'The army has stopped short of exerting the sort of influence it may have done historically.' 'It is comfortable with its relations with the civilian government as the superior partner.'
The Congress's revival plan says it needs to bring back into its fold Hindus repelled by the Sangh Parivar, take its message to youth and women and sections upset at curbs on their personal freedoms.
Soft skills play a vital role in your professional success.
India's Muslims need to assert their educational and economic upliftment and political empowerment rather than be provoked by communal remarks, says Mohammad Sajjad, reflecting on the Malda riot.
Whether the Udta Punjab makers cave in remains to be seen but here's a list of the ones who did.
IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal's suspension issue came up on Thursday in the Supreme Court which agreed to hear a PIL seeking quashing of all proceedings against her on Monday even as IPS officers joined their IAS colleagues in batting for her.
Several protests -- some peaceful, some violent -- erupted across India on Monday against the police crackdown in Jamia Millia Islamia and the controversial citizenship law as students and political leaders took to the streets, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called these protests "deeply distressing" and appealed for peace.
In a turnaround, Pakistan asked for "more evidence and information" from India on the Mumbai attack case and asserted that talks cannot take place without Kashmir being on the agenda, barely three days after the two countries agreed to re-engage.
The India card is now almost obsolete. There are more pressing challenges. People of Pakistan are fed up with years of bad governance, corruption and broken promises of successive governments. However, the politicians and former generals are still provoking sentiments on what is happening on the Line of Control for petty political gains, says Shahzad Raza.
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We have in UP today the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party representing the two extremes in a bid to capture power in this huge state that returns 80 members to Parliament, says Seema Mustafa.
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
'The emphasis is on nationalism, which the party apparently feels will have greater resonance than one on religious identity which may have lost some of its appeal in recent years.'
Sreehari Nair presents his Top 20 movies of the decade.
The priest-turned-politician is not someone who minces his words.
Born as Ajay Singh, the diminutive shaven headed politician is known for his provocative speeches and mass following across Uttar Pradesh.
A nine-member Bharatiya Janata Party team on Wednesday visited Kairana village in Uttar Pradesh to review the situation over alleged migration of Hindus
'Given Chinese sensitivity to anything to do with Tibet -- and the fact that in the 1950s it was the Tibet issue which led to the deterioration of India-China relations and the border war in 1962 -- India should be particularly careful in not triggering a Chinese reaction which it may not be able to handle,' says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's historic Lok Sabha election success in Uttar Pradesh has influenced its two main rivals in the state, the Samajwadi Party and Congress, to field fewer Muslim candidates for the 11 assembly seats that go to the by-polls on Saturday.
'When Hindus converted through inducements there was no hue and cry, but when reconversions took place, everyone cried foul. If re-conversions are bad, so are conversions.' 'Our government is not getting involved either in conversions or re-conversions. The BJP has nothing to do with it.' Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in a candid interview.
Sreehari Nair reviews Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
India's secular democracy remains mortgaged to rabid communal politics. Quite clearly, the bloodshed by the religious communities is absolutely political. Even non-BJP political formations have their own Narendra Modis, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Islamabad is only as big as a Delhi suburb.' 'How can a city with just two five star hotels and only one departure gate at their international airport be compared to Delhi with its sprawling airport?' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan finds the pulse of Pakistan after visiting Islamabad for the first time.
Maintaining that action was taken against Durga Shakti Nagpal to 'teach her a lesson' for acting against the sand mafia, an Indian Police Service body has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to ensure justice to the young Indian Administrative Service officer.
'You can disagree with Dr Ilaiah's analyses of how the caste-based economy works, or with his prescriptions on how to fix it.' 'But a disagreement that is couched in terms of 'offence' given and received shuts down the debate that is essential to build a more just and modern India,' argues Mihir Sharma.
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.
'Nitish is now a helpless junior ally of Hindutva.' 'He just cannot think of reining in the hoodlums raging, marauding and killing in the mohallas,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The RSS on Sunday said it has not abandoned its commitment to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought speeding up of the case proceedings in the Supreme Court.
Though Muslims have been trusted allies of Jats since the days of former Prime Minister Charan Singh, experts feel the alliance has had its share of strains following his death in 1987
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Beating of war drums, would further accord primacy to the army in Pakistan. A better approach would be to continue the talks for normalisation of trade relations, while giving the Indian forces autonomy to strike at militant camps across the LoC, says Alok Bansal
Pakistan has made it clear that there can be no talks with India unless Kashmir is on the agenda.
'...that it takes fantasy seriously as a part of real life'... A fascinating excerpt from Jonathan Gil Harris's book, Masala Shakespeare: How A Firangi Writer Became Indian.
'The continuing crisis in agriculture, the inability of successive governments to provide secure jobs to millions of youths having varying degrees of skills, and fragmentation of politics have created a sense of despondency.'
Delegates of a bilateral peace delegation urge the prime ministers of Pakistan and India to resume dialogue for peace and full normalisation of relations.
'The choice of Dhoka La for the intrusion by Chinese troops is significant and suggests a twin objective of pressuring Thimpu to allow Beijing to establish an embassy there and reinforcing Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh,' warns former RA&W officer Jayadev Ranade.
What B K S Iyengar and U R Ananthamurthy embodied was a cultural self-confidence. This is why their sense of being Indian and Hindu was non-competitive, non-combative and even non-comparative with other cultures and religions, says Rajni Bakshi.
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
'I'll remember you as the face of joy for ever.' Sukanya Verma remembers the iconic Sridevi.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos, taken last week, from around the globe.
Abbas seeks India's role in peace process as PM Modi visits Palestine.
