The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
The suspended Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, who spent the night on the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in what several old-timers said was the first such overnight protest in the complex, got a surprise visitor in the morning -- Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who came with tea and snacks.
'In states where all shops are allowed to function and pedestrians are allowed to move around, there is no reason to presume that vendors are not allowed to operate. But ambiguity surrounding the operation of street vendors de jure has led the police to harass them de facto,' say Bhuvana Anand, Jayana Bedi and Prashant Narang.
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
In a wide-ranging interview with French daily Le Monde, the minister said Pakistan does not deny sending terrorists to India.
The assembly elections in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh will be held in a single phase on October 13.Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla announced the dates in a press conference on Monday.The counting of votes will take place on October 22.Electronic Voting Machines will be used in the electoral process in all three states, he said. The electoral battle will be fought in 288 seats in Maharashtra, 90 seats in Haryana and 60 seats in Arunachal.
The amendment moved by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Friday requires the US Defence Secretary to certify that Pakistan is not using its military to "persecute minority groups for their legitimate and nonviolent political and religious beliefs".
Delhi's power circles can expect a surprise when a not-so-known officer is appointed to head the CBI.
Mohammad Salim of Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School, a government-recognised minority institution in Madhya Pradesh, has sought quashing of the school regulation requiring students to be clean-shaven. Keeping a beard is accorded high importance in Islam, the petition said.
Indra Narayan Das tells us how he went from 95 kg to weighing 73 kg with the right diet and exercise.
Instead, 1,200 members of the public who are perceived by the couple to have made an impact within their community have been invited alongside guests with a close relationship to the couple.
Cracking the whip on Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah and SP leader Azam Khan, the Election Commission on Friday banned them from holding public meetings, processions or roadshows in Uttar Pradesh and asked authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against them.
Religion is but one trait where intolerance manifests itself. We come across 'chosen' races, communities, political ideologies, economic systems, all lending themselves to discriminatory arrangements, which trample the rights of those considered beyond the pale of whatever is the favoured calling.
India is currently under the 21-day lockdown since March 25, with only essential services exempted to contain the fast-spreading virus.
'The judicial procedure was influenced which led to no convictions in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984'
'In the name of cultural nationalism, Modi wants to impose another ideology on Muslims.' 'His agenda, we feel, is saffronisation of Indian culture.'
'One hopes that it is for the better that this disaster alters our reality from the morning of May 4,' notes Aakar Patel.
The joint secretary also said a high-level task force to work on frontiers of science related to vaccines and drug testing was formed on Sunday.
Asked if the mainstream politician would be released any time soon, the BJP leader said some leaders have been released.
'The anti-Muslim discourse creates an atmosphere of fear.'
There are many who wish to imitate the Taliban and their subversion of the secular State and destruction of civil society in the name of practising Islam and enforcing Islamic injunctions.
But it will be a giant leap for America when all can serve freely in the US Armed Forces, Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi tells Suman Guha Mozumder about the Pentagon's relaxing of rules on religious wear
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that due silence has to be maintained only in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'ShivaLinga'.
Ajit Balakrishnan decodes the angst-ridden discourse of the day.
The Delhi government on Monday started a process of deregistering 15-year-old diesel vehicles in the city and also imposed a ban on use of fire crackers except for religious functions, following directions from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to bring down air pollution.
Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph has declined to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dinner for top judges on Saturday on the ground that the event and the ongoing judges conference clashed with Good Friday and Easter weekend.
'The first time that China alleged the Dalai Lama was 'anti-national' and 'unpatriotic' was after he affirmed that Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang are part of India,' points out former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
'As of now there are no mining activities,' but 'who knows the future?'
The rate of immunisation is low mainly because of rumours that the vaccines would have a sterilising effect on the children.
Sikhs across the UK will no longer face the prospect of disciplinary action for wearing turbans in workplaces after new rules come into force on Thursday.
Meerut Police's action came a day after the MP indirectly blamed Muslims for the population growth in the country.
Sourcing bauxite from other states to add Rs 600 crore to cost.
Muslim-majority Malaysia will soon introduce a regulation that will require its nationals to inform their family before converting to Islam. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said such a declaration would prevent families from contesting conversion by any member.
'As for tricky relations with China, India needs less of summitry type event management and more anticipatory analysis and management of events,' says Ambassador Jaimini Bhagwati.
Indian officialdom enjoys well over a week of Sundays every month
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
These situations require mandatory filing of Income Tax Return as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961
For India to endorse Nepal's Buddhist conference will be like sipping from a poisoned chalice, warns former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
Sabarimala Karma Samithi on Tuesday organised a protest march to the Palarivattom BSNL office, seeking her expulsion.
The New York-based Sikhs For Justice has sought a court order directing US Secretary of State John Kerry to designate the RSS a 'Foreign Terrorist Organisation,' which Preet Bharara says the US government intends to move to dismiss.
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