"The US is committed to promoting and defending civil society around the world. And we will continue to remind leaders of their responsibilities to their citizens under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Clinton said in a statement issued on the occasion of Human Rights Day on Friday.
'The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India'
The farm bills passed by Parliament mark the watershed in the liberation of India's farming community from the shackles of exploitative practices that slow-pedaled their progress, the former civil servants said.
In the whole sordid series of happenings after Anna Hazare broke his fast, the only side to emerge with credit is the government. In fact, it is outshining the civil society, says B S Raghavan.
Terming the joining of hands of civil society and government on the Lokpal Bill issue as a step that augurs well for democracy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the government intended to introduce the "historic legislation" in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
In the wake of the killing of 24 EFR jawans by the Maoists in West Bengal, the Congress has asked the civil society to ostracise individuals and organisations providing legitimacy to and "romanticising" such violence and described them as Fifth Columnists.
Pakistani civil society groups and political and religious parties on Thursday protested the perceived snub of the country's cricketers in the auction for the lucrative Indian Premier League tournament in India, even as an association of cable television operators said they would boycott its broadcast.
Amid a war of words between the government and the civil society members over Lokpal Bill, both sides will meet in New Delhi on Wednesday to draft the bill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday asked civil society activists not to reply to every charge levelled against them by the Congress saying it was a "trap", even as it asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify whether he wanted the top post to be included under the ambit of the Lokpal.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has 17 crorepati candidates followed by Tipra Motha with nine and the Communist Party of India-Marxist seven, the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a civil society organisation, said.
Take a look at the highlights of the draft Lokpal Bill and let us know if you can spot any loopholes in the draft and suggest corrective measures
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
Two men were arrested on Thursday for the attack on two Army officers and alleged rape of one of their women friends during a picnic in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh's Indore district, police said.
'...without looking into yourself.' 'What matters most is human relationships and the human mind.'
Police said 52 people have been arrested following Wednesday night's incidents and prohibitory orders preventing the assembly of more than four people have been imposed in Nagamangala town in Mandya district till September 14 as a precautionary measure.
US nominee for World Bank president, Ajay Banga, has tested positive for COVID-19 following which the meetings scheduled during his two-day visit to India have been cancelled. According to a Finance Ministry statement, Banga's meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman would not happen as he is in quarantine. "During routine testing, Ajay Banga tested positive for COVID-19 but remains asymptomatic.
In a jolt to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Union government.
The petition, likely to come up for hearing within next few days, sought to investigate if the illegal hacking into the phones using the Pegasus spyware represented an attempt by agencies and organisations to muzzle and chill the exercise of free speech and expression of dissent in India.
"India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. It is not just individual or local, it is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism," he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but rued that the plan did not materialise.
A day after the resignation of bishop Franco Mulakkal as Jalandhar bishop, 'Save Our Sisters' campaigners on Friday said the survivor nun who had levelled rape charges against him would continue her fight for justice through the legal system.
The biggest challenge will be to convert his regime into a coalition of minds. But given the fact that he is instinctively an authoritarian leader and supporter of the hard Hindutva line, the survival of his government will depend on his ability to balance between his heart and mind, between instinct and pragmatism, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Amid claims by locals that one of the shells fell in Mizoram, the Assam Rifles had on Thursday asserted that no explosion occurred in the state.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday (local time) took a veiled dig at Pakistan and said that it is very difficult to engage with a neighbour, who practises cross-border terrorism against India.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla flagging alerts received by several opposition leaders about 'state-sponsored' attacks on their iPhones, and urged him to provide them protection to continue doing their duties.
The house of Manipur PWD Minister Konthoujam Govindas in Bishnupur district was vandalised on Wednesday by a group of people claiming that the government in the strife-torn state is not doing enough to protect locals from militants belonging to another community, officials said.
The Chinese reaction came after Zeya met with the Dalai Lama during her India visit, according to Central Tibetan administration, a non-profit political organisation, which works for the Tibetan government in exile.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot to contain the situation.
At least 25 miscreants with arms, ammunition and grenades have been rounded up by Indian Army and paramilitary forces across ethnic-strife riven Manipur, officials said on Monday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday suggested that corporate India should join the public sector and civil society in facilitating social change, while outlining primary education, health and nutrition as areas where the three could collaborate
The Supreme Court on Monday described the violence perpetrated against women in strife-torn Manipur as of "unprecedented magnitude" and refused to consider a plea on similar alleged incidents in opposition-ruled states, such as West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
The 'Civil Society Report on Climate Change' prepared by the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change -- a conglomerate of 40 scientific think-tanks from as many countries, including the US, the UK and Italy -- that was released today clearly says that 'cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the coming two decades is not a cost-effective way to address climate change". The report was released by deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
They have also raised a host of questions regarding the incident questioning the management's action and reaction in a letter signed by all of them.
'Fifteen days ago, we were only talking of Ayodhya. Now we are talking about farmers.'
The Congress leader said he believes that democracy is derailed and "we are becoming too authoritarian". "It's all about one-man show," he said.
The signatories to a letter sent to NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani include Kanti Prasad Bajpai, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor who currently serves as the vice dean at the National University, Singapore, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a former vice-chancellor of the Ashoka University, Rajeev Bhargava, a former director of CSDS, Niraja Gopal Jayal, a former JNU professor, Nivedita Menon, a JNU professor, Vipul Mudgal, the head of civil society watchdog Common Cause, K C Suri, a former professor at the University of Hyderabad who is now associated with the Gitam University, and Peter Ronald deSouza, a former director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies.
The details of the incident remain unknown as of now, however, initial reports suggest that the accident involved the president's helicopter and foggy weather.
Under the relevant law, the activist may get a jail term of two years or fine or both as the punishment.
US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya met the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala on Thursday and discussed the rich traditions of freedom and democracy in the United States and India.
