The Muslim community in Sujanpur Tira town in Himachal Pradesh has withdrawn its objection to a proposed Maharana Pratap statue outside a mosque. The decision comes after a delegation of the community submitted a memorandum to the Hamirpur administration, asking it not to install the statue in the park being built outside the mosque. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) had called on the administration not to go back on its decision to install the statue at the approved spot.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
All opposition members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill were suspended for a day on Friday amid continuous protests and accusations against Chairman Jagdambika Pal of steam-rolling through the proceedings.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
Nitish said that law and order have "remarkably improved" in the state after his government came to power in November 2005.
Quraishi asserted that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
His victory means that his party will have to learn from him, because after the rise of Donald Trump, the Democrats have been in disarray. They have had no real answer to the Trump phenomenon and Zohran, with his emphatic and clear policies aimed at working class Americans offers them a national path for a return, asserts Aakar Patel.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
An ECI statement issued from New Delhi put the voter turnout at 68.76 per cent. The female turnout (74.03 per cent) was significantly higher, compared with males (64.1 per cent).
Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. The election is seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kishanganj recorded the highest polling percentage at 76.26.
India has strongly rejected a UN expert's report claiming that Myanmar refugees in India faced pressure after the Pahalgam terror attack, calling the analysis biased and unfounded.
'The implementation of the judgment has largely been left to the discretion of the very executive authorities it sought to restrain.'
Ahead of the Maha Kumbh, a senior cleric has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing fears that mass conversions of Muslims will take place during the event, while other community leaders have flagged the alleged demand raised by some Hindu seers' body to keep Muslims out of the mega gathering.
Justice Surya Kant has been appointed as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice Bhushan R Gavai. He will assume office on November 24 and serve until February 9, 2027.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The BJP only talks of Kashmiri Pandits when elections are held.'
Indonesia said last week it had denied visas to Israeli gymnasts amid an outcry over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections as a win for good governance, development, and social justice. He congratulated alliance partners and thanked the people of Bihar for their support.
Trump, who had earlier warned that Mamdani's victory would bring a "complete and total economic and social disaster" to New York City, accused Democrats of installing a communist in the largest US city.
Several Indian-American and South Asian candidates are running for key positions in the US elections, including mayoral and gubernatorial races.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
Justice Surya Kant, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019, would have a tenure of over 1.2 years as the CJI. He is due to retire on February 9, 2027.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
The broom, the hand or the kite, listen to the mind or the heart, 'tunnel vision voting' to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party or electing the 'right party'. With only two days to go for polling, the choice is anything but clear for Delhi's Muslims, say many voters.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), has defended his remarks on the Muslim population in the state and India, saying he is a diehard secular and patriotic Indian. Hakim's comments, made at a minority students' event, have sparked controversy with the BJP, Congress, and Hindu monks accusing him of promoting communalism and advocating for a Muslim majority. Hakim, however, clarified that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely advocating for the empowerment of the Muslim community. He also highlighted the need for greater representation of Muslims in the judiciary.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce interim orders on key issues related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the power to denotify properties declared as waqf.
Justices Urmila Joshi Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande of the HC's Nagpur bench, in the order passed on September 26, refused to accept the man's contention that he was in a consensual relationship with the 17-year-old girl and had registered the marriage only when she turned 18.
Disgruntled BJP leader Jahanzaib Sirwal criticizes his party for allegedly using the plight of displaced Kashmiri Pandits for political gains and calls for meaningful action to address their grievances.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
...a time when his legacy ledger was still positive and before the debacle against China. With every subsequent election, our leaders tend to become weaker. India should consider passing a law that no person should hold the highest office in our country for more than two terms, points out Harishchandra.
The committee includes secretaries of the women and child welfare, minority affairs, law and judiciary, social justice and special assistance departments, and deputy secretaries of the home department.
Nitish thought that his stakes as chief minister were far greater than his stakes in protecting one of his party MLAs. He could not allow his rule-of-law train to be derailed by a small rock on the track. On the contrary, if he removed it to keep the train moving at a steady speed he would gain strong public admiration and sympathy that would help him take the masses along in carrying out other tasks. A fascinating excerpt from Arun Sinha's Nitish Kumar And The Rise Of Bihar.
"You (appellants) have to indicate whether they were witnesses or not. Give us details. This is not an open gate for everyone," the HC said and posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.
The Indian government defended the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 in the Supreme Court, arguing that waqf, while an Islamic concept, is not an essential part of Islam. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that waqf is essentially charity, which is recognized across religions, and cannot be considered a fundamental tenet of any faith. He also argued that the amended law addresses secular aspects of waqf and activities unrelated to Islam, and that "waqf by user" does not grant ownership of public land. Mehta highlighted the extensive consultations involved in the bill's creation, including feedback from various stakeholders. The hearing will continue on Thursday.
The peace plan included that Gaza will be a deradicalised, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours and will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza. The peace plan stated that if both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for hostage release.
