The state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier this week approved the draft ordinance to curb forcible or "dishonest" religious conversions including those for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years.
UK police appeal for calm as India-Pak post-match 'disorder' spills over
The revised statement issued by the police also did not name the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
'There are many able, good, police officers in Bengal who are capable of handling this situation, but without Mamata Banerjee nothing moves.'
A scene of a play and a conversation between two key characters were snipped from the first episode Tanashah, a day after the cast and crew of the nine-part starry political saga on Amazon Prime Video once again apologised and said they had decided to implement changes to address the concerns raised.
Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad stoked a controversy with his "Muslim" terrorists remarks, prompting the BJP to accuse the party "dividing the country on communal lines".
According to Inspector General of Police K P Singh, Mahant Giri's body was found hanging from the ceiling by his disciples. A purported suicide note of seven-eight pages was also found at the site in which the seer had written that he was mentally disturbed and was ending his life.
Athawale said nobody can do any dadagiri at the mosques.
'Although Narendra Modi had no direct participation in the Ayodhya agitation, he would not have been in the dominant position he is now had it not been for the Ram Janambhoomi agitation.'
Vatican greets all Hindus on the occasion of Diwali
A division bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Riyaz Chagla noted that while Goswami's comments targeted the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi, he did not make any statement that would cause public disharmony or incite violence between different religious groups.
Hemmed in by barricades and police and paramilitary swarming all over the place, the troubled Jahangirpuri on Friday showed signs of returning to normalcy, with the local peace committee calling for communal harmony and members of the warring communities embracing each other, agreeing to let bygones be bygones.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday sought four additional companies of central forces following communal clashes in the state and said a battalion of the India Reserve Battalion will also be deployed in Nuh.
Ramesh said he would file a case against Thakur in the apex court as the police in Karnataka would not act against the BJP MP.
With elections elsewhere in India showing that multi-pronged contests usually work to the BJP's favour, the party can gain if it hangs on stubbornly. In the meantime, any additional support helps. That is why the archbishop's comment attracted political traction in Kerala, observes Shyam G Menon.
Vinod Panicker, a known Poorakali-Marathukali artist for the last 37 years, alleged that the management of some local temples informed him that he could not perform the traditional artform as he lives in the same house where his non-Hindu daughter-in-law lives.
The film, which was released on May 5, has kicked up a political storm.
The Election Commission sent a notice to Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP's Mumbai chief. This is probably because a leading newspaper highlighted his utterances on its front page.
'You can walk wearing the hijab on the street, but not in a school.'
"Is that Qazi above the Constitution? He should produce papers to show Sameer Wankhede had converted (to Islam) to marry his first wife," Redkar said, adding Wankhede had performed the 'nikah' in 2006 only to fulfil the wish of his late mother, who was Muslim.
There is no sign of it losing popularity with a significant section of the voting population, which appears to be attracted to the party for identity reasons, observes Aakar Patel.
'Now that an extremist organisation like the PFI has been banned, it is time for the leaders to reach out to the minority community.' 'You need to have co-ordination between the State and the social fabric to send out the message that it is not directed at the community, and they should not feel vulnerable.'
A 'Hindu India' would not be Hindu at all, but a 'Sanghi Hindutva state', which is a different country altogether, says Tharoor in his new book The Battle of Belonging that was released on Saturday.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
Former AAP minister Rajendra Pal Gautam was questioned for three hours on Tuesday in connection with a complaint received against his presence at a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were allegedly denounced, officials said.
Tamil Nadu is the celebrated home of the 'social justice' movement in the country, yet caste differences and violence has only been increasing in numbers and becoming more brutal in recent years, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bangistan is not the political satire it claims to be, says Nishi Tiwari.
Pranav Pandya, head and mentor, All World Gayatri Pariwar, says he's not inclined to accept
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on September 9 a plea challenging certain provisions of the 1991 law which prohibit filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.
If we accept that there is a challenge in Punjab today, any realistic progress can only be made if the rest of the country, especially the government and the ruling party, engage with this sense of grievance, points out Shekhar Gupta
Political observers have said that the TMC, now desperate to shed the 'anti-Hindu' tag and embrace 'soft Hindutva', is carefully planning its moves, with help from poll strategist Prashant Kishor and team, as is evident from its decisions to organise Brahmin Sammelan, provide sops to Sanatan Brahmins, and financial aid to Durga puja committees.
It remains to be seen whether the ban of its parent organisation will weaken the SDPI or will it be able to further consolidate its voter base.
'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'
We may not be a super military power like the US, but we are the superpower in compassion, love and human values as taught to us by the Bhagavad Gita and the Guru Granth Sahib, says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
"Religious festivals seem to have become occasions to intimidate and bully others -- a far cry from when they were occasions for joy and celebration. Instead, there is intimidation and discrimination only on account of their religion, food, caste, gender or language," Gandhi said.
South Delhi Mayor Mukesh Suryan on Tuesday said there was "no need to open meat shops" during Navratra, claiming that "most people do not consume non-vegetarian food" during this period, even as the move has triggered sharp reactions on social media.
It is increasingly clear that for the BJP to try and establish itself as an electoral force in Tamil Nadu, the party has to come out of the old Brahminical mould, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Security was beefed up around the Indian high commission in London on Monday and Scotland Yard detained one person in connection with vandalism at the mission by Khalistan supporters a day earlier as India asked the UK to quickly arrest and prosecute those involved in the attack.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy by saying that she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.
'Hamas is going to be prepared. There will be booby traps and tunnels; it's going to be door to door fighting.'
