Kerala government on Saturday announced a probe after 15 Keralite youths, who had travelled to Middle East, reportedly went missing and were suspected to have joined the Islamic State, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying it was a "very serious issue".
'These young men have become religious fundamentalists and gone to lead the life of Salafis somewhere.'
'I am also concerned over Chinese ambitions in the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean,' former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed tells Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma in an exclusive interview.
'I thank Sachinpaaji for taking me to Coach Gary Kirsten and telling him that 'Sreesanth should play' (in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka) and thanks to Dhonibhai for giving me that opportunity.'
'With his passing comes the end of Indian cricket history.'
'Who are these people on the streets?' 'They are youth and students who were hoodwinked, bluffed by Modi for the last seven years, with a promise of 2 crore jobs every year.' 'And Mamata sings the same tune.' 'But the youth can see that as long as there is Mamata or Modi, there is no hope.'
Recruiting women works for the terror groups, as in most cases it is found that a woman draws less suspicion from security agencies. But the bigger advantage is that women terrorists have been found to get the job done nine out of 10 times, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Chris Gaffaney and Sundaram Ravi were promoted from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, where they replaced Billy Bowden and the retiring Steve Davis.
At 47 protests a day, the state has become the most restive in the country and investors are becoming increasingly wary
Major Suman Gawani, who served as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan, is the first Indian to receive the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. 'On seeing the Indian flag on my uniform,' she says,' the locals would get very excited and say, 'Hindi, Hindi'.'
Your vote now is going to decide whether India fixes itself and becomes a vibrant democracy, or a failed State like the ones in our neighbourhood, says Dasarathi G V.
It is rare for communal riots to spread to rural areas. The UP riot is the first time after the September 1969 Gujarat riots that a rural area have been affected. Electoral politics which divide society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale in the first of a two part series.
Disputes over a temple has torn a Tamil Nadu village apart.
'The government says it will file a review petition against the Supreme Court, but there is no conviction here.' 'It is doing this purely because it is worried.' 'It comes from the same sentiment as asking BJP MPs to spend two nights in a Dalit village,' says Aakar Patel.
'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
Nearly 14.3 million people, including children, are 'trapped' in modern-day slavery in India, which tops a global index of people under bondage across the world with an estimated 35.8 million people enslaved, a new research said on Monday.
India would have responded differently to "Pakistan-sponsored" Mumbai terror attacks had there been a different "mix of people" at the helm, according to former foreign secretary and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon.
'The separatist resurgence in Balochistan is thwarting Pakistan's plans to build CPEC projects to optimally utilise Balochistan's energy reserves,' points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Execs of RIL, Essar, Cairn India, Jubilant Energy, ADAG detained.
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In a first, a special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai sentenced six accused in a 2009 fake currency case to life imprisonment, terming the possession and circulation of Indian counterfeit notes as an "act of terrorism".
For the first time the Ford Foundation is placed under a watch.
Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party functions from Colombo, appealed for India's help.
Engineering student Hemanth Joseph, who bypassed Apple's activation lock, is now the poster boy for a young community of ethical hackers.
Kidney scouts roam around the labour markets in the poorest districts of Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi in search of potential donors.
'Loss of faith in the fairness of the system and the perception that one cannot expect justice are the first few steps to the slippery slope of anarchy,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
'As of now, it may be best for India to insist that Yameen honours the supreme court rulings and ensures that the next election is free and fair,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'It is absolutely important for us to continue to message to people that they must wear masks, keep physical distancing, as much as is practically possible, at work or at home.'
Arvind Singh, a member of Mahabodhi temple management committee, said the two injured included a national of Myanmar and another of Tibet. They have been admitted to the Magadh MedicalCollege and Hospital, he said
'The Modi government thinks that once the CAA protests are over, they will bring in the NPR that will help to get the NRC.'
'It is time to not merely assert that Kashmir is an internal problem, but begin to act on it,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The governments at the Centre and in the state were unprepared to handle the massive response to the large numbers of people, as they were not aware of the groundswell of public admonition that was against the Establishment, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
George Joseph
In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
Nitish Kumar has to eschew disastrous experiments with prohibition and reservations in the private sector. Unless he is dissuaded from pursuing these flawed measures, he will pave the way for Bihar to again become a part of the BIMARU group of sick states, says Amulya Ganguli.
Hygiene and cleanliness of trains and stations a must
Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu, which has been rocked by student protests over the last few days, closed down two days ago. A Ganesh Nadar visits the campus to find out what went wrong.
What does Pakistan mean for a young Indian? Devanik Saha attempts an answer.
The jallikattu issue has revived pan-Tamil political sentiments especially among youths, says N Sathiya Moorthy.