," Trump said.
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Modi isn't going to voters on his track record but on the fear of the terrorist across the border and the Muslims within. It's a battle on his terms, says Shekhar Gupta.
'... That they should emerge as role-models to be emulated by the fellow countrymen; and that the middle classes should not stick only to hate-filled and scornful criticism and condemnation against the state of affairs,' remembers Mohammad Sajjad.
Though the lockdown has been lifted, local officials continue to ask people to stay indoors.
'From now on, every time Modi takes a foreign dignitary in his arms, the Indians will remember how he was taken aback when an Indian indulged in hugplomacy,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The controversial Pakistan Protection Bill, which gives sweeping powers to security agencies, was on Monday passed in the National Assembly amid protest and walk out by opposition parties.
Pak President Mamnoon Hussain said Pakistan wants friendship with India but maintained that the Kashmir issue should be resolved.
'How the lockdown is phased out or lifted will tell us if the government has succeeded in its battle against COVID-19.' 'If it cannot sequence its decisions on exiting the lockdown, the few gains secured so far may be frittered away,' says A K Bhattacharya.
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
The party also expects opposition parties to help its agenda by raising the issue of making the video footage of surgical strikes public.
'The vocal pacifists who monopolise the media in India need to answer a simple question: Would they have the Taliban or ISIS take over Kashmir or the rest of the country or let the army do its duty so that we are safe in our beds and free to demonise the soldiers in our cozy drawing rooms and television studios,' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
While, the BJP accused the ruling TMC of orchestrating his killing, the charge was rubbished by the party.
Ten acid attack survivors came together to raise awareness and funds against a social crime in Mumbai.
Raju Bist from Thane tells us how he spent the last two months of lockdown.
Personal differences between the two alliance partners, Congress insiders say, are owing to Kumaraswamy's style of functioning. He, unlike his father, is suspected to have a soft corner for the BJP, reports Bibhu Ranjan Mishra.
'Time and again, through their actions, often more covert than overt, the BJP has shown that it is a power-hungry party and its hunger isn't getting satiated sitting in the Opposition.'
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
The manner in which a large proportion of common people have mortgaged their rationality and questioning spirit to let hatred, prejudice, and bigotry take over their minds is a cause of worry, observes Mohammad Sajjad.
The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. This plurality of our society has come through assimilation of ideas over centuries. Secularism and inclusion are a matter of faith for us. It is our composite culture which makes us into one nation.
'If the situation escalates, then mini-scale firing might happen.'
