The Supreme Court judgment on the legality of same-sex marriage elicited mixed responses from LGBTQ activists, with one section hailing parts of the Constitution Bench's order, while others expressing dissatisfaction as it did not legalise same-gender weddings.
A BJP defeat in Gujarat will deliver the party a seismic political and organisational shock and mark a historic setback for the entire Sangh Parivar.
A 60-page report by the Human Rights Watch titled 'Between Two Sets of Guns: Attacks on Civil Society Activists in India's Maoist Conflict', documents human rights abuses against activists in India's Orissa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh states. Rediff.com brings you this report in a three-part series
Presenting some of the most scintillating pictures from around the globe in the last 24 hours
China on Thursday sharply criticised US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya's meeting with the Dalai Lama and her visit to Dharamshala, saying it violated Washington's commitment that Tibet is part of China and it does not support Tibetan separatists.
The extension comes three days after the Centre constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Registrar General and Census Commissioner Vivek Joshi with Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry Piyush Goyal as its Member-Secretary.
"Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist will stage a protest against Donald Trump's visit to the country. The agitation is likely to take place on February 24," said CPI General Secretary D Raja.
There are some flyovers, JNNURM logo-bearing buses and terribly designed housing for the poor. That's it.
Civil society activist Aruna Roy, who has quit the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council over the issue of minimum wages, on Thursday said that she would go back to activism now in a total sense.Roy claimed she has no differences with the National Advisory Council.
Yet another instance of the sharp divisions between Union ministers and Team Anna members came to surface when they discussed structure and powers of the proposed Lokpal during their meetings.
The 'Pesta Demokrasi' is a cause for celebration not only for Indonesia but also for democracy and forces for peace all over the globe, notes Sandeep Chakravorty, India's Ambassador to Indonesia.
Gateway House interviews Sarah Chayes, Foreign Press Club and Sigma Delta Chi award-winning former reporter at National Public Radio, on the anti-corruption and democracy movements around the world as a response to governments turning into mafia syndicates.
Confidence in the state of the world economy has improved to some extent but majority of experts from business, government and civil society are still pessimistic, says a survey by World Economic Forum.
Bhujbal, who has strongly opposed the demand to include the Marathas in the other backward classes category for quota benefits, said a new social system is taking shape in Maharashtra which is different from the order envisaged by prominent social reformers.
'Barring Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP will may make inroads in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana in 2024.'
The study was constituted in March 2011 when the nation was debating on the amount of black money stashed within as well as outside the country with figures being projected by politicians and civil society to lakh of crores.
The decision to repeal the Act was taken at a late-night cabinet meeting on Friday as it is an obsolete pre-Independence Act of the British for the then province of Assam, the CM said.
Joining the bandwagon of politicians and filmstars seeking pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case by the Supreme Court, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said he had 'already suffered a lot for the blunder'.
Finance Minister pegs 2011-12 growth at 8.6 per cent, expects inflation to fall to 6-7 per cent by end of the financial year.
"Dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur," Shah said.
Addressing a press conference, minister Neiba Kronu said members of the government's Core Committee on the Naga political issue will have a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), in Kohima on December 9 to decide on the approach in the aftermath of the civilian killings.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh has advised veteran social activist Anna Hazare, who turned 74 today, to refrain from going on frequent fasts due to his old age even as he sharpened his attack on Baba Ramdev.
Scores of churches and homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad district, some 130 km from the provincial capital, were burnt down on Wednesday by a mob enraged over reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
The information and broadcasting ministry has issued a stern advisory to all TV channels against telecasting programmes promoting superstitions, occult practices and blind belief, warning that punitive action will be taken in case of any violations. The advisory comes in the wake of the civil society and many media critics expressing concern over a flood of such programmes of late -- especially on Hindi and regional language channels -- to garner TRPs.
They are trying to better the country's education system.
The United States on Wednesday expressed concern over punitive action taken by the National Democratic Alliance government against scores of non government organisation, asserting that a vibrant civil society was important for democratic traditions and that those who act peacefully to seek change are not anti-government.
In the wake of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's remarks against the Opposition and civil society, Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari said on Monday her charges were baseless and sought to know if the Congress feels yoga guru Ramdev's demand for bringing back black money is anti-national.
A group of lawyers representing Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, sentenced to a 33-year jail term after he helped the Central Investigation Agency track Osama bin Laden, appealed against his conviction on Friday.
Former army chief V K Singh, who has assumed an activist's role after retirement, will join a Parliament gherao agitation by sugarcane farmers on Tuesday, its organisers said. The protest has been organised by the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan and is expected to be joined by farmers' leaders and civil society members.
The home ministry on Monday lodged a protest with the ministry of external affairs over the visit of eight envoys of the European Union to Nagaland without any intimation and security clearance and raised concern on the delegation meeting with political leaders and civil society.
India on Tuesday announced a $5 million contribution to a joint initiative with a US agency to identify and invest in innovation by civil society, and bring them to scale.
Various civil society groups on Wednesday gathered in support of the arrested IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, and alleged that the Narendra Modi government was trying to create atmosphere of fear by suppressing those who speak the truth.
Capart wants to help the industry fulfil corporate social responsibility
'Here I am, at a forum where perhaps I do not have many whose thought process is similar to mine but there are enough thinking people whose constructive criticism is something I greatly look forward to'
The records of the debate are expected to be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee examining the Lokpal Bill
Against the backdrop of charges against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty major DLF, the Janata Dal-United on Thursday said the key issue of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail should not be forgotten in the din over other issues and suspected that those involved in coal and 2G scams may be trying to divert attention.
Aruna Roy, prominent member of civil society, chairman of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, and an alternative voice in the ongoing debate on the Lokpal Bill, speaks to Rediff.com
The second part of lawyer and brain behind the Anna Hazare campaign, Prashant Bhushan's interview to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Civil society groups welcome the submission of a memorandum opposing Aadhaar and other anti-people policies to the prime minister along with a big truckload of signatures numbering 3.57 crore on March 14, says Gopal Krishna
