Communal tension has been brewing in Purola and some other towns of Uttarkashi district after two men, one of them Muslim, allegedly tried to abduct a Hindu girl on May 26.
'Whatever you do will spark controversies, so it is best do what your heart tells you to do. Simple.'
'We should be mindful that the religious minority community in one country is the majority in another (and) so treatment of the minority community in our respective countries will be an important variable in our relationship'
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
How can a film that has a character declare that secularism is an illness be taken seriously, asks Deepa Gahlot.
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a bill that penalises religious conversion through marriage or any other fraudulent means and provides for a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The alleged forced reconversion of about 100 people to Hinduism in Agra by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate set off a chorus of criticism against the government today by the opposition inside and outside Parliament with its leaders calling it illegal and demanding 'strict' action.
"There was absolutely no need or necessity to mount a visceral attack on the religious beliefs of the Hindus. It was unwarranted and utterly unrelated to the occasion. That is what makes it deliberate and malicious," Justice G R Swaminathan of Madras High Court said.
Addressing an event in Jaipur, the RSS leader said, "The term 'Hindu' has already entered our Constitution and country. It is a fact of history. Hindu is an identity and a culture to which people belong."
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal of the Gyanvapi management committee against an Allahabad High Court order which held that lawsuits for "restoration" of a temple where the mosque stands in Varanasi are maintainable.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Tuesday said the organisation believes that there is no need to turn India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' or Hindu nation because the country has always been one.
The pastor was allegedly taken to Fatehpur chowk where the men tied his hands with ropes and started punching and kicking him again on the roadside, the police said.
'They are attacking my wife; they are attacking our 13-month-old daughter. They are saying that I do drugs.' 'I'm giving an open challenge to Mr Nawab Malik and Ms Sana Malik let's go to the labs and let's do the medical test of our family and your family.'
What are the reasons why a girl's education falls by the wayside? Why was Safeena a casualty too? Maybe because the education system doesn't give youngsters enough options? Or there are societal issues or pressures?
As a consequence of prominence given to the brutality during those few days, a very important aspect of that episode got almost glossed over. This was the intervention by a very significant section of people who restored faith in humanity, and conveyed the message that only a small section of Indians, that too politically backed, were consumed by anti-Sikh majoritarianism. The overlooked facet of the events of 1984 was the story of significant sections of the city's populace, public figures and nondescript ones, stepping out hand-in-hand, to first stand with little but bravery in hands, in the way of attackers, and thereafter to provide immediate relief to those who lives were uprooted and who lost family members in the violence, recalls Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh.
A united opposition on Monday cornered the government in Parliament, accusing it of focusing on issues like religious conversions instead of fulfilling promises of bringing back black money and creating jobs.
Swami Darshan Bharti, the founder of "Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan" which had allegedly pasted threatening posters on shops run by Muslims in the communally tense Purola, on Friday claimed that he has received a death threat.
Muslims' share in the reservation will keep on increasing also because of "conversion and infiltration because they are having a secular cover from them (the Congress)", he added.
'When the bombing happened in the Taj Mahal hotel in 2008, that was a very sad moment, but he really took care of the people, took care of everybody and that was when you saw some of his best moments.' 'There are some things which we will never forget. That is when the best of a person comes out.'
'A strict law against 'love jihad' will soon be brought in the state. Home Department has sent a proposal to the Department of Law,' the Home Department said in a statement on Friday.
"India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. It is not just individual or local, it is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism," he said.
Meena Meghwar, 14, was abducted from the Nasarpur area and another teenage Hindu girl was kidnapped while returning home from the market in Mirpurkhas town, police said.
Tolerant Muslims can be counted on fingers. I think their number is not even in the thousands, the Union minister of state for law and justice said.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
'People worship Krishna. People don't worship Ved Vyas, who wrote the Mahabharata.' 'It's a cultural thing because we don't see the heroes behind the screen, we see the heroes who are in front of the screen.'
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh.
Talking to reporters in the Maharashtra legislature complex in Nagpur on Tuesday, Fadnavis said there was a 'feeling' in the House regarding the Shraddha Walkar case that instances of 'love jihad' were seen at a large scale in the state.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The VHP leadership notes that 'ghar wapsi' wasn't something started after the Modi govt took over. Archis Mohan reports
For a country with a huge atheist vote bank, relatively few claim to be irreligious, says Devangshu Datta
A string of populist promises, including extension of the free ration scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Mahadev betting app issue and the Hindutva card are among key factors that have catapulted the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Chhattisgarh after five years.
'He had a lovely, lovely, sense of humour, very subdued and very, very subtle, but it was very, very, prominent.'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was 'misguiding' people in the name of religious conversions and challenged the saffron party to 'try and convert' him.
In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should not sow 'seeds of hatred and divisiveness'.
The death sentence of Nithari serial killings case convict Surender Koli was on Wednesday commuted to life imprisonment by the Allahabad high court which rapped the Uttar Pradesh government for the "inordinate and unexplained delay" in deciding his mercy petition.
The petition was filed against the order of the high court upholding the revocation of the nod to hold the prayer meet.
Officials in Jhansi said the nuns were detained after local Bajrang Dal activists complained that two of the women were allegedly being taken forcibly for religious conversion.
You may get intimate for the first time out of impulse and develop second thoughts later. That's why it is important to have a clear idea of how to communicate to your date that you are not ready for sex, says rediffGURU Ravi Mittal, CEO, Quack Quack.
At least one commentator felt that both the BJP's reach and popularity had been underestimated in Kerala. They have shown systematic gain; one that seems personality-neutral and therefore institutionalised, explains Shyam G Menon.
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