'Till today, the RSS only speaks of Hindu Rashtra but never explains what it means. It cannot, because it would be unacceptable to even a majority of Hindus, forget the Indian Muslims and Christians,' says Aakar Patel.
"We don't know anything about Hillary in terms of religion," Trump told a group of evangelical leaders, adding, "she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no -- there's nothing out there."
Sounding the Congress' poll bugle in the state, Gandhi attacked the Modi government repeatedly alleging that it was working with an approach of 'Hum do, Hamare do' -- a term he recently used while speaking in Lok Sabha to claim that the country is being run by only four people.
Hit by a series of corruption scandals, Germany's youngest president Christian Wulff resigned on Friday, dealing a major blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel in a crisis being described as unprecedented in post-war Germany. Wulff, 52, announced his resignation, admitting he had lost the trust of the public, after the state prosecutor announced plans to open a criminal investigation against him and asked the parliament to lift his immunity.
Much depends on the BJP's electoral performance in next year's assembly elections. If the party fares well in UP and some states like Goa and Gujarat, it will be able to fob off the attempt at a reappraisal of its Hindutva doctrine, observes Amulya Ganguli.
The security forces continue their hunt for members of the local terror group National Thowheeth Jamath which was behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people were killed and over 500 injured.
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday questioned the state government's logic behind celebrating the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, observing he wasn't a freedom fighter but a monarch who fought to safeguard his interests.
By aligning with the BJP, even if they were arm-twisted into doing so, the AIADMK leadership has yielded their political space in the state to the aunt-nephew duo of Sasikala-Dinakaran, and the parliamentary election to the DMK-Congress combine, says A Ganesh Nadar.
Foot-tapping music and soulful classical renditions reverberated at Vijay Chowk on Wednesday as the Republic Day celebrations culminated with the Beating Retreat ceremony in New Delhi.
A summary of Thursday's finals in Track and Field at the Tokyo Olympics.
'Bhagwat, aware of the advantages of keeping the BJP in power, is wary about the RSS taking steps that would undermine the popular standing of either the PM or the party.'
Centuries old religious conflicts may be nearing an inevitable end with the addition of nuclear warheads to their arsenal, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Professor Dr Abrar Ahmed, however, said his tweet had been 'misunderstood' and he had posted it as a 'satire' on how minorities are being 'targeted' by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
The funding comes after a 2016 report found an increase in violent incidents by cow vigilantes mostly against Muslims in India and authorities often 'failed' to prosecute them.
'The problem of a Hindu rashtra is that it has no text which can be adapted to the modern world.' 'The most prominent element of the Hindu way of organising society and the State is through caste.' 'This is not acceptable to most Hindus.' 'Because a Hindu rashtra also erodes the power and the rights of the majority of Hindus, we can be assured that this is not something that the BJP, or any other force can do,' argues Aakar Patel.
'Only when you are close to the party, will you understand what the BJP stands for.'
'Kerala voters vote from their mind rather than their heart.'
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other Pakistani terror groups having links with the Al Qaeda may pose a danger to the United States with their ability to trigger a major crisis for nuclear-armed Pakistan, including a war with India, which may require US intervention.
The MNF came to power in the state winning 26 of the 40 seats in the state assembly uprooting the Congress from its last bastion in the Northeast.
'The world is silent because your rhetoric is dishonest and rings hollow,' says former RAW officer Tilak Devasher.
The Old City of Nazareth in Israel is an ancient hub that is being rightfully revived, says Jael Silliman.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the next step in his side's development would be securing a trophy as they look to cap off a promising season by winning the Europa League. United, who finished third in the Premier League, hold a 5-0 lead over Austrian side LASK Linz heading into the second leg of their last-16 tie which will be played without fans at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The Tamil Nadu Bishops Council's decision to support the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Congress alliance in the upcoming elections will vitiate the political atmosphere in the state, reports R Ramasubramanian.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
Under the deal, Israel would suspend its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank.
Modi, who was wearing a 'Mujib Jacket' as tribute to Bangladesh's Father of the Nation, said that Bangabandhu's leadership and bravery had ensured that no power could enslave Bangladesh.
On December 4, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there. The government intends to introduce bill in Parliament's Winter Session next week. What is this legislation and why is it contentious?
The main culprit in vitiating the inter community/caste/class relations has been the so called 'targeted' approach. This is nothing but discrimination on the basis of faith/caste/class. When an equally poor and deprived child is denied scholarship, despite equal merit, resentment begins to brew, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
'The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult,' Sirisena's office said in a statement.
A round-up off all transpired on and off the football pitch
Armed with a Kerala high court directive, the Orthodox faction entered the church known as 'Piravom Valiyapalli', a major Christian spiritual centre in the state, two days after Ernakulam district administration took over its control fromrival Jacobite group.
Despite the Oscars, the box office glory, and the universal acclaim, Francis Ford Coppola, I am sure, remembers The Godfather with as much frustration as pride. Like Michael Corleone, he got into it with the best of intentions, and got out of it on top but lost in the heights. Sreehari Nair revisits the film as it turns 50 this month.
Recitations from ancient Hindu scriptures reverberated in a Christian church in Nevada on the occasion of Thanksgiving eve service. Rajan Zed, a prominent Hindu chaplain, read from the Rig Veda, the Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno, Nevada, during the twenty-second Annual Thanksgiving Service of Northwestern Nevada held on Wednesday evening. Various faith traditions in northwestern Nevada came together to share the spirit of love.
Archbishop Anil Couto's instructions, though politically charged, are not unusual or unprecedented.
With most political parties failing to articulate the concerns of Muslims, who account for 15 per cent of the population and can swing the electoral outcome in 21 constituencies, the AIMIM hopes to make a mark in the ongoing assembly elections, says Shafeeq Rahman.
Bibi, a 47-year-old mother of four, was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours.
The Ayodhya verdict heralds not the beginning of theocracy or Hindu rashtra (that never existed in 5,000 years), but marks the end of a divisive phase of our history.
Voters are disillusioned with the two rival fronts in the state and there are no effective alternatives either. G Sreedathan explains
"Contradicting the emerging narrative, Indian-Americans remain committed to the Democratic Party. Nearly three-quarters of registered Indian-American voters intend to support Joe Biden this Fall, compared to just 22 per cent for Donald Trump," it said.
They alleged that they fled from their country because of religious persecution from the Hindu majority.
