The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Subramanyam's mother, who immigrated through Dulles Airport, watched her son being sworn-in on the Bhagavad Gita.
Expressing concern over the "spread of Christianity" in Punjab, Akal Takht jathedar Gyani Harpreet Singh on Monday asserted that "churches and mosques" are being built in numbers in rural parts of the state and urged Sikh preachers to visit villages to promote Sikhism.
While churches burn in the capital and lawmakers spew rubbish, Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not think it important to utter a word against these atrocities.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, is facing deportation after US authorities accused him of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and having "close connections to a suspected terrorist." The Department of Homeland Security claims Suri has been actively promoting antisemitism on social media and is connected to a senior Hamas advisor. Suri's lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, argues that his client is being targeted due to his wife's Palestinian heritage and their opposition to US foreign policy towards Israel. The incident follows the self-deportation of another Indian student from Columbia University who was also accused of supporting Hamas.
On Easter, April 9, 10,000 BJP workers are being assigned to visit the houses of 100,000 Christian families. Plans are afoot to visit the homes of Muslims on Eid.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of neglecting the welfare of backward sections, Dalits, tribals, and minorities. Gandhi promised a caste census in Delhi if the Congress forms the government, echoing his national call for removing the 50 percent cap on reservations. He also criticized Kejriwal's governance, drawing parallels with Modi's alleged reliance on propaganda and false promises. The Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc, but are contesting the upcoming Delhi assembly polls separately. Gandhi's speech highlights the growing political tension ahead of the polls, where the Congress aims to regain its foothold in Delhi.
A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between the security personnel and followers of a Hindu community leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a court in the port city of Chattogram in Bangladesh, police said.
Members of minority communities in Bangladesh -- mostly Hindus -- faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, according to two Hindu organisations in the violence-hit nation.
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday decided to promulgate an ordinance to give effect to the contentious law against religious conversions.
In his petition, Suri's lawyer said that he is being punished as his wife, who is a US citizen, is of Palestinian heritage and because the government suspects that he and his wife are against the US foreign policy towards Israel.
In the last 9 years, the BJP govt has marked some anniversaries and events with more zeal than Congress-led governments.
The latest biopic on Jyotibai Phule has come at a time when the Department of Taking Offence is super-active. Utkarsh Mishra feels it will be interesting to see if it portrays his attack on Brahminism in the same 'no holds barred' manner-- and, if it does, what reaction it provokes.
The petition also sought a direction to include a chapter on dharma and "religion" in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools "in order to educate the masses and control the religion-based hatred and hate speeches".
Asserting that the situation was deteriorating, Rosario urged Yunus to resolve the crisis by giving it top priority and putting an end to the violence.
Amid growing outrage here about the large-scale attack on minority Hindus and their places of worship in Bangladesh, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with the interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and both leaders expressed commitment to protect human rights in the troubled South Asian nation.
In his Diwali greetings on Thursday, Trump strongly "condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh", which he said remains in a "total state of chaos."
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on alleged 'sedition' charges, and sent him to prison, amid protests by community members in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram.
Queenie Hallegua, who passed away at 89 in August, was almost the last of the Sephardi Jews in Fort Kochi. Her son Dr David Hallegua reflects on his mother's death and of his life growing up in Kerala.
On August 13, Muhammad Yunus visited the Dhakeswari Temple and reached out to the distressed Hindu community members in the wake of attacks on the minority communities.
Leaders and members of the Hindu community rue the fact that they are not given proper representation and many are not even registered as voters.
Applicants for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA) can submit any of nine documents, including valid or expired passport, ID cards and land tenancy records, to prove he or she is a national of Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan.
The study found that the Muslim community contributes a share of 22.75 per cent to the religious minority schools and has the lowest percentages of non-minority population among their minority schools at 20.29 per cent.
Gopi defeated Communist Party of India leader VS Sunilkumar in an exciting fight.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of newly sworn-in Vice President JD Vance, has made history as the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady of the United States. Usha, a lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants, held the Bible during Vance's oath of office, signifying her role in supporting her husband's political journey. Her background and her husband's rise to the Vice Presidency highlight the growing political influence of Indian Americans and their increasing representation in national politics.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
'He should be made an example of so that others will follow the law.'
'They only bring pieces. Dialogue is the only way forward.' 'We should get people who have influence to bring the community leaders to sit across the table and talk.' 'Otherwise, our adversaries across the borders will add fuel to the fire. Let's not give them a chance.'
Hindu community leaders in Bangladesh are advocating the formation of a dedicated political party, reflecting a call for political representation to protect their rights and ensure their safety. Hindu leaders from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCOP) and other groups are now discussing the possibility of establishing a separate political party or demanding reserved parliamentary seats.
Wayanad will continue to support Rahul but not to the same extent as in 2019, when his margin of victory had been enormous. Articulate, to the point and speaking in fluent Malayalam, CPI's Annie Raja, had the people who gathered to see her, listening in rapt attention, notes Shyam G Menon.
Religion and economic barriers continue to define love in modern India, discovers Preshth Bhardwaj.
"This follows disgraceful attacks on the Indian cultural centre, temples and Hindu homes in several places, even as reports came in of Muslim civilians protecting other minority homes and places of worship," Tharoor said in a post on X.
The incident took place on Saturday, when the four people were allegedly propagating Christianity at a house in Kolar.
The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre located in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area was damaged by the unruly mob, according to eyewitnesses.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
Upadhyay, in his plea, challenged the validity of section 2(f) alleging that it gives unbridled power to the Centre terming it "manifestly arbitrary, irrational, and offending".
In a warning sign for the Democrats, Indian-Americans' attachment to the party is declining in the United States while the share of Republican identifiers held steady.
India has previously rejected the US state department's annual human rights report on the country, saying they continue to be based on "misinformation and flawed understanding".
Hasina said she left Bangladesh in August with an aim to stop the violence. However, the situation has deteriorated further, she said.
