If nominees pass away, distribution is governed by succession laws of insured's religion.
'Whenever present-day politics do get involved, history sinks to the level of a morality play, with advocates for this or that cause seeking to praise their heroes or condemn their villains.'
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The assailants fired indiscriminately at the temple built by the local Hindu community on Sunday, prompting a police unit led by Kashmore-Kandhkot SSP Irfan Sammo to reach the scene.
Introducing the bill, Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' called by Hindu outfits in Uttarakhand and registration of an FIR against hate speeches allegedly targeting members of a particular community.
Hasina said she left Bangladesh in August with an aim to stop the violence. However, the situation has deteriorated further, she said.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
'A large number of people from Sindh province will now opt to migrate to India as they would be granted citizenship through an easy process.'
Amid growing outrage here about the large-scale attack on minority Hindus and their places of worship in Bangladesh, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with the interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and both leaders expressed commitment to protect human rights in the troubled South Asian nation.
Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), has defended his remarks on the Muslim population in the state and India, saying he is a diehard secular and patriotic Indian. Hakim's comments, made at a minority students' event, have sparked controversy with the BJP, Congress, and Hindu monks accusing him of promoting communalism and advocating for a Muslim majority. Hakim, however, clarified that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely advocating for the empowerment of the Muslim community. He also highlighted the need for greater representation of Muslims in the judiciary.
Muhammad Yunus urged the people to "exercise patience" before judging his government's role.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha early Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
The Telangana government has issued a circular allowing Muslim employees to leave offices an hour early during the holy month of Ramzan. The move has been criticized by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which termed it "appeasement politics". The BJP questioned why similar measures are not extended during Hindu festivals. The ruling Congress party defended the decision, stating that such facilities are provided during various festivals and are not unique to Ramzan.
Hindustani surrendered before the police in Una on Sunday morning following which she was arrested and produced before a court which remanded her in judicial custody, a police officer said.
'The irony of this country is that the party in Opposition and the party in power both depend on Muslims.'
George stated that a girl should be married off by the time she is 22 or 23 and that such decency should be maintained.
Newly-elected BJP MLA Mohan Bisht has proposed changing the name of the Mustafabad constituency in northeast Delhi to 'Shiv Vihar' or 'Shiv Puri', citing the Hindu population being higher in the constituency. He justified his proposal by stating that the Hindu population is higher in the constituency. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan questioned the BJP's motive behind the proposal, urging them to focus on positive work instead of negativity. Bisht, a six-time MLA, is seen as a potential candidate for the post of Delhi Chief Minister.
Parkash, a 2022 graduate of Abbottabad International Medical College, serves as the general secretary of the PPP women's wing in Buner.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which has sparked controversy and legal challenges. The Bill, passed by Parliament after heated debates, has been criticized by opposition parties as "anti-Muslim" and "unconstitutional". The government, however, maintains that the reform will benefit the Muslim community. Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Bill, alleging discrimination against Muslims and undermining their religious autonomy. The Bill repeals the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, and introduces restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, which have raised concerns about the impact on the Muslim community.
'Besides electoral opportunism, a sustained vilification of AMU on one or the other pretext helps them sustain their 'everyday communalism', the new strategy of the BJP of the Narendra Damodardas Modi-Amit Anilchandra Shah era,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
Should the Income-Tax Act have been simultaneously amended to exclude Sikhs and Jains from the definition of HUF once they were declared a minority by the government? Sanjeev Nayyar discusses the curious dichotomies in our laws.
The noted screenwriter and lyricist said he finds many commonalities between the mindsets of the Taliban and the Hindu right-wing.
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'A large part of my effort will be solving issues for the whole of Sugar Land, all communities, all populations.'
Nearly 650 people have been killed in the recent unrest in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report, suggesting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Swami Darshan Bharti, the founder of "Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan" which had allegedly pasted threatening posters on shops run by Muslims in the communally tense Purola, on Friday claimed that he has received a death threat.
The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's capital Agartala on Tuesday announced the suspension of all visa and consular services with immediate effect until further notice because of 'security reasons', a day after the mission's premises was breached by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka.
With Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stoking a controversy by saying that the Hindu population was falling while minorities are flourishing, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf studied the 2001 and 2011 census data to track the demographic changes in the northeast.
The youth, Rahul Dev, has been recruited as a General Duty (GD) pilot officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Daily Pakistan reported. Dev hails from Tharparkar, the largest district in Sindh province, which is the home to a large population of Hindu community, local media reported on Monday.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
A temple, shops and several houses of the Hindu community have been vandalised in southwestern Bangladesh by some unidentified persons over a Facebook post allegedly belittling Islam, in the latest spate of violence targeting the religious minority in the country, according to media reports.
If we have already excluded Muslims from political office by default, and if we are already harassing them daily through laws, like Nazi Germany did and like Pakistan did, then why do we need a Hindu Rashtra or a change from the present set of laws? argues Aakar Patel.
Markets in Uttarakhand's Purola and neighbouring towns remained closed amid heavy police deployment on Thursday in protest against the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' that was scheduled to be held there over alleged incidents of 'love jihad'.
Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched a scathing attack on the interim administration, accusing Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus of running a "fascist regime" that persecutes minorities and allows terrorists to operate freely. Hasina, who is currently in India, made the remarks in a virtual address to overseas Awami League supporters, vowing to bring Yunus and his allies to justice for alleged atrocities. Her comments come ahead of a visit by India's Foreign Secretary to Dhaka, where he is expected to raise concerns about the safety of minorities in Bangladesh.
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
'We have Hindu values, Hindu customs, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of looking at all religions as acceptable.' 'These are all great assets of India.'