'Imagine what the BJP's urges would be if India's electorate awarded it truly brute majorities like the 400 plus seats the prime minister called for in the 2024 general elections?' asks Shyam G Menon.
The 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill' was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last.
A procession in Kolkata, here and below, commemorating the anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's return from Chicago after delivering his historic speech at the World Parliament of Religions.
Passed by a voice vote, the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022, also bans "mass conversion" - described as two or more people converting at the same time - through force or allurement .
In the last 9 years, the BJP govt has marked some anniversaries and events with more zeal than Congress-led governments.
Chandra Bose had joined the BJP in 2016 and had twice contested on the BJP ticket -- in the 2016 assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
"Is this where our country is headed? Had we dreamt of a country where there was no space for dissent, where only the rich and powerful are heard and where the poorest and most vulnerable are oppressed? Where there once was law, there is now only darkness," he said in the video in Urdu.
Amid opposition Congress's protest and walkout, the Karnataka legislative assembly on Wednesday okayed the anti-conversion bill, passed by the legislative council last week with minor amendments, that seeks to replace the ordinance that was in place to give effect to the bill.
AG Mukul Rohatgi led the Indian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council.
Blinken asserts that America will continue to stand up for religious freedom around the world.
Gulzar said communal harmony is being harmed to such a level that people are not allowed to even talk with freedom.
At present, such a law has been enacted in just eight states to stop illegal conversion while the problem is nationwide, he added.
'... dividing society not just on religious lines, but also creating rift in families and among brothers and sisters.'
A United States court has ruled that Yoga classes in an elementary school do not endorse Hinduism or violate students' right to religious freedom and are "devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings".
'We support the importance of a free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles, such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief'
Scores of churches and homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad district, some 130 km from the provincial capital, were burnt down on Wednesday by a mob enraged over reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
'Are we supposed to look the other way as Islamists go on a rampage against Hindus and the Hasina government pay lip service to secularism?' A revealing excerpt from Avishek Biswas and Deep Halder's book, Being Hindu In Bangladesh: The Untold Story.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
The 'Pesta Demokrasi' is a cause for celebration not only for Indonesia but also for democracy and forces for peace all over the globe, notes Sandeep Chakravorty, India's Ambassador to Indonesia.
In six hours, the police identified the accused and nabbed them, he said, adding that a police station in-charge has been removed from the field duty in connection with the incident.
We encourage India to promote respect for human rights, the Biden Administration said.
A seven-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said the secular ethos of the Constitution had to be maintained by keeping elections a secular exercise.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui asked Prime Minister Modi about the rights of minorities in India and what steps his government was willing to take to improve them and also uphold free speech.
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Not giving a human being the basic requirement of marriage and right to institution of family merely because of their orientation is indeed against the principle of the core values of a democracy.'
The woman has lodged a complaint in Damoh on Thursday evening against one Omar Farooq and a police team from Damoh is leaving for Karnataka immediately to probe the case, MP home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal.
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
'We support the importance of free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief as human rights that contribute to strengthening democracies around the world. It has strengthened this democracy here in this country. It has strengthened India's democracy'
Those who continue to think that the 2024 election will see the BJP pursuing a more militant line are being alarmist, argues Rajeev Mantri. The BJP, Mantri believes, is not about to shoot itself in the foot. If anything, he says, the BJP may be more inclined to push a harder secularism.
A revealing excerpt from Rahul Shivshankar and Siddhartha Talya's book, Modi & India: 2024 and the Battle for Bharat.
In its first reaction to the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, India on Thursday condemned the "horrific attack" on the celebrated novelist and wished him a speedy recovery.
Jinnah said I can accept only one leader and that is Subhas Bose, Doval said.
The bill was passed in the assembly in December last year but was pending before the council where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is one short of a majority.
He added that the legislation is similar to laws that exist elsewhere in defining specific criteria for citizenship pathways.
'The tragedy with Indian Muslims is that they do politics from the heart, not from the head.'
A Chicago-based man, Joseph M Czuba, aged 71, has been arrested and charged with murder and hate crimes after allegedly stabbing and killing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding his mother.
The counsel for the petitioners in the hijab ban row on Monday told the Supreme Court the Karnataka high court did an "objectionable" thing when it tried to "interpret" the Holy Quran and held the headscarf worn by Muslim women was not an essential religious practice.
Will BJP campaigners start using the term 'Ram Rajya' to refer to the nation under Modi's rule, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Addressing a function to mark 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in Jashpur district, Bhagwat appealed to tribals to stay strong against those who try to dupe them by taking advantage of their innocence.
The prime minister's insistence that his voice cannot be suppressed left me both puzzled and amused. He has at his call, the government's official news dissemination/publicity channels, the pliant newspapers and television channels that were eager to prostrate themselves before a powerful government and yet, the dominant voice thinks it is in competition with other voices! exclaims Shyam G Menon.
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