'South movies have the perfect script, the perfect action and the perfect romance.' 'That's why these films are running in theatres.'
The new judges of the top court include Justice B V Nagarathna, who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027, Justice Bela M Trivedi, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice C T Ravikumar, Justice M M Sundresh, and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha.
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narayan Rane, all of whom are being seen as probables for induction as ministers in the Modi government, arrived in the national capital on Tuesday amid indications that the Union Council of Ministers is likely to be expanded on Wednesday.
In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of three women judges for appointment in the apex court which, if cleared, would give the country its first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the form of Justice B V Nagarathna on February 10, 2027.
"The entire edifice of security of the PM, in a federal structure like ours, stands on the strong bond of mutual trust and confidence between state police and the SPG. State police are fully responsible for ensuring a secure route for the PM's travel," former NSG Director General Sudeep Lakhtakia said.
"Don't know any finer judge than Justice Indu Malhotra," Chief Justice S A Bobde said on Friday as the first woman lawyer to be appointed directly as a judge of the Supreme Court sat on the bench along with him for the last time before her retirement.
Any Indian government at this juncture would have voted and spoken exactly this way. It isn't just about the vast Indian dependence on Russian-origin military equipment. It is also about trust, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu had begun seeing Governor Ravi's decisions and actions as a part of the state BJP's non-stop criticism of its government and directed from Delhi, a view strengthened by the governor's decision to return the NEET exemption bill, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
His career as a bureaucrat has been somewhat colourless, which suggests his current elevation is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
'Government shouldn't be in the business of running airlines, instead it should develop the ecosystem of civil aviation.'
But their trajectory and direction have been largely influenced by politics and the political leadership's understanding of how the economy needs to be managed, explains A K Bhattacharya.
'It looked as if India had been a major player in science at that time, raising the question when and why things changed,' says distinguished aerospace scientist Professor Roddam Narasimha.
With sulking Tourism Minister Anand Singh shutting down his MLA's office in Hospet in Vijayanagar district reportedly to show his displeasure over the portfolio allocation, Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Wednesday said he would speak to him.
Prior to the swearing-in of Justices Hima Kohli, Nagarathna and Bela M Trivedi, only eight women judges, including sitting judge Justice Indira Banerjee, were appointed as apex court judges.
The Modi leadership could lose Election 2024 if a communal flare-up becomes cause for all-round catastrophe, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
What are stars busy doing when they're not filming their movies?
During his tenure as an apex court judge, Justice Lokur had dealt with pollution matter which included the aspect of stubble burning.
Patel's closeness to the Gandhi family was undeniable. But unlike others, he resisted the temptation to use it to leverage personal business, says Aditi Phadnis.
Ajit Singh represented a bridge between a constituency that represented a more traditional era in politics and a modern, forward-looking, India, remembers Aditi Phadnis.
In his report, Justice Liberhan said the senior police officers were at hand to ensure that their men toed the line and that the demolition of the disputed structure was allowed to go ahead with "military precision as orchestrated by the leaders present at the spot and carried out by their henchmen."
"If I was the foreign minister, I would have had contact with them. I would have gone out of my way and told my intelligence agency to make a contact quietly," former external affairs minister Natwar Singh said.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said there should be a presentation by the government on what is happening on the India-China border, particularly in Ladakh, where the armies of the two countries are involved in a face-off. Pawar, who is in the national capital to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, said there are other defence-related issues on the table for discussion, but he will make a request that a presentation is made on it.
He felt that if one "approaches the negative in a positive manner", things automatically fall into place.
The prime minister may go for new faces with an eye on grooming younger leaders while also factoring in caste and regional balances
The improved outlook on the Government of India announced by rating agency Moody's might need to be viewed with some scepticism. There is no doubt the performance of the Indian economy has sharply improved from the deep trough it hit last year. But the ability of the second largest global ratings agency to assess an upside and downside before events make everyone wise about India has been dismal for a long time, as the chart shows.
The Padma Bhushan was conferred on 17 personalities including N Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, Krishna and Suchita Ella of Bharat Biotech, Cyrus Poonawalla, Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, Sunder Pichai, chairman of Google.
'The Congress wants to deprive Modi another term in 2024 and for that they are ready to make any sacrifice.'
The former finance minister said he would not brush aside the incident as a mere judgemental error.
'Under Doval, foreign powers traditionally suspicious of India were wooed.' 'Enemies were embraced.'
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the party claimed the foundation stone ceremony in Ayodhya is "personality centric and political party centric".
In a short video of the incident, the woman is seen telling police personnel that she threw the slipper because "Sidhu spoke against Modi".
Congress leader Jitin Prasada joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, in a boost to the saffron party as it works to strengthen its social coalition ahead of assembly elections in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh early next year.
No government can 'ignore inclusiveness in a democracy', Montek Singh Ahluwalia tells Anjuli Bhargava.
Mukherjee, a two-time Lok Sabha MP from his father's pocket borough of Jangipur, said he joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party because she has taken a strong stand on this issue.
Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets were in "bad taste".
Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said that 'Khalistanis' have infiltrated the protest and he will file an affidavit along with the necessary inputs of the intelligence bureau (IB).
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