'Dalvi, you are saying you asked a question, but don't remember the answer?' asks Pasbola incredulously. 'Yes.' 'You are lying.'
Desolate streets with security personnel and a communications lockdown has left the Valley cut off from the world.
'The protests have forced the government to announce that the NRC is not an immediate priority.' 'Even if they are trying to pursue this policy in a different guise, through the NPR, the fact that they have been forced to pause and backtrack at least temporarily shows the positive impact of the protests.' 'Moreover, various state governments have opposed the NPR which cannot be carried out without their cooperation. That is also a success of the protests.' 'The state governments would not have taken this stance against the central government if their hand had not been forced by the popular mood.'
'It is a tense border and there are numerous elements that keep these tensions alive.' 'India is willing to militarily respond if provoked.'
Army was called in on Wednesday to help control widespread violence sparked by quota agitation by Patel community in Gujarat which has claimed seven lives even as curfew was clamped in several areas.
'To re-establish the writ of the State and resume governance, frayed tempers in the streets and in the media need to be calmed.'
Close on the heels of the much-hyped '84-kosi parikrama' on August 26 last, yet another 'fixed' match between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Samajwadi Party was witnessed in Ayodhya on Friday when blatant posturing by the two sides ended in a damp squib.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
'Under the guise of Maoism, the State is presently determined to clear out the whole Bastar area of its tribal population.'
Major General B S Raju, the head of Victor Force that performs counter-insurgency operations in five districts of south Kashmir, says a great deal of political sagacity is needed to ensure that a lasting solution to the decades-long separatist problem is found.
'In the districts of Jagdalpur and Dantewada, the only time the accused walked out of jail was when they were acquitted. There is no concept of bail.' 'The women were very clear -- they had to fight. Remaining silent any longer was not an option.'
While some states like Kerala and Telangana were badly hit by the strike, the impact was partial in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra
Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party functions from Colombo, appealed for India's help.
'The youth have given New Delhi a chance. Now it is up to the policy-makers in Delhi to respect their political choices.'
The arrest of three foreigners in connection with a case relating to possession of satellite phones once again goes on to show the lacklustre approach many have towards the Indian law. Three persons were arrested at Jalpaiguri in west Bengal for possessing satellite phones and were charged with violation under the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act 1933, Indian Telegraph Act 1885, the Indian Penal Code and the Foreigners Order of 1948.
'Peace talks with Pakistan are like accepting a dinner invitation from cannibals and hoping to return alive,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'As of now, it may be best for India to insist that Yameen honours the supreme court rulings and ensures that the next election is free and fair,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'There is need to invent another enemy.' 'If you can add Maoists to Muslims, the tukde-tukde thread will tie in nicely.' 'You might even have a 'nation in grave danger' story by the summer of 2019,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Repealing the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and passing an anti-torture bill consonant with the Convention against Torture would have a more durable impact on malicious prosecutions than providing 'legal aid' or setting up special courts, according to rights groups, says Vicky Nanjappa
They broke free yet failed to evade the clutches of law.
Did you know there are laws made as far back as 1836 still in circulation in the Indian legal apparatus?
The ground situation in Iraq is so bad that there is no scope for any non-conventional action or any kind of bravery. Patience, slow movement, and full backing to Indian negotiators would help in a big way, says Sheela Bhatt.
From being the hand-picked choice of Sonia Gandhi as Andhra Pradesh chief minister to sitting on a dharna in Delhi against division of the state, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy has turned from a Congress regional leader to a disgruntled rebel in his nearly 39-month tumultuous tenure.
'Tibet remains a prickly issue between the giant Asian nations. China still claims more than 80,000 sq kilometres of Indian territory in the Northeast. Why? Just because Beijing refuses to acknowledge the McMahon line which separates India and Tibet, and this, simply because the 1914 Agreement delineating the border was signed by the then government of independent Tibet with India's then foreign secretary (Sir Henry McMahon),' says Claude Arpi.
'Little about this regime, given its vindictive credo, is a complete surprise. But we were still taken aback by the CBI raid as it was a complete abuse of due process.' 'These are not legal inquiries, but abusive use of State power. They are not legitimate investigations, but a witch-hunt.' 'Ours is a typical, classic case of the State and its organs being used as an outlet for motivated vendetta of the vilest kind.'
'How come with Nehru at the helm, India missed so many buses? He had such unchallenged power that he could have taken the country in any direction he wanted. The sad conclusion is inescapable that Nehru let things drift in true Hamletian ambivalence,' says B S Raghavan.
'If Indira Gandhi's Emergency proved anything at all, it established that India would be governed, to the extent it can be governed, democratically or not at all,' says Inder Malhotra.
Nisha Agarwal, commissioner of the New York Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, recalls, with both anguish and elation, the events of the last fortnight after the US President's order banning entry for people from seven countries was put in place.
