President Droupadi Murmu has announced a series of gubernatorial appointments, including new governors for West Bengal, Bihar, and other states.
A high-level Indian delegation, including Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, paid tributes to the assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, conveying India's condolences.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
Millions of people, including international representatives, are expected to attend the funeral of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. His death occurred at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. US President Donald Trump announced a week-long pause in bombing for the funeral, while India was represented by Governor Syed Ata Hasnain and MoS External Affairs Pabitra Margherita. The event is anticipated to be one of the largest gatherings in Iran's history, with ceremonies delayed due to security concerns.
It is an unusual choice to depute a retired general for the funeral of a revered religious figure but a thoughtful one in an attempt to inject verve into the bilateral relationship and restore the equilibrium in India's West Asian policies, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'I remember that Indira Gandhi was virtually worshipped as a goddess. The kind of power wielded by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s was much more than what Modi does today, but in just three years down the line Indira Gandhi faced defeat.' 'So you cannot take people's sentiments for granted. That is a lesson that the BJP should learn.'
India is navigating a complex diplomatic landscape, attempting to balance its 'forever honeymoon' with the Israel-UAE-Bahrain axis against its historical ties with Iran, as evidenced by recent high-level visits and evolving geopolitical realignments in the Middle East, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Bihar's greatest resource is not beneath its soil but above it -- its people. With a population approaching 140 million and one of India's youngest demographic profiles, Bihar possesses an asset many societies would envy, explains Bihar Governor Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The Bihar cabinet has expanded significantly with 32 new ministers taking oath, including Nishant Kumar, son of JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar. The expansion includes representatives from all five NDA constituents in the state.
Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary have been appointed as deputy chief ministers in Bihar under the leadership of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also retains control of key portfolios.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has resigned, dissolving his cabinet and paving the way for a potential BJP-led government in the state. The BJP, the largest party in the assembly, is set to elect its legislature party leader.
Newly-elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislative party in Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, met Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday and staked a claim to form the government in the state.
Samrat Choudhary's appointment as Bihar's Chief Minister marks a significant milestone for the BJP, ushering in a new era of leadership in the state's political landscape.
There has never been a woman Chief Justice of India, although Justice B V Nagarathna is expected to become the first -- in 2027 if the convention of seniority is followed.
'Shivraj Chauhan is coming with a secret slip in which the next chief minister's name is mentioned, it will be known on Tuesday.'
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has been elected as the BJP legislature party leader, paving the way for him to become the next Chief Minister of Bihar.
The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary to make a dent into Nitish Kumar's traditional social support base of Kurmi and Koeri/Kushwaha communities.
'Samrat Chaudhury's limited independent standing within the party, his reliance on the central leadership for his elevation, and his lack of a personal mass base all point toward this outcome.'
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
'The elimination of terrorists does not imply the neutralisation of terrorism. That terrorist ecosystem continues to thrive in Kashmir.'
Political parties, cutting across affiliations and ideologies, Friday welcomed the Kashmir rail link inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping for a boost in trade and tourism in the valley.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said no progress has been made since Thursday in drilling through the debris at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to rescue 41 trapped workers but assured that the drilling by auger machine will start soon.
We need to have patience as it is a dangerous operation,NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said.
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Manual horizontal digging will start soon in addition to the ongoing top-down drilling to rescue the 41 trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, the NDMA said on Monday.
Germany on Tuesday conferred its Cross of the Order of Merit on three Indians in recognition of their contribution to Indo-German relations.
The 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel for the last 11 days are likely to be rescued in the next few hours or by tomorrow, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said on Thursday evening.
Apart from that, as part of efforts to provide assurance to 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel and relieve their stress, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has stepped in to provide them with a landline through which they can talk to their families.
The NDMA member further stated that the health conditions of the rescued workers will be monitored for the next 48 to 72 hours.
Gen Sharma served as the Army chief from 1988-1990 and was a colonel when he took part in the 1971 war.
He further said that the "focus is on horizontal drilling" as rock formation has created challenges for vertical drilling.
Rat-hole mining may be illegal but the talent and experience of rat-hole miners were used in the rescue operation to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, a National Disaster Management Authority member said on Tuesday.
A total of 86 metres have to be drilled vertically to prepare an escape passage. Pipes of 1.2 metres in diameter have to be laid vertically through the top of the tunnel on which work began on Sunday as a second option to reach the stranded labourers.
The auger machine was facing repeated obstructions in the rubble in the past few days.
Jaymal Singh Negi mentioned that his brother informed him about the trapped men engaging in yoga and exercises inside the tunnel.
"The new food supply pipeline has also made it easier to supply better food in larger quantities to them, which is a good thing. Otherwise the situation remains the same," said Negi, who spoke to his brother.
The vertical approach was one of the at least five options on which preparatory work had begun some days back, as anxiety mounted over the fate of the men trapped in the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route.
'This bitterness will be more in Jammu area than in Kashmir.'
Boring through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel was put on hold again on Thursday apparently after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests, in a fresh hurdle to the rescue of 41 workers trapped inside for 11 days.
'These are people whom very few give importance and they were doing a mammoth job for the nation.'
