When BJP leaders, including Mr Modi's number two, Amit Shah, use the pandemic to launch an assault on state governments run by opposition parties, or to topple them, they are exploiting a grave crisis in cynical political self-interest, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The situation in Kashmir remains fluid as protests continued in many localities over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
'This is potentially escalatory, as China does not believe that India has any basis for interfering in a bilateral dispute between China and one of its neighbours.'
Rain water gushed into the town from the summit behind the famous shrine carrying rocks and boulders, destroying everything on its path.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera made an 11-day road voyage across some of South Asia's most deserted, challenging, terrain, always under the gaze of the sacred, dazzling Himalaya.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
'For lakhs of people in the flood-afflicted state, battling against the elements is taking a huge toll. This is the time of the year that apples ripen, rice starts being harvested and preparations start in full swing to put aside some of the food stocks for the long winter months ahead. At this moment, though, people there believe if they can succeed in coming out of this calamity in one piece they will have won the war,' says Rashme Sehgal.
