Republican Party of India activists on Saturday staged protests outside the Yerawada Jail in Pune, Maharashtra, against the release of actor Sanjay Dutt on parole for a month to spend time with his 'ill' wife Manyata.
The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana has joined the saffron alliance in Maharashtra. Will the votes it brings to the table loosen the political hold of the entrenched Maratha-dominated sugar barons of the NCP-Congress in western Maharashtra?
'Anyone on Indian Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other forms of social media that matter (except elite forums like Instagram) understands instantly that it is dominated by upper-caste North Indian men.' 'Other voices are silenced and attacked,' says Mihir S Sharma.
If elected, Niraj Antani, 23, will be the second Indian American -- after Jay Goyal, who served 3 terms from 2006 from the 73rd District -- in the Ohio House. George Joseph reports
A host of United States lawmakers attended an event on Capitol Hill on Friday to hail India's election and the Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory, and to also invite Narendra Modi to Washington to discuss issues ranging from counter-terrorism to bilateral economic cooperation and investment.
When 17 million Indians seek their fortune abroad it only means people are losing faith in the government's ability to honour its promises, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Vineet Chander, Director of Hindu Life, Princeton University, offers his take on the US presential election -- what it means to him and what he believes it might to the community.
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
'This speech is going to be more of a punishment. I spoke too much this afternoon' A tireless Prime Minister Narendra Modi left over 700 notable luminaries in peals of laughter with his quick wit and sense of humour during a dinner and reception hosted by Indian Ambassador Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Taj-owned, The Pierre Hotel. In the presence of the who's who of desi Americans and US lawmakers, Modi once again thanked the Indian-Americans for their contributions and discussed his plans of developing India and the ties he hopes to nurture with America. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com presents a sneak-peak into the festive, grand dinner.
=The video also confirms what initial investigations by the media into the Bhima Koregaon violence had found -- that it was a fallout of a Dalit-Maratha dispute in Vudu Budruk village.
Though the Cabinet reshuffle on July 5 has a clear stamp of the Prime Minister's Office, the changes have also increased the coherence between the Bharatiya Janata Party, the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis faces the challenge of ensuring that Dalits and Muslims -- who are likely to be most affected by the beef ban -- do not drift away towards the opposition.
The demand was raised during a debate on the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017 in the Upper House, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2 superseding the amendments earlier carried out by the Rajya Sabha.
'In Bollywood, the power is disproportionately in the hands of a few men, whether they are actors or producers or directors.' 'The woman who makes an allegation against them can forget working in the industry again.'
'Even if the BJP wins Maharashtra because of a division of votes, I want to be counted as one of those who voted against Modi.'
With neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Shiv Sena willing to yield ground on the number of Assembly seats they want to contest, the alliance between them seems to be on the brink.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to a media report published on Saturday, only one of the outfits to which eight of the arrested activists belonged was declared as unlawful.
'It is difficult to imagine the BJP becoming the legatee of Ambedkar. Whichever way one looks at it, Ambedkar's thought and Hindu nationalism are not easy to reconcile.'
Indian-American law student Niraj Antani makes history as he goes on to become the youngest sitting state representative. Rediff.com's George Joseph reports
Further hardening his stand on seat-sharing with Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said he has rejected the saffron ally's demand for contesting 135 seats in Maharashtra assembly polls and hinted at going it alone, saying "everything has an alternative".
United States Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty coming close on the heels of Democratic Party loosing majority in the Senate and the Obama administration's struggle in dealing with the Islamic State.
'Was he afraid that his answers during cross-examination would land him in trouble under the new ruling dispensation?'
The book has been written by Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of NGO Sulabh International.
Great improvements in education and healthcare are the need of the hour.
The national scheduled castes panel on Tuesday issued notices to Union human resource development secretary and IIT-Madras Director asking them to appear before it on June 8 amid a political row over de-recognition of a students' body comprising mostly dalits.
The Iraq war veteran has become the first-ever Hindu to be running for the presidency in the US.
'I would evaluate her on her past policies towards American Hindus and her future approach towards the community'
'How can Devyani sitting in New York and I in Mumbai arm-twist the maid's family?' Uttam Khobragade challenges Preet Bharara's version of events in this interview to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
Reflecting the strong bipartisan support to the India-US relationship, the lawmakers welcomed the decision of the House Speaker Paul Ryan to invite Modi to address the joint meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress will be an opportunity to energise efforts to improve bilateral ties, top American lawmakers from across the political divide have said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government has no other option but to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission wants to hold assembly elections in the state by the end of 2019.
'The diplomat's arrest has led to a major diplomatic spat, the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly three decades of covering the US-India relationship, says Aziz Haniffa. 'The knee-jerk reaction by the powers-that-be in Delhi was myopic to say the least.'
As India celebrates its 70th Independence day, Rediff.com pays homage to millions who laid their lives for the country's freedom.
Fadnavis, BJP's state unit chief and MLA from Nagpur Southwest constituency, was unanimously chosen at the legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.
The 77-year-old former US vice president on Friday night took his tally of pledged delegates over the halfway mark of 1,991 from a total of 3,979, thus becoming eligible to earn the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
'His secretary of defence nominee, General James Mattis, says he expects Pakistan to take action against terrorists operating from its soil.' 'Any pressure the US can bring on the Pakistani regime terror-wise would pay dividends for India.'
'Blocking Parliament brings attention to a party that has poor speakers like Rahul Gandhi. It is unlikely to shine in debates, assuming we were a nation that enjoyed listening to sparkling intellectual exchange, which we are not.'
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