The president also said that the press would be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers.
'When you are returning your award you are commenting on the country and not the government.' 'Can we actually say that a vast majority of Indians have become communal? The data shows actually no. That is not true.' 'In religious terms India has a lot to teach the world because we are genuinely liberal, but in gender terms we have to learn lot from the West. In gender terms, we are terrible.'
'Genuine mistakes can and must be forgiven,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
#BoycottSnapchat became top trending topic after its CEO was accused of calling India 'poor'
What drove Ravana, a good king, and Duryodhana, who could match Bhima on strength and valour to ruin?
While she slammed the Congress for politics over the Indian Army's surgical strikes, Twitterati did what it does the best -- dig up her old tweets on her new party.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and his Sporting Gijon counterpart Manuel Preciado have escaped punishment over a row they had in November after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) decided no action was needed.
Here's looking at movies that went on a warpath to bring about change.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made history as the country's first sitting leader to march in a pride parade.
Researchers found that people who are more avid news consumers -- whether liberal or conservative -- showed both increased anger and reduced warmth towards Muslims.
Condemning the attack, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "What kind of humans are these, who are killing other humans during (the holy month of) Ramzan? They don't have any religion."
The police on Saturday detained Independent Member of Legislative Assembly Sheikh Abdul Rashid after he tried to take out a protest march against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rally in Srinagar.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He also appealed to everyone to light a lamp this Diwali in the name of Lord Ram.
Root received applause on social media for his stance.
'Putting Yogi Adityanath in the CM's seat two years before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is something to be read carefully.' 'Opposition parties would be dishonest themselves and unfair to secular people if they failed to unite and work as a single force to defeat the BJP.'
The finance minister said the government was open to suggestions.
'The Jharkhand government is increasingly intolerant of voices of dissent.' 'Recently 20 persons, including activists, writers and academics, were booked for sedition.' 'Many of them have been critical of the government's apathy towards Adivasis,' notes Siraj Dutta.
The US has released a London-based Saudi national, the last British resident to be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, after nearly 14 years in detention at the infamous military prison in Cuba without being tried for any terror-related offence.
Banerjee while briefing the media on the meeting said, "We will play an aggressive role in Parliament. We are ready to go to jail but will not bow our heads."
Authorities raised the terrorist threat to its highest level in Utrecht. Schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure.
"We created a sense of a team, not individuals. We designed team measurable and not individual measurable. At the end of the day, we created a happy environment," said Gary Kirsten, coach of the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team.
'Silencing citizens has become a major institutional process under this regime.' 'The anti-Indian argument is a bogey -- meant to silence independent thinking people in India and turn us into goats and sheep.'
"The growth of extremist ideologies is threatening civilised existence. The proponents of such ideologies are challenging the tenets of democracy and representational politics by resorting to intimidation, terror and other manifestations of intolerance," he said.
Voicing America's resolve to wipe out "apocalyptic cult" like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, President Barack Obama today said safe havens for terrorists will not be tolerated and called on Muslims worldwide to reject those who "distort Islam, to preach intolerance, and promote violence."
Delhi Police was on Friday directed by a Delhi court to file an action taken report on a criminal complaint against actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by entering the sets of a temple wearing shoes while shooting for a reality show.
A slipper was hurled at JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar when he was delivering a speech at an auditorium in Congress Nagar in Nagpur.
Arun Jaitley, the Union finance minister, played the doting father of the bride on Saturday and Sunday at the wedding of his daughter Sonali who tied the knot with businessman-lawyer Jaish Bakshi. Several other big names from the political circles, including President Pranab Mukherjee attended the reception on Sunday at Jaitley's bungalow.
Shiv Sena activists threw ink at me and smeared my face. They abused me, Kulkarni alleged.
'Demand apology from the Congress Party for insulting the people of India's North East & Tribals'
India orders Greenpeace to shut down over fraud
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he proposes to put in place 'Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat' scheme aimed at strengthening the country's unity and harmony.
'In a democracy, there is nothing like 'I am right'.' 'You can be wrong, so somebody has to point that out.'
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the police to conduct a "robust" probe Following the incident at the Asianet News office.
Shivaji made sure that his soldiers respected the sanctity of mosques and the Quran Sharif to ensure that his fight against the Mughals did not become fight against Islam, explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'There is nothing wrong in accepting Rama as a God.' 'You will not get to read a story as deep as Valmiki's Ramayana in which he talks about complex relations, strong emotions, pain, desertion and unconditional love. Whether you depict Rama as a human being or a divine person, the Ramayana is an epic with a great human story.' 'It is not religious intolerance at all; this is part of political power and polarisation. A religious person will never act intolerant towards another religion.'
In a letter to Secretary of Sahitya Akademi on Wednesday, Bhardwaj, also attached a cheque of Rs 50,000 which he got with the award in 2004.
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
'Suspect all, fix all.' 'It is this mindset that begins at the very top of an establishment and then trickles down and across,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
A combative Rahul Gandhi on Saturday signalled an aggressive campaign against the RSS soon and declared that a reinvigorated Congress alone can "smash" the BJP and its ideological mentor.
