Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.
The Women and Child Development Ministry has found a new route to tackle the problem of runaway children, most of whom take trains to end up in big cities, and has sought Railways' support in this regard.
Terming slavery and child trafficking the 'biggest scandal of our times', Indian Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi pn Wednesday launched a new campaign in London to end the menace posed by the trafficking 'mafia'.
Maharashtra police on Tuesday raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them for suspected Maoist links. Near simultaneous searches were carried out at the residences of prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Farreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad, and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in New Delhi. Subsequently, Rao, Bhardwaj and Farreira were arrested. Although Navalakha was also arrested, the Delhi high court ordered police not to take him out of the national capital at least until Wednesday. According to unconfirmed reports, others whose residences were raided are Susan Abraham, Kranthi Tekula, Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Anand Teltumbde in Goa. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year. Here are their brief profiles:
'We are not promising prosperity to these villagers. Instead, the focus is on self-sufficiency.'
'I get angry when people throw ink or slap him - but Arvind takes all this in his stride. People nowadays make fun of him and point out his mistakes but they haven't seen his sacrifice. If you understand his commitment towards this country, you will not dare say anything against him," says Dr Bipin Mittal, a longtime friend and family doctor of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
'If you think this is a kind of spiritual experience, you will fall into a trap of your own.' 'Why are the people dying, why is the prime minister not thinking about it?'
A threat issued by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti or Patel agitation could affect the game temporarily
Addressing AAP's first rally in the state, Kejriwal said BJP and Congress were like "husband and wife" and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Ahmed Patel work "in unison".
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, described child slavery as the "most heinous crime against humanity."
Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed as the farmers began their march from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament at 10.30 am.
Pansare, who was shot at and critically wounded by unidentified assailants outside his housing society after returning from a morning walk on February 16, succumbed to his injuries at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai late Friday night.
Hardik Patel, the 21-year-old politician who has been grabbing headlines as leader of the 40-day agitation by the Patel Community, addressed a massive rally in Ahmedabad on Tuesday where he demanded reservations under the Other Backward Caste quota for the community.
The police stopped Patkar and informed her that she could not proceed to Dhar, but as she refused to relent, she was placed under arrest.
Two days after two of his former associates accused him of using the Patidar quota agitation as a "tool to nurture his leadership ambition", Hardik Patel on Wednesday hit back saying his detractors were "playing into the hands of some in the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat who were trying to weaken the protest" by maligning his image.
'The BJP will take time to come to power in Andhra.'
He is neither a victim of the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 nor an eye-witness to it. Yet, Bhimrao Bansod testified for a full 14 days before the judicial commission of inquiry set up to inquire into the violence.
He will meet Uddhav Thackeray at his home and address Gujaratis all over the city.
Gurung is worth his weight in gold to the BJP which is trying hard to make inroads in West Bengal
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's task is to live down the hype and address the nitty-gritty, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
As many as 17 farmers have allegedly committed suicide in the agrarian crisis-hit Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the last five days, a non-government organisation working for their cause claimed on Monday.
Another book on Hinduism by American indologist Wendy Doniger has come under attack from the same Delhi-based group which had compelled the publishers of an earlier work by her to withdraw the title.
'It is a welcome development, but the ordinance has limited validity of six months, that is the problem.' 'Therefore, we are urging all political parties including the Congress to collaborate and bring a law.'
Freedom of speech does not mean you can write or say anything and everything. You cannot hurt the sentiments of the people on the pretext of freedom of speech, says Dinanath Batra, one of the main petitioners against Wendy Doniger's book, The Hindus: An Alternative History.
The election campaign finally ended on Friday, May 17. Arindam Majumder reveals what he discovered on the election front on a long rail journey.
Similar flags were also unfurled at about 24 other places across the Vidarbha region.
Prasanna Zore/ Rediff.com talk to members of the Patel community to find out why they are dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
Shreyas Talpade's film, co-starring the Deol brothers, never adds up to anything beyond a shrill or overdone caricature straight out of a dummy's guide in how to amuse, says Sukanya Verma.
Government rejects activists' request. Commission requests new witness to attend.
Sanjay Dutt's relationship with Madhuri Dixit, the break up and heartache that followed.
Mevani, after his meeting with the Gandhi scion, said he would ask his community members to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat polls.
'Why is the government in such a hurry?' 'The answer is the December assembly elections and the 2019 general election.'
RSS ideologue and former BJP general secretary K N Govindacharya talks about commemorating the deaths of naga sadhus and sants who were killed in police firing on November 7, 1966.
The court said, "The ban imposed on women from entering the Haji Ali dargah is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India."
Irom Sharmila's decision to end her 16-year-old fast against the AFSPA continues to be hotly debated and contested in Imphal.
American Indologist Wendy Doniger, the author of "The Hindus: An Alternative History", whose copies will now be withdrawn by the Penguin Books India following a court-backed settlement with a Delhi-based voluntary group, has come up with an official response.
The Congress, desperate to make a comeback in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years, has tried to reach out to various sections of society in its blueprint unveiled.
These things are cheaper than equivalent branded drugs, to patients, says Modi
The mohalla committee movement in Mumbai celebrated its 25th anniversary last weekend. The movement, which was born in the wake of the horrific Mumbai riots of 1992-1993, has played an important role in ensuring that Hindu-Muslim riots do not recur in the Maximum City.
Patel community leader Hardik Patel was arrested in Surat tonight for defying prohibitory orders clamped ahead of his 'Ekta March' for reservation under OBC quota but was freed on bail by a court soon afterwards.
