The issue of denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was fiercely debated by a key Congressional committee, with an influential Republican party lawmaker questioning the decision of the US government.
In the bitterly-fought election, the BJP secured a landslide mandate, winning 312 out of 403 seats in the northern state.
A group of Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community members had earlier told the apex court that the female circumcision is practised by a few sects of Islam.
China is acutely conscious of the need for the next Dalai Lama to be under its control. It was for this reason that China recently stressed their claim on Arunachal Pradesh. There were rumours that the next Dalai Lama may be found in Tawang. If that happens, India-China relations will become tense and there may be demands for the child to be handed over to the Chinese, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Asserting that he didn't believe in hyphenated identities, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said that his parents came to the US from India four decades ago to become Americans and not Indian-Americans.
A 20-year-old Sikh-American student has won a significant legal battle in the United States with a court allowing him to enrol in an army programme without removing his articles of faith like the beard and turban.
He said one has to respect rights of all our citizens, regardless of ethnicity, language or creed.
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
'If they were really serious (about conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar) what were they doing for the last five years?' 'Why do they have to take so long?' 'Gandhi himself never got the Bharat Ratna so it does not really matter.'
How has the Indian State, in principle and practice, given shape to the essential ingredients of the secular principle and composite culture?
Trump attended his first address to the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.
Indications are that Modi will have words of encouragement for Stalin, and the meeting is likely to be much less acrimonious than critics of either would want it to be. notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'India may well be a religious country, but that is precisely why we need to avoid criminalising blasphemy,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
'If ISIS was popular, they don't need to use violence.' 'The strategy of violence is a false interpretation of Islam.' 'The main victims of ISIS violence are Muslims.'
On Friday, the Bombay high court reversing the ban imposed on women entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai said, "The ban is contrary to articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men." The news brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman who is also the founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Zakia spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on what made this verdict historic and how it will bring about a change in the future.
'His speech at the bhoomi puja will stand out for a long time in the memory of those who listened to it for touching the pinnacle of excellence and brilliance in both style and content,' declares B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'It is as if once a woman conceives, she immediately relinquishes the right to take decisions regarding her body; her entire identity must now be subsumed into her role as an engine of reproduction and society must do all it can to keep her strapped to that role,' says Shuma Raha.
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
Sujatha Gidla's scathing observations about Mahatma Gandhi and other highlights from Jaipur Literature Festival 2018.
Make no mistake, the Bangladeshi and Afghan missions in Chanakyapuri would report verbatim to their capitals the abrasive remarks attributed to the Indian leadership, casting a slur on their countries' political culture and national honour, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
The apex court fixed the matter for hearing on July 11.
Ahead of CJI Dipak Misra's final day as the head of the judiciary of India, here's a look at the key judgments that he was a part of.
Brutal and ruthless, with terrible human rights records, these autocrats will welcome Narendra Modi to their realm this coming week.
The travel ban is the third version of a contentious policy that Trump first sought to implement a week after taking office in January.
Afghanistan said Pak was diverting attention of the international community from its 'longstanding failure' to take effective action against terrorist groups.
Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde speaking to the protesters said, "The Supreme Court has upheld your right to protest. But then other citizens also have their rights and it should also be maintained."
'What authority has a secular government to administer Hindu temples? When Hindu temples are ruled by secular governments, what religious freedom do Hindus have?'
'If you transform your talent into determination to perform, no one can stop India from becoming a superpower,' Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tells youngsters at the closing ceremony of the 19th National Youth Festival in Guwahati.
'While India's 'secularism' is a matter of cultural values rooted in Hinduism, the Western concept became one of rights rooted in legal rights. India would be secular with or without Article 25 of the Constitution,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Must every believing Hindu automatically be assumed to subscribe to the Hindutva project?' asks Shashi Tharoor.
On the grounds of freedom of expression alone, astrology cannot be banned; it also provides a legal livelihood to lots of people.
Pakistan on Wednesday failed to win a re-election to the United Nations' human rights body. The 193-member General Assembly voted here to elect 18 new members of the UN Human Rights Council.
'When he has been retired against his will, Advani appears to have found the merits of tolerance.' 'It took his one-time pupil to teach the old man his own lesson,' says Aakar Patel.
'If Rahul wants to pick up the sacred thread where his 'daadi' left it, especially when the BJP, which reduced his party to 44 in 2014, claims monopoly over Hinduism, it's smart politics.' 'Why cede your Gods to your rival?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
Scores of Congress party-affiliated National Students Union of India workers on Friday held a protest outside Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani's official residence in New Delhi over IIT-Madras de-recognising a students' body for reportedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,' said the letter signed by 34 top American lawmakers.
'And he was really trying just to do the best by the shareholders, and by the laws of India.'
Government on Friday said it will move on implementation of the controversial uniform civil code as per the spirit of the Indian Constitution and will start at the earliest the process wider consultations for a consensus.
It is ironic that Raja Mahendra Pratap's Jat connection is being used for vote bank politics. He could not have cared less for his caste.' 'He was aware of the hold caste had on people's lives, and always rose above this kind of narrow thinking.' 'He mentions that once when he landed at Dwarka the priests asked him about his caste. He replied that he was a sweeper. The priests denied him entry. "I did not care to visit it," he writes, "when it was surrounded by people who had no regard for humanity".'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances