With the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha renewing the demand for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling following United Progressive Alliance unanimously endorsing creation of a separate Telangana state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday ruled out division of West Bengal and blamed the Congress for the agitation in the hills.
Rescue operations were underway in three subdivisions of Darjeeling district where multiple landslides have claimed 38 lives besides washing away highways and damaging homes.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera made an 11-day road voyage across some of South Asia's most deserted, challenging, terrain, always under the gaze of the sacred, dazzling Himalaya.
Moving ahead in the multi-crore Saradha chit funds scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday attached assets, including a school, a cement factory and few resorts, worth Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) in West Bengal in connection with its money laundering probe.
A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporter attempted self-immolation in Darjeeling as the indefinite bandh by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland entered the sixth day on Thursday, even as the West Bengal government said it would follow court orders strictly to maintain normalcy.
When China protested strongly over the August decision on J&K -- not once but twice -- we ignored it. And to compound matters, we simply turned our back and walked over to the 'Quad' alliance with the US, upgrading it to ministerial level, and thereafter began following the American footfalls on Taiwan and COVID-19 to taunt and humiliate Beijing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Protesters also burnt effigies of Banerjee and vowed to continue their fight for Gorkhaland.
Several police officers who followed the Election Commission's orders during the recent West Bengal assembly polls get punishment transfers. Payal Mohanka reports.
Sitharaman had a brief conversation with Chinese soldiers during her maiden visit to the Nathu La border post in Sikkim.
The BJP chief had lunch at the house of a tribal family before interacting with party workers.
Government on Sunday announced Rs 6 lakh compensation for kin of those killed in the country due to the earthquake as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of rescue and relief operations at home and in Nepal and directed that they be speeded up through close coordination among agencies.
As electoral sails shift in the dynamic political winds of West Bengal, two factors may still change the electoral equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote. Mayank Mishra reports.
As counting is on in the five states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal -- here's a look at where the heavyweights stand.
The two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest the Centre's alleged anti-worker policies evoked mixed response all over country on Tuesday.
The prime minister addressed a gathering at Hussainiwala.
A goal each half gave India a 2-0 victory over Nepal, and made Sunil Chhetri the country's all-time leading goal-scorer, in Tuesday's friendly at the Kanchenjunga stadium in Siliguri.
Gurung is worth his weight in gold to the BJP which is trying hard to make inroads in West Bengal
Can Baichung Bhutia's Hamro Sikkim party pose a challenge to Pawan Chamling who has not lost an election in 24 years?
A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped by five-six youths in a truck, looted her belongings and then dropped her in a deserted place in the city, police said on Monday.
Appreciating efforts of West Bengal to attract investments, the finance minister said the Centre would extend all support to the Trinamool-government to promote industry and boost growth in the state.
BPO, which is growing at 12 per cent annually in the country, is expected to touch $50 billion by 2020 from the present $21 billion.
Each story is sadder than the next, but what is most heartbreaking is to see the indifference shown towards these children by the police.
A home guard was set on fire in Darjeeling town on Friday where incidents of arson were reported on the eve of the indefinite bandh called in the hills to demand a separate state of Gorkhaland on the lines of Telangana.
'While overall this is a face saving deal just before the BRICS meeting in Xiamen, any forward military movement at Doklam once again could bring the two Asian giants at loggerheads,' says China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Abhishek has been posting fond memories and interesting anecdotes on Instagram, recapping his #RoadTo20.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Bhutan the destination of his first foreign visit. Now two weeks later, the foreign minister of the Himalayan kingdom, Rinzin Dorje, is in Beijing discussing the China-Bhutan border issue. The move poses a serious challenge to New Delhi because any negotiation on China-Bhutan border dispute is bound to affect India's border negotiations with China. Bhutan and China share 470 kilometres of border, which is also close to India's 'chicken's neck' -- the narrow Siliguri corridor which links the northeast.
The Trinamool Congress won 211 seats.
'On November 8, two women activists were assaulted and left for dead because they were following the illegal mining trail. This is how bad the coal mafia is in Meghalaya.' 'Most politicians own coal mines, some policemen own coal mines and some in the administration own them.' 'So what you have is a nice cocktail and everybody is protecting each other.'
A blast in New Jaipaiguri in West Bengal has killed four persons and injured seven. The police and the Intelligence Bureau are suspecting the involvement of the dreaded Inter-Services Intelligence funded, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation. The powerful bomb was planted on a cycle.
Darjeeling is on the boil over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state. June and July are bad months to have a strike. Tea picking during its most valuable season has been affected. Those consequences will be felt all over the world and ultimately damage Darjeeling tea.
The All India Football Federation on Wednesday extended the contract of national team head coach Wim Koevermans by four months till October next year.
West Bengal was the second-most industrialised state in terms of value added and first in terms of number of factories and employment even in the mid-1960s. With a severe and long process of deindustrialisation, it lost its primacy.
I was destined to get a century
The Indian football team squandered a first-half lead to eventually go down to AFC Challenge Cup Champions Palestine 2-3 in an International friendly in Siliguri on Monday.
Taking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee head on, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi accused her of playing vote bank politics and said no real 'parivartan' (change) has taken place in the state during the Trinamool Congress' rule.
Green revolution and technology use should not be region-specific.
In a journey of Marco Polo-esque proportions, Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam drove through 24 countries and two continents over 72 days. Meenakshi and Mookambika tell Rediff.com's Archana Masih about their incredible, unforgettable, journey and the desperation for Gandhi in a dark corner of the world.
She, however, preferred not to use the word 'Rohingya' and said 'we have urged that the situation be handled with restraint, keeping in mind the welfare of the population'.
'From chaiwala he has now become Rafalewala. He speaks a bunch of lies,' the West Bengal CM said.
Ten days later, with the Indian Army in full control of the area where the incident took place, New Delhi has signalled a face-saver for Beijing.
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