Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson, National Commission for Minorities, speaks to Kavita Chowdhury on reservation for Muslims, the RTI Act and the controversy over withdrawal of AFSPA in Kashmir.
Hindu outfits that took out a march in Kullu demanding the demolition of the mosque were involved in a scuffle with the police on Monday.
The Congress has lodged complaints with the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of making 'false, divisive, malicious and slanderous' statements during their recent election campaign.
'In India, legal advocates and faith leaders from across the country's diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Haridwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance'
Narivetta takes its cue from real-life incidents and fictionalises the ordeal through the experiences of a young cop caught in the crossfire between the police and tribals up in arms, notes Arjun Menon.
The matters were listed before a division bench headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh after a change in the roster of judges dealing with such cases.
The study found that the Muslim community contributes a share of 22.75 per cent to the religious minority schools and has the lowest percentages of non-minority population among their minority schools at 20.29 per cent.
The firing took place outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui's office.
The final report against a juvenile who was also apprehended in the case will be submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board in Rajouri, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.
Hundreds of residents along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir were evacuated to safer zones after Pakistani shelling following Indian airstrikes on terror targets in Pakistan. The shelling killed 12 people, including four children and two women, and injured over 50. The evacuations come amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead. The government has provided temporary shelter for those evacuated.
Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in India to introduce community service as a punishment for those serving up to six months in jails for minor offences.
While many communities held cultural annual conventions over the Independence Day weekend, in New York, leaders of over a dozen minority communities met at the Dalit and Minority Convention and offered a reminder to the upper castes
Almost three-quarters of women from Pakistan's minority communities have faced sexual harassment while 43 per cent complained of religious discrimination at workplaces, educational institutions and neighbourhoods, according to a new report.
A university in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has set up a probe panel following complaints of some students that a professor was propagating Islam and harassing Hindu students, a senior varsity official said on Monday.
India on Monday described as 'deeply regrettable' an incident of breach of the premises of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in the neighbouring country.
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.
In a case of moral policing, a gang of six men allegedly barged into a hotel room and assaulted an interfaith couple during their stay in Hanagal Taluk of Haveri district, following which two of them have been arrested, police said on Thursday.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
Three Hindu temples were vandalized by a mob in Bangladesh's Chattogram on Friday, following protests and violence sparked by the arrest of a former ISKCON member on sedition charges. The attack occurred in the port city's Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted. Temple authorities reported that a group of hundreds threw brickbats at the temples, causing damage to the Shoni Temple and the gates of the other two. The incident has triggered diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh, with both countries expressing concerns over the safety of their respective minorities.
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP government in Gujarat has formed a five-member committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to assess the need for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state and to draft a bill for the same. The committee will submit its report within 45 days. The decision has sparked debate with the Opposition claiming it is an attempt to divert attention from pressing issues ahead of the upcoming local body polls, while the government insists the UCC will protect the rights of tribal communities. The committee will consult with religious leaders, including those from the Muslim community.
Social activist from Uttar Pradesh Gayarul Hasan will be the NCM chairperson, while activist and BJP leader from from Kerala George Kurian, former Maharashtra minister Sulekha Kumbhare, Jain representative from Gujarat Sunil Singhi, and Vada Dasturji Khurshed, chief priest of the Udvada Athornan Anjuman, are its other members.
Following the violence in Nagpur, Maharashtra's Cyber department has identified over 140 posts and videos on social media platforms that incite communal unrest. These posts, found on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube, are being removed, and legal action is being taken against the individuals responsible. The department is also investigating the origins of the violence, which was triggered by rumors of a religious artifact being burnt during protests.
Kerala priest Fr Shaiju Kurien of the prominent Orthodox Church, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party with around 50 Christian families, has been temporarily removed from his positions in the diocese pending an inquiry, authorities said on Friday.
India previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
The bypolls were held in six constituencies - Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) - following the resignation of MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Ganguly joined the BJP in New Delhi at the party headquarters in the presence of several other party leaders, including its national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.
The Supreme Court on Friday held that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act cannot be stunted by personal laws and that marriages involving children violate the free will to have a life partner of choice.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday sought to compare Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Mughal rulers for his reported remarks that the first right on the nation's resources belonged to the minority communities. "The statement is objectionable and most condemnable. By saying this, the prime minister is behaving like Mughal rulers," party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said at a press conference in Delhi.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called an emergency COBRA meeting of senior ministers and police chiefs at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday after a weekend of riots across several cities in the country, which he termed a 'far-right thuggery' that will face the full force of the law.
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on alleged 'sedition' charges, and sent him to prison, amid protests by community members in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram.
Kamal has a crisp pen when it comes to writing short and yet powerful film dialogues. But while speaking ex tempore -- and that has been his style -- he looks every bit a confused man, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have ignited political debate in West Bengal, with the ruling TMC and opposition BJP utilizing the issue to advance their respective agendas. While the TMC emphasizes communal harmony and calls for international intervention, the BJP criticizes the TMC's inaction and links the situation to its push for the Citizenship Amendment Act. The issue has also brought other opposition parties into the fray, with all sides highlighting the interconnectedness of the region's socio-political fabric.
Lalpura, who took over as the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chairperson last week, asserted that his priority would be to dispel 'false narratives' fuelling insecurity among minorities.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
'It is unjust for the Bangladesh government to send ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is leading the Hindus in such peaceful demonstrations, to jail'
A three-judge Supreme Court bench will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 16. The petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law. The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
The fire spread to over a dozen nearby camps, causing significant damage.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
