The ruling Congress, voted to office in 2018 after 15 years in opposition, and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the main contenders for power in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and some regional outfits are also in the fray.
The NGO is said to be shutting down its India operations after allegations that the charity was engaging in religious conversion.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urged Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to take strict action over the murder of a minor girl in Shahbad Dairy in Delhi and said it was his responsibility to maintain law and order in the city.
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.
A report of the National People's Tribunal on the 2008 riots in Kandhamal, Orissa, is out. The report that runs into 197 pages points out that the brutality of the violence falls within the definition of 'torture' under international law, particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar described the engagement between Modi and Xi on the first day of the Informal summit as 'highly productive'.
EU special representative for human rights Eamon Gilmore said on Friday that in his meetings with the Indian government he has discussed issues such as the use of sedition and anti-terrorism laws, condition of minorities, communal violence and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a function to mark 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in Jashpur district, Bhagwat appealed to tribals to stay strong against those who try to dupe them by taking advantage of their innocence.
'He had a lovely, lovely, sense of humour, very subdued and very, very subtle, but it was very, very, prominent.'
In an interview with PTI, Roy praised the Union government for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules, stating that it would benefit the refugee population, including the Matua community, who had fled neighbouring countries to escape religious persecution.
'It gives the impression that he either cannot or does not wish to control the fringe elements.' the NYT said.
The committee will hold regular meetings with district officials and collect information of registered and unregistered inter-faith and intercaste marriages; on such marriage that took place in places of worship and marriages took place after elopement.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has written to House Speaker Paul Ryan, asking him to raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meeting with PM Modi.
Sullivan indicated that President Biden would raise his concerns on human rights with Modi.
The attack lasted for four hours from around 11 pm on Saturday to 3 am on Sunday, police said.
Upholding the interfaith marriage in a case from Uttar Pradesh's Etah district, a bench of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal said the woman is an adult according to her high school certificate.
The Uttar Pradesh State Minority Commission on Sunday described the mass conversion of Muslims in Agra as 'an act of fraud and a dubious exercise which has no connection with the serious business of change of faith'.
Terrorists planned to target the Vaishno Devi temple at Jammu, according to the latest report of the Intelligence Bureau. The IB, which intercepted a satellite phone conversation of terrorists around 2 weeks ago, said in its report that a plan was being devised to attack the temple and move to New Delhi and Mumbai in case they failed in their mission. The plan involved infiltrating the border and then hurl grenades on places of religious worship.
"Eleven people have been sent to jail. In three cases the girls were not minor, they said that they are in a relationship with boys of other religions of their own free will," Mohit Agarwal, Inspector General, Kanpur Range told reporters.
Actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan had herself married a person of another religion, businessman Nikhil Jain last year.
The data reveals that under the Narendra Modi government, 99 persons have been killed and at least 703 injured in hate crimes motivated by religious bias, across 23 of 36 states and union territories in India in the time between May 2014 and April 30, 2019.
Modi said different laws related to Hindus, Christians and Parsis and the Special Marriage Act 1954 has determined minimum marriage age of 18 years for a woman and 21 years for man but the Muslim Personal Law holds marriage of a girl legal after she has attained puberty.
It also promised to repeal the law banning religious conversions.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' called by Hindu outfits in Uttarakhand and registration of an FIR against hate speeches allegedly targeting members of a particular community.
Three Indians have joined a Sikh rights group in filing an amended lawsuit appealing a US court to designate the RSS as a "terror group".
Sarma said, "It will be mandatory for all marriages. There will be a disclosure pro forma given to a wife who'll give it to her husband. It won't be only about religion but everything that a wife needs to know. It won't be in line with Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It'll be empowering women."
A 27-year-old burqa-clad woman, who is an instant talaq victim, is campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls to make the Muslim women realise the "good work" being done by the saffron party in the state. Nida Khan believes that unlike other parties, the BJP does not see Muslims as a vote bank only but considers them as equals.
The man and the woman turned out to be both Muslims and adults. Kushinagar Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Singh said someone from Gurnia village had informed them on Tuesday that a couple was getting 'quietly' married there, and suspected it to be a case of 'love jihad'.
Amid a raging row over alleged forced reconversions in Agra, a Hindu organisation has announced its plan to "convert a large number of people" on December 25, which was welcomed by a local Bharatiya Janata Party MP who said people are within their rights to choose their religion.
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
The Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court it has not issued any order imposing a "shadow or implicit ban" on The Kerala Story, a multilingual film that has triggered a massive controversy over religious conversions.
Children born under the Special Marriage Act have equal rights over both parents' properties, regardless of their parents' religion or background.
'I do hope the Patel family sues the hell out of the state of Alabama, and I hope the Hindu American Foundation and other community organisations are helping with legal aid and monetary support. For, there is reason to believe that it is religious and racial bias that led to the incident: In other words, a hate crime. There is no reason to suffer that silently.'
An open and direct conversation is the only way to deal with a marital problem but choose the right time and place to address the issue, advises rediffGURU Ravi Mittal.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had last week said the government would study laws on "love jihad" framed by other states and take an appropriate decision.
The Delhi Police on Wednesday recreated the scene of crime at the same bylane in northwest Delhi's Shahbad Dairy where 20-year-old Sahil killed a minor girl, officials said.
The Places of Worship Act is 'An Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto'.
Tension gripped Meerut's Kharkhauda and Atrada areas as members of a particular communities attacked and pelted stone at the houses of members of another community on Sunday night, over the alleged gangrape and religious conversion of a 20-year-old woman.
The event was preceded by a mega rally organised by an outfit called Swayam Sainik Dal (SSD) in Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar, which saw participation from thousands of people, mostly Dalits and tribals.
