The Supreme Court passed two verdicts last week that attempted to deal with the undoubted menace of India's increasingly criminalised politics. It is, however, not clear whether these verdicts, cumulatively, will deliver the results that the petitioners sought.
'The ideal of justice is ingrained in every human being.' 'I truly feel that if we empower our forces, the rich and the powerful will lose their hold on them.' Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand in an exclusive interview.
Verdict one of the most important since advent of Constitution, says Chidambaram.
The 15-member body called for enhanced actions, from closing financial system loopholes to stopping the abuse of charitable causes, as well as updating the existing IS and Al Qaeda sanctions list.
'It is a retrogressive Act. It actually criminalises a child who needs care and protection.' 'I am sure the Delhi teenage rapist, if given the right process and input, would have reformed himself. Even now, if he is supported he will evolve himself.'
Cook's statement is of major significance, especially given Apple's recognition as a global brand, says Aseem Chhabra.
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
The state may have some power to put reasonable restriction, says the apex court.
Section 377 is a colonial relic of a law that makes it criminal to have "carnal intercourse against the order of nature," says Mitali Saran
The Deen Bachao, Desh Bachao conference in Patna on April 15 was attended by lakhs of Muslims. Will the electoral dividends from this rally be reaped by Nitish Kumar, the BJP (through Hindu consolidation), by both Nitish and the BJP or will it be reaped more by the anti-BJP forces, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'We will get our rights as normal citizens of India and enjoy those rights as openly and fearlessly as you and others do.'
The United Nations has expressed concern over the killing and maiming of children who continue to be recruited and used as human shields by Maoists in India and over the threat of sexual violence against girls within Naxalite ranks.
He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries.
'The rule for millennials is: You can have a career for life.' 'You have to constantly adapt to the needs of the industry to stay relevant.' 'The jobs will be the same, but the skill sets required will be different.' 'Technology will dominate the nature of jobs available in the future.'
After gay sex, there are now moves to decriminalise suicide attempts under a bill introduced in Parliament.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial Narendra Modi on Friday said that, if voted to power, he would give priority to preventing corruption in future before addressing the old cases and would be ready to face investigation if charges are levelled against him "professionally".
It's time we dispensed with the paper trail and shifted all labour law paper, workflows and permissions online.
'It is high time the government of Kerala stops appointing policemen without teaching them the IPC.'
Not only is Modi's India not the shining land of dynamism and prosperity that he promised -- though it may be that, for some people, in a few years from now -- but socially it has the positively regressive tendencies that were entirely predictable.
'The reopening of the petition shows that there was something that was flawed in (the earlier) Supreme Court judgment, and this means another step forward.'
Arvind Kejriwal's most awaited Lokpal bill may remain just a poll promise. The proposed Lokpal cannot exercise any police power, say advocate Vishwanath Chaturvedi.
A Seattle man has been sentenced to over three years in prison and ordered to pay damages for brutally assaulting a Sikh taxi driver last year in a racially-motivated hate crime during which he used "the most disgusting and ugly" racist language against the victim.
'The category of crime and criminals called Maoist or Naxal or #UrbanNaxals is an illegitimate creation of right-wing propaganda media frenzy.' 'It is a fiction repugnant to the Constitution and the law of the land,' argue Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.
'In the name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The party will need organisation, preparation, funding and ideological clarity, says Aditi Phadnis
'At least 6,000 people attended a meal at Shahabuddin's residence in a feast to celebrate his bail. As if the community has no other priorities of channelising such funds for better purposes!,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Public dissent is the highest public duty and I will continue to speak out,' says Harsh Mander.
A section of the media referred to Dr Sabeel Ahmed, brother of the Glasgow Bomber (Kafeel Ahmed) as the 'motu doctor', alleged to be involved in the plot to kill prominent Hindus leaders across the country. The man himself now informs that this is far from true. Read the letter
Rather than talking about Khajuraho and Shikhandi, the argument should be about a Constitution that promised rights to all, says Mihir S Sharma
The Biju Janata Dal MP from Dhenkanal says crime will come down if cannabis is legalised.
Under constant attack for remaining incommunicado during crucial periods, both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi are now making a special effort to come out of their cocoons and articulate their views on key issues, says Anita Katyal.
After five decades of existence, the Shiv Sena's support base seems to be shifting towards the rural electorate but there it has to contend with the network of Sharad Pawar and the BJP.
Despite the recent electoral reverses, Rahul is getting ready to walk the fire once more. The question is whether he will get burned or burnished in the process, says Saroj Nagi.
'To be complimented for a fantastic performance after just viewing the trailer! This never happened to me before.' 'If you have given a party a mandate for five years, stop blaming it for everything under the sun.' 'My kind of films do not make stars. Now we, the actors, after years of struggle, have created a parallel industry where we have made a name for ourselves. But stars we are not nor can we be.' 'For a boy coming from a remote village of Bihar at the Indo-Nepal border where no transport was available to commute to the nearest town, even coming to Delhi and then Mumbai and finally watching himself on the silver screen was a huge thing!'
B R Ambedkar's fears about personality cults in politics and money power in elections seem to be coming true, says Nitin Desai
Sparks flew in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as the raging Jawaharlal Nehru University row and suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula was taken up for discussion, with opposition accusing the government of muzzling the voice of the youth and "mercilessly crushing" the principles of democracy.
'I know of at least one techie who quit his job to join the AAP in Delhi. Many others traveled to India to volunteer during the election. If you ask these volunteers why they were doing it when they can't even vote in India, they say, "We want a corruption-free India".' Ritu Jha looks back on the year that was; it was party time, she says, for news junkies like her.
'A progressive judgment could have moved India forward, given hope to millions of young homosexual men and women, by telling them that there is nothing wrong with them, their feelings and emotions are fine, that it is natural and alright for them to be attracted to people of their own gender and to express love as they wish to. 'But instead, the Wednesday ruling does not protect the rights of a large minority. And that is indeed shameful and hugely disappointing,' writes Aseem Chhabra. 'Instead the Supreme Court judges did not step in to protect the rights of a large minority. And that is indeed shameful and hugely disappointing,' writes Aseem Chhabra.
Enrich a woman and you can enrich a nation. Hurt women, deny women equitable rights, and a nation's death sentence will soon commence, says Dr Krishan Jeyarajasingham.
India is being fed on false homilies by those who have been either elected or appointed to be guardians of the Constitution and public faith. The shameful ordinance episode should be reviewed objectively in Parliament and outside by the intelligentsia -- and appropriate correctives applied, says C Uday Bhaskar.
