Major General Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri (retd), former Uttarakhand chief minister and respected BJP leader, has died at 91.
The Assam Assembly has passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, aiming to establish a common legal framework for marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships, irrespective of religion. This makes Assam the third state in India to pass such a bill, following Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
Uttarakhand is set to host the UTT 87th Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships for the first time, marking a significant milestone for sports in the region. The event will feature teams from across the country competing for top honours.
Recent BJP organisational moves and Rajya Sabha nominations have sparked speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon undertake a ministerial reshuffle.
Accusing the Centre of meting out "step-motherly" treatment to Uttarakhand in granting financial assistance, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday staged a walkout in the Uttarakhand Assembly.
The Election Commission of India is considering launching the final phase of its special intensive revision of voters' lists in the remaining states and Union territories after the assembly elections conclude.
A man impersonating an aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been arrested in Dehradun for allegedly swindling crores of rupees from ticket-seekers in multiple states.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Harsh Malhotra as the president of its Delhi unit, sparking speculation about an imminent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers. This move follows the BJP's 'one person, one post' principle and comes as the party prepares for upcoming elections and a review of ministerial performance.
Immediately after the elections, Chief Minister B C Khanduri and other leaders congratulated Kapoor saying he would maintain the dignity of the office.
Mr Pradhan is not an especially charismatic leader or a brilliant orator, but his understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Her election to the post was a foregone conclusion as the main opposition Congress chose to stay out of contest.
The Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand are engaged in a war of words over the alleged Champawat rape case, which police have now deemed a fabricated incident stemming from a long-standing dispute. Both parties accuse each other of political manipulation and attempting to tarnish the other's image.
The draft will be examined, studied and discussed before it is tabled in the assembly on February 6, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers after the party's performance in assembly elections, urging an end to political violence in West Bengal and a focus on the state's future.
The only thing that might make the BJP stop trying to isolate Muslims completely will be if substantial numbers of the community vote for the party that flaunts its animosity towards it, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the validity of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2025, potentially impacting religious freedom and state legislation.
The Gujarat government has introduced the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026, aiming to establish a common legal framework for marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships, regardless of religion. This follows a similar move by Uttarakhand and excludes Scheduled Tribes and groups with protected customary rights.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami criticised the Trinamool Congress' governance in West Bengal, citing issues such as increased infiltration, corruption, and atrocities against women during a rally in Hingalganj.
The Chhattisgarh government has introduced a bill aimed at preventing religious conversions through force, inducement, or misrepresentation, sparking opposition and debate in the state assembly.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
Uttarakhand Governor approves the Uttarakhand Minority Education Bill 2025, abolishing the Madrasa Board and establishing a uniform law for all minority educational institutions.
During this Ramzan, another religious practice was turned into an offence: Breaking the fast, or iftar.
The Maharashtra government has introduced the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, which aims to prohibit religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, or marriage, with stringent penalties for violations.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of presenting a misleading picture of West Bengal's development and employment situation during a rally in Kolkata, alleging that he is acting more as a BJP campaigner than as the Prime Minister.
'Nehru was an idealist, he was certainly a visionary in one way, but Mao Zedong was not. Mao Zedong was a very down-to-earth strategist. He wanted to take Tibet, to take the plateau, to take the rivers, to take the minerals.'
A postgraduate student from Assam was allegedly assaulted by five peers at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) hostel in Madhya Pradesh. The five accused were expelled and booked. The incident follows the death of a student from Tripura in Dehradun, causing national outrage.
Nitin Nabin, a five-time Bihar MLA, has been elected unopposed as the BJP national president, becoming the youngest person to hold the position. His appointment signals a generational shift in the party's leadership as it prepares for key state elections.
Reigning 48kg world champion Meenakshi Hooda, scheduled to fight in the opening bout in the women's section, was seen curled up on a yoga mat inside the hall late afternoon, conserving energy while waiting for word on when she would fight.
Scenes from Haldwani and Kotdwar where torrential rain caused flooding and landslides, August 9, 2023.
The expert panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai will hand over the draft of the UCC to the state government on February 2, he said.
Uttarakhand will become the first state in independent India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27. The UCC will bring about uniformity in the society and ensure equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens. The law was passed by the state assembly in February 2024 and received presidential assent a month later. The UCC will govern and regulate laws relating to marriage and divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters. It sets equal marriageable age for men and women, grounds of divorce and procedures across all religions, and bans polygamy and 'halala'.
The 38th edition of the National Games will be held in Uttarakhand from January 28 to February 14 next year, the Indian Olympic Association announced on Wednesday.
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Uttarakhand assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which may serve as a template for other Bharatiya Janata Party-run states to enact similar legislation.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
Although the BJP won the recent elections, Dhami himself could not save his own Khatima seat
Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), fulfilling a key promise made by the ruling BJP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled the UCC notification and launched a portal for mandatory online registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships. The UCC aims to create equal laws for all citizens regardless of their religion, marking a historic moment in the state's legal landscape.
Bhandari, a three-term Congress legislator who was also a minister in the state in the past, joined the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and the party's national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam.
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
