Although much loved amongst the right wing in India, few Indians know of and about Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Respected by Mahatma Gandhi, Malaviya was a long standing member of the Congress party, and was one of the founding members of the far-right party the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. So here's a rundown of top ten things you didn't know about Madan Mohan Malaviya.
Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and Kerala are up in arms against various measures initiated by the Administrator of the group of islands, terming them as 'anti-people' and have sought his recall.
'The real danger in India right now is that identity politics is being stoked in extremely dangerous ways.' 'The narrative you get about churches in the mainstream Indian media and the narrative you get in the social media is very different.' 'Many Americans today want to appropriate Indian culture. They want yoga, but they say yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism. They want Ayurveda, but they say it's got nothing to do with Hinduism.' 'Hinduism has been failed by political constituencies in India -- seculars and the right-wing.'
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the state on the plea filed by the Akhil Bharat Krishi Goseva Sangh.
Communalising law and order situations is fraught with danger; we need to tread cautiously. Interjecting a communal angle into what is purely a law and order issue does nobody good; it muddies the picture, fuels unrequited passion and distracts us from the core issue, says Vivek Gumaste.
'If majority of the country's population is sentimental about a certain species, why are we so ashamed to say that we want to give it statutory protection?'
Of the 27 named, at least four are workers and functionaries of right-wing organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, officials said.
'One minute and 45 seconds of that clip are on Modi praising gauraksha.' 'In the last 30 seconds he speaks about violence, but says only that killing is unacceptable.' 'We don't need the prime minister to tell us that.' 'We need him to tell us why the killing is happening and what he will do to stop it,' says Aakar Patel.
'One can understand this prejudice in the minds of policemen against Muslims, without accepting it. But what tilts the balance disproportionately is the police's blind eye to offences committed in the name of the majority.' says Jyoti Punwani.
'According to CMIE data, employment in manufacturing saw a reduction from 51 million in the country in 2016 to 27 million in 2021. 'That is, it has halved in just 5 years. 'At the same time, the national lockdown resulted in reverse migration to rural areas, and an increase in the number of workers in agriculture. 'It also means joblessness has increased in agriculture because there are too many workers; the number of workers went up from 200 million to 232 million.'
Feroz Bharucha on what the Bombay high court judgment, which decriminalised the possession of beef even while upholding the ban on slaughter, means.
2015 is finally coming to an end, and it is that time of the year when we collectively reflect on all that has transpired in Indian politics during the last 12 months.
Given Narendra Modi's trust in him, Praful Khoda Patel is unlikely to back down in Lakshadweep.
The session, which will continue till August 11, is likely to discuss issues like lynching incidents and vigilantism, the Kashmir situation and the border stand-off with China.
Amid the pandemonium and chaos, which many senior members termed as a "black mark" and "unprecedented" in the House's century old history, it was adjourned sine-die within minutes after it met for the day.
Maharashtra's beef ban has led to heated arguments on social media, but when a protest against the ban was held in Mumbai, only a few thousands turned up. Perhaps it is easier to outrage online than join an actual protest, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Urging the people not to make a "religious and prestige issue" out of the ban on slaughter of cows, bullocks and bulls in Maharashtra, the Bombay high court on Monday refused to grant relief to beef dealers in the city.
'We have Hindu values, Hindu customs, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of looking at all religions as acceptable.' 'These are all great assets of India.'
'Muslims eat beef, some Hindus and poor people also eat, so why should we stop them from eating?'
'The idea behind the new rules is that slaughter markets must buy directly from the farms as is the case in the bloody world.' 'The cattle markets have become centres for the organised beef mafia.'
Indian politics, held captive in one way or the other by Ayodhya, may now well seek its emancipation from this issue, and the pursuit of welfare, asserts Congress leader Salman Khurshid in this excerpt from his latest book, Sunrise over Ayodhya.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has warned the people against the "communal designs" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party and urged them not to lose their cool in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
'Nowhere in the country, except perhaps Jammu and Kashmir, do extremist groups enjoy political patronage as they do in Kerala. Terrorists are exported from Kerala to Afghanistan, Syria.'
A woman journalist being asked to shift from the front row reserved for media to make way for monks at a function to felicitate Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has triggered a controversy with a Shiv Sena leader demanding an apology from the event organisers.
'There is a discomfort among many of us at the fact that the Republic is not more Hindu than it could or should be.' 'This discomfort is producing laws such as the one we now have in Gujarat,' says Aakar Patel.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
The Bombay high court has posted for final hearing on Wednesday a bunch of petitions challenging the beef ban legislation in Maharashtra.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday declined to hear a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the beef ban legislation in Maharashtra after one of the judges recused himself from hearing them.
Getty's Allison Joyce went out with a cow vigilante group in Rajasthan to get a sense of their working style.
The court also directed the state not to take any coercive action till pendency of petitions or three months against traders who have been found in possession or transportation of beef.
Mohan Bhagwat said the temple would be constructed in the same grandeur as it existed before, using the "same stones" under the guidance of those who were the flag-bearers of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for the last 25 years.
Even with more power against the individual than any other modern democratic nation, the Indian government seeks more. Such laws do not exist elsewhere in the civilised world, observes Aakar Patel.
The PM observed the history of India's struggle for independence was very long, very vast and filled with countless sacrifices.
'Tamil Nadu is a paradox. We have more places of Hindu worship per square kilometres than any other place in the world. 'We break more coconuts for religious reasons everyday than any other place in the world.' 'At the same time, we also have a very strong Periyar-infused movement of rationalism.'
Could a runaway celebrity cow replace the late Paul the 'oracle' octopus as the next animal with the ability to foretell the fortunes of Germany's national soccer team?
'We want Muslims to go about their work and business unhindered.' 'They should not get victimised and that will only come through the process of reconciliation.'
On the lines of the Pehlu Khan's lynching case, the state government has ordered a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh to Rakbar Khan's family. Further compensation will be provided based on the recommendations of the district legal committee, he added.
"It is not a fundamental right of a citizen to eat beef," it said.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said it would start hearing from December 5 all the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the beef ban legislation in Maharashtra.
Prices of buffaloes and cattle have fallen by 20-30%.
