Can ordinary citizens counter this backward march? Can peace activists ensure that the two communities retain their bonds? Do they have a choice, asks Jyoti Punwani.
Will Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who gets his orders from New Delhi, call the shots or allow a democratically elected government to independently govern, questions Ramesh Menon.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
The scion of the former royal family of Tripura said many leaders have deserted him without understanding his feeling for putting up a fight for protecting the rights of poor people
Bharatiya Janata Party rebel leader Naveen Goyal, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from Gurgaon in the upcoming assembly polls, reacted to an ultimatum by Union minister Piyush Goyal, saying he was not going to withdraw his nomination.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was released from jail after the ouster of her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina, has received a renewed passport, her party said on Wednesday.
'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
BJP leader and India Foundation founder Shaurya Doval said there may be certain perceptions that need to be set right initially as India "went long on relations with Sheikh Hasina".
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that the laddu adulteration issue is just a tip of the iceberg and there are many more decisions taken during the previous regime that have to be investigated.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
Shailaja Teacher, arguably the most famous Covid warrior in India, versus former student leader Shafi Parambil who defeated 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan in the last assembly election. Shyam G Menon reports from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, which some feel is the most politically important contest in Kerala this election.
Vice President Kamala Harris' White House bid gets a boost from legendary Indian music composer A R Rahman, who has come out in support of her 'vision for an equitable world', and recording some of his popular songs like 'Jai Ho' to inspire Indian American voters.
A blame game began in the Congress on Tuesday as it failed in its bid to come back to power in Haryana after 10 years, with senior party leader Kumari Selja saying the party high command should assess all reasons that led to the disappointing result and identify the people responsible.
'Slogans like 'Ek hai toh safe hai' and 'Batenge toh katenge' resonated with voters.'
'Look at the post mortem reports. Every body (of the 10 Kuki-Zo youth who were killed) has almost 12 bullet marks on it.' 'Why do they have to fire so much even if they wanted to kill them?' 'One or two shots would be enough to kill them. Why then they had to fire so many bullets on them?'
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
Kangana later apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
'It has been 14 years since I began living in exile and it's shocking that the situation in Balochistan has only worsened rather than improved.'
Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is 'exaggerated' and questioned the manner in which India projected it.
The response was tepid in other parts of the country even as several INDIA bloc parties as well as other non-BJP outfits extended their support to the bandh.
Banerjee accused the BJP of resorting to divisive tactics in the face of anticipated defeat in the initial phases of polling.
'Every Haryana assembly seat has its own unique problems to earn victory for a political party and you as a politician need to know what are those issues and tackle it.'
'Religion and extremism is going to be a big force, a very important force, in Bangladesh's politics.'
As Donald Trump registered a historic comeback in the US presidential election, many former Indian diplomats on Wednesday concurred that the India-US ties will "continue to grow" from strength to strength, even as some of them cautioned that Trump is "highly unpredictable" and New Delhi will have to "wait and watch" to see what position he adopts going forward.
A two-day special session of the West Bengal assembly was convened by the government on September 2 to table and pass a Bill which would provide for capital punishment to convicted rapists, Parliamentary Affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said. The Bill would be tabled for discussion and passage on Tuesday, the second day of the special session, Speaker Biman Banerjee said.
The BJP has fielded as many as 10 turncoats, including those who joined the party from the JJP in recent weeks.
Arvind Kerjiwal, who resigned as Delhi chief minister on Tuesday, is likely to focus on galvanising the AAP cadres and rebuilding trust among the people before the assembly polls, a senior functionary said.
'The upper caste elite's belief that they are casteless is a belief that is available only to the upper castes. Because all the lower castes are reminded by society every day what their caste is.'
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
At least 15 people were killed and nearly 70 injured when a powerful bomb ripped through a political rally in central Pakistan, in one of the deadliest attacks ahead of the landmark May 11 general elections.
Sirsa MP Kumari Selja will campaign for the Congress and address a public meeting in Narwana this week, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala said on Monday after the Bharatiya Janata Party targeted the grand old party over alleged infighting amid reports that she was sulking.
Lokmanya Tilak lived a life replete with contradictions, although he modified many of his positions later in life.
'PM Modi would have swept the elections in Kashmir after notebandi but then he scrapped Article 370 so all his good work went down the drain.'
Every trick in the trade is being tried unabashedly.
In simple arithmetical terms every possible 'arrangement' is being made to deny a majority to its rivals. A split verdict would hand a vital advantage to the BJP which is adept at extracting the best out of such a situation, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The outcome may determine whether Macron's centrist coalition retains power or if France faces a period of political cohabitation with the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
The TMC chief alleged that the National Investigation Agency had gone to Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district without informing the local police.
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