'He knew that a regime which believes that power flows from the barrel of the gun can only be handled from a position of comprehensive strength and not from a position of vulnerability and weakness,' says Rup Narayan Das.
The Assam government has raised demand for coordinated action in Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes of and shelters of militants are to be choked.
An alert has been sounded across Assam as cyclone 'Mahasen' is likely to hit the northeastern states on Thursday night, officials have said. All boats and ferry services on Brahmaputra have been closed for the next three days and fishermen have been directed not to venture out to the river.
As many as 22 states and Union Territories have supported a Law Commission recommendation to bring a bill to prevent 'honour killings', but government has refused to fix a timeline to put in place a legal framework, saying a decision will be taken after due consultations.
The government has identified 65 terror groups active in the country, out of which a maximum of 34 are in Manipur, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Why are states important to win for national parties? What is the significance of local power? That was what we should have a look at because the Congress has been squeezed out of power in more states today than it has ever been in history.
From educating people about the internet, connecting far-flung areas with a high-speed net, promoting entrepreneurship, building start-up incubators, women empowerment, to even running a voter registration campaign, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, Facebook and Google have done it all for the government.
Chinese officials have refuted allegations of the country's army assisting militants in northeast India, saying such charges are "absurd" and such a linkage is "impossible".
In the face of strong opposition to Uniform Civil Code by Muslim outfits, the Congress on Thursday said its implementation would be impossible while the Bharatiya Janata Party asserted that the move is aimed at moving towards a progressive society.
Noisy protests disrupted the both houses of the Parliament on the first day of the second part of the budget session
Apart from Kerala, the northeast perhaps is the only region where Congress can expect a decent win in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. K G Suresh looks at what the elections hold for the northeast.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government has transferred Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan to Mizoram for his remaining tenure, which ends in 2017.
'A couple of Pulwamas will bring the two nations to war and it will be limited to J&K itself.'
'If the Citizenship Bill passes, then the very principle of Indian citizenship, which is called jus soli (right of birthplace) will convert to principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood) on the basis of religion.' 'Citizenship is being given on the basis of religion and it is against the Constitution.'
Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit on Monday met President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Rajnath Singh amid indications that she may put in her papers if shunted out of the southern state.
Kumaraswamy made the stunning claim that the BJP offered the MLAs of his party Rs 100 crore and ministerial berths.
'When war is thrust on you as in 1962 and 1965 or is tempting as in 1971, ensure that all other fronts are kept quiet, leaving your army free to deal with one,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur's affidavit, to be submitted in the Supreme Court, will be the focal point of discussions when the BCCI's affiliated units meet for a Special General Meeting (SGM) in New Delhi on Saturday to deliberate upon implementation of the Lodha Committee reforms.
Former CAG Vinod Rai said he will not take a single rupee in remuneration from the government for his work.
Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh said the government is trying to woo industries to the eight Northeastern states so that enough jobs are created for the youths of the region.
Kumar's comments at the party's national executive meeting came amid a strain in his ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and appears to be a message to his ally, some of whose leaders have been linked to alleged communal tensions and violence in the state.
Only after its recommendations will the central GST, integrated GST and state GST Bills be taken up
'If the Amendment Bill 2016 becomes law, the indigenous people of Assam will become a minority and the language, literature and culture of Assam will be lost.'
'In the first meeting of this new year, we took a joint new year resolution that we will complete it this year. At the time things were not very clear, but the mood was clear that yes, we must resolve it.' 'Yes, details have to come out, but there are some sensitivities, there are some stake-holders not yet on board, especially other Naga undergrounds etc, we would like them to come on board... So at a proper time it has to be revealed to the country, and to the legislature. Perhaps, we may have to wait for some more time.' 'With better understanding of the Indian system, many of them have learnt, realised, appreciated that Naga nationalist aspirations can be accommodated in the Indian system. The Indian system is pretty comprehensive and flexible.' 'A Naga has as much stake, claim over India as any other Indian. There is no distinction. This, Nagas have realised, that yes, Naga nationalist aspirations and Indian nationalism are not mutually exclusive.' Ravindra Narayan Ravi, the Government of India's Special Interlocutor for the Naga talks, explains how the Naga Peace Accord was reached in an exclusive interview to Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com
The Congress on Wednesday kept up attack on the government over removal of governors appointed during United Progressive Alliance rule, saying its priority should be to combat inflation and not "shadow boxing" while the Janata Dal-United demanded a debate in Parliament over the very need of having governors.
Rediff's data journalists bring you data about toilet/bathroom and sanitation facilities across India from the 69th round (2012) of National Sample Survey.
Between April and September 2014, the central govt released Rs 13,618 cr to states, against Rs 24,676 cr in the same period last year.
The Seismological department said that the quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and lasted for about two minutes.
Two people, one legally assisting the affected people because of their exclusion from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and another whose relative has been declared a 'foreigner' by the quasi-judicial Foreigners' Tribunal (FT), talk to Rediff.com about the issues on the ground that people excluded from the NRC are facing and how it can turn into a long-drawn legal process.
'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
Indian authorities failed to "prevent many incidents of religious violence and contributed to tensions through polarising speeches", Amnesty International said.
'What does the nation get out of the CBI's fabulous infrastructure? Very little that is useful.'
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
'Why is the RSS trying to destroy the indigenous culture of Assam and its language?' 'If these migrants settle in Assam, they will overwhelm the 47 per cent of people who speak Assamese.'
The Special Forces personnel were airdropped deep inside Myanmar territory, closer to the camps of the militants, and the strike started at 3 am.
Assuring that no stone will be left unturned to stop racist attacks against people from Northeast, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the Centre will soon implement recommendations of Bezbaruah committee formed to look into the issue.
Its current majority of 22,078 votes for the purpose of the presidential elections is considered thin, particularly when BJP might not be able to predict voting behaviour of its allies like Shiv Sena.
'2019 now looks like a real contest.' 'It will not be a repeat of 2014 if the BJP has to deal with erosion of its already low vote share of 31 per cent, and also faces a united Opposition,' says T N Ninan.
'The win in Assam is likely to have a ripple effect in other north-eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland which have been reluctant to embrace the BJP in the past,' says Nitin A Gokhale, the distinguished commentator on strategic affairs, who lived and reported from Assam between 1983 and 2006.
The rush for prohibition and the Supreme Court's decision to ban liquor sales within 500 metres from highways have hurt companies.
