Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar was inside the house when the protesters set it ablaze. She was rushed to Kirtipur Burn Hospital in critical condition but succumbed to injuries, Khabarhub reported, citing family sources.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the 'wholesale attack on the democratic system' currently underway in India is the single biggest risk the country is facing, and asserted that allowing different traditions to thrive is very important as 'we cannot do what China does, which is to run an authoritarian system'. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Speaking at a seminar titled 'The Future is Today' at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, Gandhi also alleged that there are 'huge amounts of corruption at a centralised level' in India now. "In India, we have huge amounts of corruption now at a very centralised level. So, three or four businesses taking over the whole economy, having a direct relationship with the prime minister, is rampant in India," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said. "But I believe decentralising power, making things more transparent, bringing people into conversations, and bringing people into processes is the best way forward," Gandhi said while addressing the seminar on Wednesday. Hitting back at the Congress leader for his remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused Gandhi of insulting and degrading India on foreign soil. Posting a video clip of Gandhi's speech on X, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, 'Rahul Gandhi does it again, degrades India on foreign soil. From defaming our democracy in London, to mocking our institutions in the US, now in Colombia he spares no chance to insult Bharat globally.' 'This isn't dissent. It's disgrace to the fake Gandhi. Criticising BJP may be your right but dare you malign Mother India for your cheap and petty politics,' Bhatia said. Speaking at the seminar, Gandhi said India has a much more complex system as compared to China and its strengths are very different from that of the neighbouring country. India also has a very old spiritual tradition and a thought system with profound ideas that are useful in today's world, he said, adding that there is a lot that the country can offer in terms of tradition and way of thinking. "I am very optimistic about India, but at the same time, there are fault lines within the Indian structure. There are risks that India has to overcome. The single-biggest risk is the attack on democracy that is taking place in India," the Leader of Opposition said. "India has multiple religions, traditions and languages. India is actually a conversation between all its people. Different ideas, religions and traditions require space. The best method for creating that space is the democratic system," he said. "Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India, so that is a risk. The other big risk is different conceptions -- some 16-17 different languages, different religions... So, allowing these different traditions to thrive, and giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country like India.
Tigres nearly forced extra time when Edgar Lpez's header rattled both posts late on.
'... Rahul Gandhi's name came to my mind at that time.'
The Congress party extended best wishes to the newly-elected Vice President of India, C P Radhakrishnan, while also recalling the words of the first Vice President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on the importance of a strong opposition in a democracy.
'This also exposes the fact that women are not safe in Delhi. People come here for safety. The police should wake up and address the issue of women's safety'
From mobilising protests to choosing the interim prime minister -- Discord, Bitchat became virtual control rooms, even as familiar platforms like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, etc. played their part.
In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Pant's disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in 24 months.
'Anybody who says one critical word can be branded as somebody who's glorifying terrorism.'
'The definitions in the Act are so wide and so vague that they can be easily misused to target individuals who may not be conducive to the present government in power.'
'I'm sure those few terrorists who are continuing to operate in the Valley are not reading books.' 'Are they trying to tell us that there are certain people who first intellectualise themselves and then go about picking up guns?' 'It is absolutely absurd.'
The Supreme Court has granted interim protection to journalist Abhisar Sharma in an FIR lodged against him in Assam over a video post allegedly criticising the state's policies.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Activist Manoj Jarange is set to launch a hunger strike in Mumbai on August 29 to demand reservation for the Maratha community, despite government attempts to dissuade him. The Bombay High Court has stated that he needs prior permission to protest.
TMC accepts Kalyan Banerjee's resignation and appoints new leaders, signaling a crackdown on dissent within the party.
'They mean business, but business as usual is unacceptable to them'
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
The point to note for India is that we must not panic. The United States may be our largest export destination, but high tariffs will not exactly mean gloom and doom. Sure, we can throw some morsels as we continue negotiating, but we must be firm that some red lines cannot be crossed, no matter what, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has been reprimanded by the ICC for "showing dissent at an umpire's decision" during his side's win over England in the T20 World Cup
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticised the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, saying the people of the country responded clearly to the excesses of that period by voting her party out of power by a large margin.
This was a soaring evening that sent hearts aflutter and for a few brief moments we tasted the breath of pure freedom that has been missing in this country for the past several years.
"The open-ended nature of Section 6A has, with the passage time, become more prone to abuse due to the advent of forged documents to establish, inter-alia (among other things), wrong date of entry into Assam, inaccurate lineage, falsified government records created by corrupt officials, dishonest corroboration of the date of entry by other relatives so as to aid illegal immigrants who are otherwise not eligible under Section 6A by virtue of having entered into Assam after March 24,1971," he noted in a separate 127-page dissenting judgment.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the party's Kerala leaders 'stand as one' and were 'united' by the light of purpose ahead.
'Sandbagging' means a player deliberately losing his games, along with it his rating points, so as to play in a lower rated player tournaments and win cash prizes.
Police conduct raids at bookshops in Kashmir to seize banned books promoting false narratives and glorifying terrorism, following a government order. The ban and subsequent raids have drawn criticism from authors and political leaders.
There has been speculation that Goel quit due to differences with Kumar.
Pant is under the ICC's scanner after clashing with umpire Paul Reiffel during a tense third day at Headingley on Sunday.
'The moment they fall foul of the party in power, they become unsafe. Then nobody can guarantee their safety.'
'Earlier, we used to talk about a deficit economy. There is a deficit in democracy' 'If you read superficially Gandhi and Ambedkar and Nehru, some misconceptions and misunderstanding come to mind, as if they were at loggerheads and they differed radically in their views' 'India is one nation. There is only one citizenship. No citizenship for South India and no citizenship for North India and another for the Northeast'
'Something very drastic must have happened.'
In their dissent notes, the opposition members alleged that the inquiry process is a "farce" and a "proverbial kangaroo court".
Singh's suspension came days after he questioned the manner in which a vigilance bureau team raided the residence of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Amritsar in a disproportionate assets case.
Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority educational institution, Supreme Court's Justice Dipankar Datta said on Friday and noted had it not been a "race against time" he would have articulated better in his dissenting opinion. The judge also flagged a non-exchange of ideas and opinions in a "true democratic spirit" to build a consensus.
'They want to snatch the land and give it to their friends'
Amid this unrest came the verdict of the Allahabad high court on June 12, 1975 that found Gandhi guilty over discrepancies in the electoral campaign, which led to the Emergency on the night of June 25.
In a post on X, he said the people of Balochistan have given their "national verdict" and that the world must no longer stay silent.
'If Uddhav bhau and Raj bhau come together, who can stop us?' Prasanna D Zore reports on the fervour and hope set off by the Thackeray cousins coming together.
Intolerance and dissent from the orthodoxy have been a bane of Indian society, the Bombay high court said, quoting author A G Noorani, while quashing a complaint against singer Kailash Kher for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with a song on Lord Shiva.
While India today is vastly different from the India of 1975, the need for vigilance against authoritarianism remains the same, asserts Utkarsh Mishra.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday detained Bahubali Shah, one of the owners of the leading Gujarati newspaper Gujarat Samachar, following a raid on their premises in Ahmedabad, sources said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances