Twitter said it is a platform where "marginalised voices can be seen and heard, but we also have a public commitment to being apolitical. We realise that this photo may not accurately represent that commitment".
The 'love jihad" controversy, an issue the Bharatiya Janata Party sought to exploit during the assembly by-elections in western Uttar Pradesh last month, took a new turn with a 22-year-old local woman going back on her statement that she was gang-raped and forcibly converted to Islam.
Winner of 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee Sriram Hathwar in conversation with Arthur J Pais on the challenges of winning the competition.
Speaking at the Annual Prime Minister's National Cadet Corps Rally 2020, Modi said the problem in Jammu and Kashmir persisted since Independence and some families and political parties kept issues in the region "alive", as a result of which terrorism thrived there.
During his talks with the chief ministers, Shah sought to know the areas of concern of the states and the sectors they want to open up further from June 1, the official said.
China is acutely conscious of the need for the next Dalai Lama to be under its control. It was for this reason that China recently stressed their claim on Arunachal Pradesh. There were rumours that the next Dalai Lama may be found in Tawang. If that happens, India-China relations will become tense and there may be demands for the child to be handed over to the Chinese, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'After Father Stan Swamy's death one thing has become very clear, that if you fight for justice in India you will be called a Maoist by the State.'
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
What is particularly worrying is that the vast majority will not have access to testing or even to proper treatment. These cases could have been avoided if the government had shown the political will to do so, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Tipu Sultan is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam.
The MEA said the government of Pakistan should act in defence of their own minorities instead of "preaching sermons" about it to other countries.
Despite holding 281 seats in the Lok Sabha, the BJP-led government has promulgated as many as six ordinances to pass legislation
Onkar Singh, a valuable member of the Rediff.com team over the years, breathed his last on January 13. Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who knew him intimately, remembers the ultimate newsman.
'One one hand, the BJP puts Uniform Civil Code as a goal in its manifesto, and on the other, it pushes massive discrimination against Hindus.' 'This is not sabka saath, sabka vikas. Rather it is "Haj ka saath, church ka vikas",' argues Sankrant Sanu.
You must watch The Sky is Pink just for Priyanka Chopra, applauds Sukanya Verma.
Dear Friend is for those who idealised Dil Chahta Hai all out of proportion, and then warmed up to the premise that friendship could be a lot more complicated, and transient, observes Sreehari Nair.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has sought a ban on the upcoming Kamal Hassan Tamil flick 'Uttama Villain', claiming it would offend the religious sensibilities of Hindus.
At the time of religious intolerance in Pakistan, shlokas from Bhagavad Gita reverberated at a school in Karachi during a quiz competition to test the knowledge of Hindu boys and girls about their religion, leaving the minority community having something to cheer about.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
Jaitley keen to uplift the insurance sector.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Bharatiya Janata Party Vinay Katiyar and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien had a heated argument.
'Tipu Sultan was no doubt a valiant fighter who vigorously opposed the British, but that cannot mitigate the fact that he was also by all accounts a religious bigot -- a figure incompatible with modern secular times,' says Vivek Gumaste.
A bipartisan Congressional resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives calling on the US government to continue the policy of denying a visa to BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the grounds of religious freedom violations.
Relationship problems? Let Love Guru help.
'The international community should call upon Pakistan to take sustained, verifiable and irreversible actions against terror outfits operating on the territory under its control'
Relationship problems? Let Love Guru help.
'The entire brouhaha with regard to the CAB smacks of blatant Hinduphobia, a duplicitous exercise, morally corrupt in its construct and aimed at divesting deserving Hindus of basic human rights by raising the bogey of Muslim discrimination, and must be called out for what it is,' says Vivek Gumaste.
China on Wednesday warned that it will take "necessary measures" to defend its territorial sovereignty and interests after India "obstinately" allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the "disputed" parts of Arunachal Pradesh causing "serious damage" to the bilateral ties.
India's most powerful prime minister in five decades gets publicly admonished -- if gently -- by the US vice-president. The question is, would this make him reflect on how and why, or which ones of his government and party's missteps exposed his flank like this? asks Shekhar Gupta.
From a four-each score in 2008 to a 7-1 drubbing in 2013, the BJP, which had once proclaimed that Dakshin Kannada is its stronghold, appears to be on a weak footing today. Vicky Nanjappa tells you why
Deadlock in Rajya Sabha continued for the fourth day on Thursday as opposition kept demanding a reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a debate on religious conversions, which the government steadfastly rejected.
Smoothly juggling Sandhya's curiosity and closure until her moment of awakening, Sanya Malhotra is emerging into one of the finest actresses of this generation, observes Sukanya Verma.
'The BJP will be the ruling party.'
Additional Inspector General Jamil Ahmad said that police has taken the accused in protective custody.
'The Indian government has accepted and is a party to international agreements, standards and conventions on religious freedom.' 'We did not force it on them. We are not trying to impose something on them that they haven't already agreed to...' 'India has never allowed us to visit, which is very disappointing for such a wonderful country with such a rich democratic tradition. They seem to be afraid to let us in.'
India comes under attack over religious intolerance, human trafficking and slavery at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
'The wonderful thing about being a liberal is that you can go ahead and be the very last one left standing.' 'So go ahead and fling social media faeces at us, tell us how irrelevant we are, and accuse us of opposing Modi to be cool,' says Mitali Saran.
The DMK feels its genuine gestures have had no bearing on the governor's politico-administrative conduct, which is 'more political and politicised than administrative and Constitutional', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
