The main Opposition BNP of former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, who is under house arrest, is boycotting the elections amidst violence.
Elected along with India on the board of UNAID were the US, Russia, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Guatemala and Monaco.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi's BJP has promised more revdis or freebies for these assembly elections than ever before, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Planet Earth welcomed its 8th billion inhabitant on Tuesday, a remarkable milestone for humanity that is set to propel India to become the world's most populous country next year, surpassing China amid rising global challenges.
'They will continue to keep pricking at places where both of us are sensitive and keep the LAC alive.'
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
Seeking to address international concerns, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China has been adjusting the zero-COVID policy based on the changing circumstances.
The wide gap in national income held by the ultra-rich and the poor is striking.
Sharma was the president of the conference, the first since the Paris Agreement of COP21 that expected parties to make enhanced commitments towards mitigating climate change.
The population is important and so is the talent, he said about China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States.
As some BJP pollsters concede, the Modi leadership's sweeping success in elections 2019, especially across central India, owed not to Hindutva ideology, but to welfare schemes, all of them borrowed from Tamil Nadu, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
After his failed misadventure in Kargil, Musharraf deposed the then Prime Minister Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008 in various positions.
The report said South Asia is expected to be the fastest-growing region.
Xi Jinping is winning the war without firing a shot in Sri Lanka, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on the sidelines of the climate summit here and discussed ways to further sustainable development, steps to mitigate climate change and vaccine research. The meeting between Modi and the American business magnate, whose foundation is focusing on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, took place after the former launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations. Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
"If we have to recognise a government, the first thing is that we will need to wait until the government is formed," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
Modi is seen as exceptional not only on account of his acts but also owing to his style. He appears to sacrifice his life for the people -- like a fakir, a figure he came to epitomize even more in 2020 by growing a long white beard. Charisma is above accountability, and Modi has grasped these dynamics.
Over two dozen Muslims have been elected to the Lok Sabha. This shows that all is not lost for India's Muslims, suggests Mohammad Sajjad.
Taking a veiled swipe at the Congress party, he said one of the things he found when he came to Delhi was that those who got opportunity to rule the nation for "many, many years, loved to keep things in a pendulum mode".
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of the Republic Day 2022.
The UK's employment minister and British Prime Minister David Cameron's Indian Diaspora Champion has been a very vocal supporter of Brexit in the June 23 referendum, leading to a disparaging remark about her name by a trade union chief in favour of remaining within the economic bloc.
Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.
'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.
We take a look at Time magazines top world leaders.
'India's relationship with China has been and will continue to be complex, delicate and sensitive,' says Rup Narayan Das.
The long-term growth perspective or potential for India is one of the highest in the Asia Pacific region.
Soaked in patriotism, hundreds of Indians on Monday proudly marked the country's 70th Independence Day, as the tricolour fluttered and the national anthem reverberated at Indian missions across the world.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The new numbers did not apparently pass consistency checks with production, inputs, or movements in the National Stock Exchange.
New Delhi is approaching Gota with an open mind, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Those scheduled to attend the five-day WEF Annual meeting, beginning January 21, include more than 40 heads of state or government, including those from the UK, Australia, Japan, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Brazil, Italy, Mauritius, Republic of Korea and Switzerland, WEF announced on Wednesday at a press conference in Geneva.
'Indira Gandhi and P N Haksar did not want Pakistan to leave as an embittered foe hell-bent on taking revenge for being humiliated so comprehensively.'
Partial dismantling of subsidies, movement towards a more transparent policy on natural resources and moves to make India more inviting for foreign investors, are some of Modi government's big achievements.
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
The foundations of the army's own peculiar secularism are potentially being destabilised
'We have not seen even during Vajpayee's time what Modi and the BJP has adopted now.'
'If Indian armed forces entered Pakistan and succeeded in inflicting major damage on the Pakistani army and occupied territory in the Pakistani heartland, there is reason to think the Pakistani military would use some nuclear weapons against the incoming Indian forces to compel India to stop.'
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