The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Saturday approved the Religious Freedom Bill 2020, which provides for prison term of up to 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh for conversion through marriage or by any other fraudulent means, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.
'Whom do I want to marry and what decisions I make for marrying the person I love are totally personal decisions, in which neither the State nor the courts have any right to interfere.'
The Delhi high court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict with one of the judges favouring striking down the provision, and the other holding it was not unconstitutional.
The elderly Saudi threatened to sue the family of his 15-year-old runaway child bride, asking them to return either the girl or the money he paid them to marry her.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907 in Banga village in Lyallpur district, now Faisalabad in Pakistan Punjab.
There were instructions from the chief minister, the administration stated, that 'no punitive action be taken and the attacker be provided all necessary medical support.'
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a bill that penalises religious conversion through marriage or any other fraudulent means and provides for a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Indians supposedly have the right to freedom, and the right to equality, which cuts across gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc, observes Devangshu Datta.
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.
State Congress president D K Shivakumar even tore papers on his table, in protest against the introduction of the bill, which his party called 'draconian and anti-constitution'.
The case involving an inter-faith couple was filed in Vadodara under the amended Gujarat Religious Freedom Act and the interim relief granted by the court to the four, including the main accused, will be pending the disposal of a petition filed by them seeking quashing of the FIR against them.
The most strident criticism of UP's anti-conversion ordinance has come from the judiciary with several retired Supreme Court and high court judges having described it as being violative of Article 14 (Right to Equality), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion), 21 (Right to Life) and 25 (Freedom of conscience) of the Constitution, points out Rashme Sehgal.
The board said that practices provided by Muslim Personal Law on the issues of marriage, divorce and maintenance were based on holy scripture Al-Quran and "courts cannot supplant its own interpretations over the text of scriptures".
'Islam is the oldest religion among all religions. India is the best country for Hindi Muslims'
Let us get high on Pathaan and his simple-minded antics, sure, but let us also take a moment to think about Jim who, with that one cunning piece of dialogue, goes on to boldly state that patriotism is a many-hued thing, observes Sreehari Nair.
Indrani laughed loudly. She looked like the cat that got the cream, smiling gaily. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.
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.
The bench said that non-acceptance of Hadiya's choice would simply mean creating discomfort to the Constitutional right by a Constitutional court which is meant to be the protector of fundamental rights.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde refused, however, to stay the controversial provisions of the laws and issued notices to both state governments on two different petitions.
Meenakshi Sundareshwar is a Basu Chatterjee slice-of-life packaged in a glossy ad film whose source of heart are its two genuinely likeable leads, feels Sukanya Verma.
For his participation in Netaji's INA, Major Ghulam Ahmed Qureshi was put into solitary confinement in the Red Fort, charged with rebellion against the Crown. Despite Nehru, Asaf Ali and a host of top lawyers defending them, Qureshi and his fellow officers were sentenced to death.
There have been over 300 attacks against Christians and their churches and prayer halls, primarily in northern India, states Aakar Patel.
'I want to play a villain. There is something really exciting about villains. They have beautiful girls around them every time, lots of money and all the luxuries because of which I don't mind dying in the end.' Ranbir Kapoor speaks his mind.
The contentious anti-conversion bill was cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet on Monday and it is most likely to be tabled in the legislative Assembly on December 21, official sources said.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
Qatar is trying to strike between respecting religious traditions and accommodating the raucous exuberance of more than a million visiting soccer fans.
'The fact that all the charges against my son are baseless and concocted, in itself, gives me all the hope.'
The aim is to ensure that such crimes are checked and effective action is taken against the culprits.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
They alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance was being used to "victimise especially those Indian men who are Muslim and women who dare to exercise their freedom of choice".
'What we see today is bargaining.' 'The man's family sets a price for him and then they start bargaining.' 'He is sold to the family that offers the highest price.' 'In this market, a woman is just a commodity to be sold because if she remained at home, it is a humiliation for the family.'
Gowri Ramnarayan explores the world of Kalki Krishnamurthy whose magnificent novel Ponniyin Selvan has inspired Mani Ratnam's latest film PS I.
Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights
'How can one bring jihad into a relationship? How can one be restricted on the grounds of religion in marital things?'
The top court said the distinction between married and unmarried women under the abortion laws is "artificial and constitutionally unsustainable" and perpetuates the stereotype that only married woman are sexually active.
When the highest court gave a decision on the Navtej Singh Johar case, it held that LGBT citizens have a right to not be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation. It was keeping this in mind that this same sex couple approached the Delhi high court.
Ultimately, whether the UP ordinance is struck down by the courts or not, it will be the courage of young Hindu and Muslim women and men that will act as a foil to the UP police-cum-mobs who will be out to get them.
What does Udhayanidhi's induction as minister mean? For the DMK, it indicates the future course, direction and leadership. It is continuity with change, and change with continuity, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Even with an ongoing pandemic, theatres in many states functioning at 50 per cent occupancy, a quieter social life and fewer movies, Bollywood still managed to pack in plenty of drama and trauma, fun and festivity, love and war into the year.
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