In an apparent attempt to placate his masters on foreign soils, Paresh Barua, the commander-in-chief of the anti-talks faction of the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam, on Monday called upon the people of Assam and other parts of the region to resist 'colonial' Indian government's bid to set up BrahMos and Akash missiles on the soils of Nagaland and Assam as it would make them target of 'Red China' that claims territory of 'so called' Arunachal Pradesh.
BJP strategists know it may not repeat its 2014 performance in its traditionally strong bases in the north and the west. This is where the success in the north east and east is so important.
As many as 11 insurgent groups from Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura have called for a 'general strike and boycott' of celebration Indian Independence Day on August 15 in protest against 'India's colonial presence in the region'.
"We are actually shocked. The prime minister did not even take into confidence chief ministers of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, who are directly affected. Here is another show of arrogance of this government," Gandhi told media persons.
For the region to realise its full potential, New Delhi needs to start looking at the land-locked northeast as an important starting point in India's 'Act East' policy, says Nitin Gokhale
The Centre has put the blame on state governments while state governments complain that money is not released for the proposals given by them to the Empowered Committee that has been tasked with recommending proposals to be funded under this framework.
'This confrontation could have been avoided by a less arrogant administration that initially listened, used whatever negotiating skills they had and tried to be more credible,' observes Ramesh Menon.
The bravado of NDA ministers may have undone the gains made in cross-border security cooperation over the past several years.
West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan on Friday demitted office and left for Chennai along with his wife Padmini.
'She's not going to keel over.' 'This is the kind of difficult situation that she thrives in.'
The plea filed by an advocate has also sought issuance of guidelines for creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to tackle such incidents and filling up of vacancies in forest forces across the country.
On the New Year's day, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will present the state's first bravery award to Gunjan Sarma, a 14-year-old girl and a Class VIII standard student of Nazira Central School in Sivasagar district of Assam for showing exemplary courage in saving lives of another children from her school who was taken hostage by a gunman on December 4.
With as many as 2,30,599 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,26,581) and Delhi (1,07,051).
The country recorded 311 new deaths in the 24-hour period till Sunday morning while the recovery rate rose to above 50 per cent
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 11.
'Our experience in Nagaland and Kashmir for the last 60 years has shown our insanity, defined by Albert Einstein as doing the same thing again and again and yet expecting different results,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Issuing a travel advisory, the health ministry also called for passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany to undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival, and their employers to facilitate work-from-home for such employees during this period.
Now, only the United States, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom are ahead of it. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,20,406, according to the health ministry. A total of 1,19,292 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.
The infighting in Naga rebel group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Khaplang has led to its Myanmar-based chairman S S Khaplang expelling Khole Konyak from the post of commander-in-chief of the self-styled 'Naga Army' with immediate effect.
In the wake of the killing of 18 Armymen in Manipur, government plans to deploy either Indo-Tibetan Border Police or Assam Rifles for manning the 389-km-long Indo-Myanmar border in the state.
India's death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 6,642 with a record increase of 294 deaths in the 24 hours till Saturday 8 am.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that the level of violence in troubled states of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur had come down in last two and half years that he has been in the office.
West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan on Monday resigned, becoming the fourth person occupying the gubernatorial post to put in his papers since the National Democratic Alliance government prodded some of the Governors appointed during the United Progressive Alliance rule to quit.
Following the week-long standoff between the Nagas and the Manipur government over Thuingaleng Muivah's visit to his native village, the Congress core committee decided not to allow the separatist leader to enter the state. After prolonged deliberations, the party top-brass on Wednesday felt that the visit of the country's top rebel leader from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM might worsen the law and order situation in Manipur.
The death toll has gone up by 193 since Saturday morning, of which 99 were from Maharashtra, 27 from Gujarat, 18 from Delhi, nine each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, seven from West Bengal, six each from Tamil Nadu and Telangana, five in Bihar, three from Uttar Pradesh, two from Punjab, and one each from Haryana and Kerala
State BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa said the people of north-east in general and Tripura in particular have rejected the "corrupt and divisive" politics, practised by the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Three Army personnel were killed on Thursday and four injured when suspected NSCN rebels ambushed their vehicle in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district bordering Nagaland.
The government on Wednesday did not rule out appointment of some new governors before the Budget Session of Parliament beginning July 7, saying a concrete situation will emerge only after three to four days.
An interplay of Modi government's outreach in Bihar and the sequence of events in Chirag Paswan's life could make Bihar a game of musical chairs when the results are out.
Former Union Minister P K Thungon was on Monday awarded a four-and-a-half year jail term by a Delhi court in connection with a case lodged in 1998 pertaining to misappropriation of Rs 2 crore released by the Centre.
A bill, pending for many years, banning cow slaughter in Maharashtra received the President's assent, which means beef lovers will now have to do without red meat.
In a startling revelation, a former Cricket Australia employee, on Monday, alleged she was sacked because she campaigned for improved abortion rights and criticised the state government on social media.
The agreement for the ceasefire was signed by interlocutor for the Naga talks K Padmanabhiah and NSCN (IM) General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the government has taken care of the interests of everyone and 'the interest of India'.
In a circular, the ministry said all NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act should receive foreign donations in a single designated bank account.
The government declared NSCN-K, all its front organisations and formations as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, a home ministry spokesman said.
A political agreement by any group with the Centre to resolve the protracted Naga problem without the consent of the people would "only lead to more bloodshed among Nagas", the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang has said.
The death toll climbed to 20,160 as 467 more people succumbed to the disease.
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
Giving economic aid to Kashmir is like giving TB medicine to a patient suffering from cancer and expecting it to work, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
