In his address at the 28th foundation day of the NHRC in New Delhi, the former judge also underlined that 'external forces' levelling 'false' allegations of human rights violations against India has become very common, 'which should be opposed'.
A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Wednesday asked the Joe Biden Administration to designate four nations, including India, as "countries of particular concern", alleging that religious freedom conditions there in 2020 continued their negative trajectory.
'More than anything else, it is pragmatism that is working out in Jammu and Kashmir. It is not a question of convenience, but getting together and understanding that no other better option can work.' 'The very fact that it has taken two months of hard negotiations obviously means that they have taken a very mature approach. This shows the seriousness of intent and statesman-like qualities that they both have displayed.'
In what is seen as the first sign of China's exasperation over Russia's Ukraine war, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday raised 'questions and concerns' over the conflict in his meeting in Samarkand with Russian President Vladimir Putin who thanked Beijing for its 'balanced position' on the crisis.
The Congress party's traditional bastion among the tea workers in Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tezpur Lok Sabha constituencies holds the key to the party's fortunes in the first phase polling on April 7 in Assam. The BJP has been trying hard to make inroads here.
Top Pentagon officials have shown an understanding of India abstaining at the UN on resolutions against the Russian aggression against Ukraine but had a hard time pacifying many US lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on the Indo-Pacific on New Delhi's repeated abstention at the world body in New York.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United States Congress.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
Praising the US for turning barriers into bridges of partnership, he said that America had stood with India when the support was needed the most, like when terrorists attacked Mumbai in November 2008 and in other economic endeavours as well
Will Indian democracy benefit from the potential that Shashi Tharoor stores in his mind, spirit and intellect? Or will it be the saga of another leader who promised much but delivered too little, asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
"Throughout our history we've learned this lesson -- when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising," Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the Union.
China urged the US to immediately address its wrongdoings, take practical measures to undo the adverse effects caused by Pelosi's visit.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
Vice President Dhankar's and Law Minister Rijuju's recent interventions have the danger of destabilising the Constitutional equilibrium, cautions N Sathiya Moorthy.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed out at his government effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.
'You have to be a total anti-national bozo to shut down the Nokia plant in Sriperumbudur, which was the first large manufacturing plant for mobile phones in India.' 'Why was the unit shut down? Because of somebody's ego.'
Fourteen of 17 board members move no-confidence motion; proximity to Rahul Gandhi seen as trigger.
The Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government for allowing European Union MPs to visit Kashmir while denying permission to Indian parliamentarians, and termed it a "national embarrassment".
The war of conflicting ideas has broken out within the Congress party. Though there is no official confirmation available, reliable sources in the United Progressive Alliance government say that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh disagree on certain issues, which had come to the fore over the sacking of Home Minister Shivraj Patl.
Biden is best qualified to address the root cause of the polarisation in American politics before it turns into terminal malignancy, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'When human beings develop these dangerous toys and leave their control in the hands of aggressive megalomaniac politicians, the threat of a nuclear holocaust is always lurking on the horizon.'
Asked about the clash between Chinese and Indian soldiers at Galwan Valley in Ladakh last month, Pawar said, "When I say there should be no politics over the issue, it is because we can attack them. But the entire country will have to pay a heavy price when there is retaliation to the attack."
Support from the committee gives Xi an indefinite extension on the reins of power, which will surely result in hawkish and insular policies. It does not bode well for relations with the USA, or with anyone else who does not bow the knee to Beijing, for that matter.
The Western world keeps talking, ratcheting up sanctions, the only thing it can do. The Russians march on to Kyiv and capture Zelensky and key members of his government as part of their 'de-Nazification' drive, predicts Shreekant Sambrani.
'Will the liberals explain if minorities are under such a dire threat in India, how come more and more groups want to separate from the majority and want themselves to be declared a minority?' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Modi government has been put on notice.'Will it buckle under such pressure? These are times when the moral fibre of the leadership makes all the difference, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Asserting that the upcoming polls will be fought on the issue of full statehood, Kejriwal criticised Modi for not fulfilling this promise as mentioned in BJP's 2014 manifesto.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
'The unusual aspect of this election is that this time there is a triangular fight.' 'Previously, the fight used to be between two parties.'
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi-led dispensation, Rahul Gandhi slammed those who were trying to "rub out" Jawaharlal Nehru from history as an international conference on the country's first prime minister affirmed that democracy, inclusion and empowerment espoused by him were of "enduring relevance".
'When he has been retired against his will, Advani appears to have found the merits of tolerance.' 'It took his one-time pupil to teach the old man his own lesson,' says Aakar Patel.
BCCI has approved 10-team IPL from 2022 edition and are backing ICC's bid for cricket's inclusion in 2028 Olympics after some clarifications from IOC.
'2020 will show whether India's troubled domestic economic and political house reveals a mismatch in their strategic association or whether closer strategic ties are yet possible,' says Anita Inder Singh.
It is not advisable for India to be seen by large sections of the Sri Lankan Tamils as not only anti-LTTE -- rightly so -- but also as anti-Tamil.
'His prowess in Aikido -- a Japanese martial art that focuses on harmony with the opponent to peacefully resolve conflicts -- gives Rahul Gandhi an advantage that fanatical adversaries lack,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'I am as Bengali as they come in my cultural and personal orientation and I think probably all the BJP candidates who are contesting are pretty non-vegetarian in their food and as Bengali in their cultural orientation.'
A group of envoys including those from several Europe Union countries and a few Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) member states began a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to take a first-hand account of the situation in newly-carved union territory, especially after the recently-concluded local body elections.
The manner in which India has allowed the rule of law to be subverted for over eight years is tragic, notes former additional solicitor general of India Bishwajit Bhattacharyya.
