'No private citizen can be prevented from holding or propagating in India or abroad, a view contrary to that of the government of the day. The government, it seems is misreading the mandate in the Lok Sabha as being a mandate to crush dissent. In times when ruling parties have brute majorities in Parliament, the true test of safeguarding democracy is its ability to allow dissenting voices to be heard,' says Indira Jaising, the former additional solicitor general.
Xi arrived at the Nyingchi Mainling Airport on Wednesday and was warmly welcomed by local people and officials of various ethnic groups, Xinhua news agency reported.
At a crowded beachfront mass, Pope Francis canonised Sri Lanka's first saint on Wednesday.
A group of 72 former civil servants has sought Attorney General K K Venugopal's intervention to advise the government to check the witch-hunt of people exercising their right to free speech by the police.
The clarification comes after some news media reported that the centre had allegedly asked officials to skip Dalai Lama events, in a bid to mend fences with Beijing.
To a query on the possibility of approaching court, Machado said that has not been decided, but it would be one of the options to stop the promulgation of the ordinance.
The Karnataka high court, which dismissed a batch of petitions by some Muslim girls from Udupi seeking permission to wear the hijab inside classrooms of educational institutions, framed the entire case in the form of four questions and answered them accordingly.
Indians supposedly have the right to freedom, and the right to equality, which cuts across gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc, observes Devangshu Datta.
Economic stagnation is the advance payment for polarisation, which extracts a terrible price.
'... while leaving the dirty work he orders to his subordinates.'
The aim is to ensure that such crimes are checked and effective action is taken against the culprits.
The inaugural Sangamam turned out to be a political Hindutva function than a gathering on the Hindu religion, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
What we have in the Congress is a useful glue to hold a non-cultural, unified Opposition together. That is the sacrifice the Congress must be willing to live with if showing the BJP the door is what the collective Opposition wants, observes Shyam G Menon.
"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by the shocking situation in Christchurch. A joint decision between NZC and the @BCBtigers has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test. Again both teams and support staff groups are safe," the New Zealand cricket board tweeted on their Twitter handle.
A 'Hindu India' would not be Hindu at all, but a 'Sanghi Hindutva state', which is a different country altogether, says Tharoor in his new book The Battle of Belonging that was released on Saturday.
'Islam is the oldest religion among all religions. India is the best country for Hindi Muslims'
Nepal's constituent assembly on Monday rejected calls to remove the key term secularism from the new constitution and revert the Himalayan nation to a Hindu state, triggering protests by Hindu activists.
Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Shafiqur Rehman Barq has been booked for sedition following his recent remarks allegedly defending the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and equating it with India's own freedom struggle, police said on Wednesday.
"The consequence of the demand to declare Hijab as an essential religious practice is huge because there is an element of compulsion or else you will be expelled from the community," Navadgi told the court.
Appearing before cheering fans at the star-studded opening ceremony of the Kolkata International Film Festival in Kolkata on Thursday, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan spoke of staying positive and alive, and on the new crop of historical films being steeped in 'fictionalised jingoism'.
World over, pluralism is in retreat. Luckily for us, Indian pluralism and its consequent tolerance of diversity is rooted in our basic values. As long as we remain faithful to these values and keep our institutions in good health, the Indian miracle of last 75 years is likely to last centuries, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Indian-American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has criticised the US Supreme Court over its two landmark rulings of legalising same-sex marriage and upholding the healthcare law, and has called for "getting rid" of the apex judicial body.
'I am pleased to announce that I have chose Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate,' Donald Trump wrote on his Twitter handle.
'Nehru's inability to take religion seriously as a category led to serious errors of judgement in his dealings with the Muslim League, and later, also with the Hindu right.'
A day before the crucial talks between the Centre and the protesting farmer unions, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the government is ready to consider any proposal other than repeal of three farm laws, the key demand of the farmers.
The letter, to maintain the current policy of denying Narendra Modi a visa to the United States, was released just as the BJP president arrived in Washington DC for a round of meetings with US lawmakers. Aziz Haniffa reports
'You will see more laws that treat Hindus and non-Hindus, especially Muslims, quite unequally.' 'Once you see this kind of erosion of secularism, it will be very hard to get it back.'
The test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be to convince not just friends in the media with crisp sound bytes but the very people most affected by the politics of hate through concerted action, says Shehzad Poonawala.
The SC is dealing with legal and constitutional issues relating to discrimination against women in various religions and at religious places including Kerala's Sabarimala Temple.
In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said divisive ideologies anchored in hate and prejudice were making every effort to weaken the strong foundation of India.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim protection from arrest to Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the web series Tandav, and others seeking the quashing of FIRs against them for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus, and issued notices Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states on their pleas.
A division bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Riyaz Chagla noted that while Goswami's comments targeted the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi, he did not make any statement that would cause public disharmony or incite violence between different religious groups.
Andhra Pradesh home minister Mekathoti Sucharitha hoisted the National Flag at the Jinnah Tower.
Both countries are closer than before due to these two leaders's public display of mutual connectivity and warm exchanges of words, but how it will help India to serve its interests will be known on Tuesday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
The State Department condemns the recent reports of attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh, a spokesman said.
The police made the statement after a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal said the issue involved the larger question of Ranaut's fundamental right to free speech and that the court will have to grant her some ad-interim relief.
Haridwar hate speech accused Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, who has been asked by the Supreme Court to surrender by September 2, said his life is in danger and he may be killed in a suicide attack.
In the Kashmir Valley, we need to begin to make a distinction between an insurgent who fights the security forces and a terrorist who murders unarmed civilians, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'An inquiry should also be conducted against the police officials of Vasai and Nalasopara and Tulinj police (in Palghar district) for delayed the investigation on Shraddha's complaint'
