In its mouthpiece, Saamna, the party says, "If Pakistan considers us as its enemy, it is a matter of great pride. It is like getting a Mahavir Chakra."
Modi has shown huge tolerance by shaking hands with Sharif. Even if the other (party) raises hand, we should fold ours. This is our tolerance and Modi has displayed it," an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.
Pakistan made a tactical error in not investing enough in L K Advani, former R&AW chief A S Dulat tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent persons, including former ministers K Natwar Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Wednesday urged the government to continue engaging with the Taliban and not allow any political party to use the developments in that country to communally polarise Indian society for electoral gains.
PM Modi's statement on Wednesday led ally Shiv Sena to rake up his past when he was chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The author was flooded with a barrage of hate messages following his tweet in support of writers who returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.
Writers including those who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards on Sunday wrote to the National Academy of Letters urging it to respond in a "strong, humane and robust" manner to situations.
President Pranab Mukherjee has yet again come out with an appeal for practicing tolerance and to accept differences while respecting dissent, in remarks that come in the midst of growing intolerance in the country.
The President asked, "Is tolerance and acceptance of dissent on the wane?"
The Bharatiya Janata Party prefers to simply overlook the Shiv Sena's swipe and this has sent the latter into a sulk.
'The Pakistani defence minister talks of throwing a nuclear bomb on India. And if someone throws ink on your face, you call it violence?'
The historians expressed concern over the silence of the prime minister on the issue. "And when it is hoped that the head of government will make a statement about improving the prevailing conditions, he chooses to speak only about general poverty; and it takes the Head of the State to make the required reassuring statement, not once but twice."
Sudheendra Kulkarni pays tribute to friend, poet and Dalit activist Namdeo Dhasal who passed into the ages on Wednesday.
Condemning the incidents of intolerance, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that it is against the traditions of our culture. He said publicising the acts of vandalism is also a matter of great concern.
'We must begin dialogue with openness and goodwill, but we will not proceed very far without trust and good faith. The alternative is the violence of 'might is right,' which settles very little and destroys so much of real value,' says Dr Rudolf C Heredia, author of Religious Disarmament -- Rethinking Conversion in India.
'Why has the phrase gone missing from Modi's vocabulary?' asks Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
After all the drama that preceded the book launch of former Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch, the discussion that ensued on the book the same evening turned out to be a fiasco. Here's why
Delegates of a bilateral peace delegation urge the prime ministers of Pakistan and India to resume dialogue for peace and full normalisation of relations.
The writers, artistes, thinkers and academics had gathered for a "resistance" meet (Pratirodh) against what they described as "attack on reason, democracy and composite culture".
Eminent Punjabi writer and Padma Shri winner Dalip Kaur Tiwana decided to return her award protesting "recurrent atrocities" on Muslims in the country, as another Kannada writer joined authors giving up their Sahitya Akademi Awards against "growing intolerance".
'What will be achieved by the prime minister's condemnation of each and every unfortunate incident? Will just the PM's condemnation bring about closure to these cases,' asks Sudhir Bisht.
The unfolding scenario has thrown up doubts in the minds of people whether the government will be able to complete its tenure.
Opposition parties ask the government to listen to the concern of the intellectuals returning awards.
'What the interview with Modi told me was that now he is open to granting interviews.' 'And in this connection let me offer our credentials for being considered in this election season,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday attacked the coalition partner on issues like Pakistan, beef, Ram temple and inflation but ruled out walking out of the Maharashtra government any time soon.
After five decades of existence, the Shiv Sena's support base seems to be shifting towards the rural electorate but there it has to contend with the network of Sharad Pawar and the BJP.
The civil services seem to have gone sour under the NDA government. Ministers exercise executive power in a partisan manner. Consequently, a regime of favouritism holds sway over the corridors of power, feels Ram Ugrah.
Sukh Ram and Raja were charged with corruption during their tenure as telecom ministers. Sukh Ram was convicted while Raja has been acquitted. One had cash found under his bed; in the case of the other the trial judge mockingly asks: Where is the money? And if there's no money, where is the corruption? So, pronounced innocent. Sukh Ram is a Brahmin. 'Maybe he strayed just that one time, people like that aren't usually corrupt.' And Raja is a Dalit. 'Can you expect any better?' What race is in some places, caste is in India, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Since Pranab Mukherjee is the Custodian of the Constitution, he should present practical ideas to solve the problems he has been so outspokenly highlighting,' feels Sudheendra Kulkarni.
'There has to be an 18-month transition.' 'But if the government had some prior knowledge that the high value notes were being used for an imminent terrorist activity in the country, then we have to accept the step.'
'The darkest days of Indian democracy were (during) the Emergency when basic democratic rights were suspended. For a time it seemed as though India would move along the East Asian model -- everybody works hard, nobody asks questions, certainly not of the government.' 'There are people who say we are headed that way, but I am not persuaded by the evidence,' says Mahesh Rangarajan who recently resigned as director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi.
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
We reproduce Aditya's letter to Rajdeep Sardesai in its entirety:
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