As thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, braved water cannons and teargas to camp at the national capital's borders to demand a rollback of the laws and their representatives held talks with the government, the songs flowed, speaking of pride of the land, strength in unity and the rights of the people fighting a mighty establishment.
'Everyone is entitled to their opinion because we live in a country like India and not a place where Shalini is taken, where forget having an opinion, women can't even talk to their family on the phone.'
'I told them I am a Muslim, you are Sikh, you are Hindu, but we have one country to save.'
I watched from my balcony and found that during the next eight hours up to 5.30 pm, not one prospective voter was seen to go to the Congress table, notes Rashme Sehgal. The rush was all around the BJP table.
The news of his passing is sad and sudden but the body of work he leaves behind will neither fade nor be forgotten.
Twitter has 'withheld' 50 tweets related to a communally sensitive video clip of an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on the microblogging platform, according to sources.
The Congress won 77 seats or 42% of seats in the 2017 polls. How then can Gujarat be called a BJP bastion, asks Sanjeev Nayyar.
'The IB and authorities knew I had given away all my property and had nothing in my name.' 'Even among police officers, they all respected me for this sacrifice which is rare these days.' 'They respected me from this point of view -- in this day and age few individuals live by ideals for the poor.'
'Families think 100 times before sending their children to mainland India.'
Asserting that "the BJP first set Hindus against Muslims", Badal said the party has "become the most powerful divisive force", out to "replay its evil game in Punjab".
'I want to play the heroine.' 'Why not?' 'I can dance, I can act and hopefully through Begum Jaan, people will notice me and say, 'Chalo isko yeh bhi karathay hai.'
Khadim Hussain Rizvi is now gone. But the mass appeal of fundamentalism among Pakistan's burgeoning, young, illiterate, unemployed and angry population isn't, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Shehbaz, the 70-year-old younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has served as chief minister of the country's most populous and politically crucial Punjab province thrice.
'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.'
A court in Uttarakhand granted Mumbai police four-day transit remand of Shweta Singh so that she could be brought to the city.
A nationwide agitation was held on the call of 'December 8 Kisan Mahaandolan' as protesting farmers vociferously reiterated their demand of repealing the new farm laws, which they have termed as "kala kanoon".
'In Pakistan there has been no problem about the installation of the statues of these men, unlike the Jinnah portrait or other controversies that seem to be present in India these days quite regularly,' says Aakar Patel.
Muslims have been given tickets in 36 of the 100 seats.
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
Naturally, the West Bengal chief minister is not leaving anything to chance, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
'He spent his lifetime writing about Africa, supporting the continent's desires to stand up against injustice. Watching him work, I learned to be tolerant, secular and liberal, values that now define who I have become.' Aseem Chhabra pays tribute to his father Hari Sharan Chhabra, one of India's foremost experts on Africa.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
'Politicians insist on focusing on the North even though the rest of India offers a better way of engaging with our Muslims namely, live and let live.'
'Afzal Guru was convicted of supporting the attack on India's Parliament. The Supreme Court said "the collective conscience of society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded" to Guru.' 'Till we can think up similar justifications for hanging non-Muslims, I do not think we can delink terrorism from religion in our minds,' argues Aakar Patel.
The activation of diplomatic channels is likely to yield better results than a simmering hostility, recommends Ajai Shukla.
'Gujaratis need not be ashamed of the lack of martial tradition.' 'They contribute to their country in other ways.' 'And, of course, they can also claim that while they may not have produced many martyrs, they produced the greatest one: Gandhi.'
With the maulana fully committed and PML (N) cadres prepared to court arrest, this would be the first time where both Punjabis and Pakhtuns would be standing up against the Pakistan army, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'The fact that a rural Kashmiri boy was brainwashed into killing himself and others means there is an active programme that exists which does such recruiting and there will potentially be other such individuals out there,' warns Aakar Patel.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been fielded again from Karnal.
The magnitude of atrocities inflicted by the Pakistani establishment on the Baloch people is unimaginable, says Dr Abhay Jere.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
The invitation from the chief minister for lunch at Punjab Bhavan made it an occasion to cherish and feel at home, said many students.
Dil Dhadakne Do joins the debate over the role of women in India.
It looks like Hindi, which faces political opposition at the front door, is entering Tamil Nadu through the kitchen, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Theatre director Saif Hyder Hassan talks about his new play Ek Mulaqat.
