In the increasingly bipolar West Bengal, Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya encounters a different campaign rally in Jhargram -- that of jailed leader of disbanded PCPA and alleged Maoist sympathaiser, Chhatradhar Mahato.
'The Maoists want the tribals to boycott the election while the police think the election is a farce and do not want to risk going deeper in the conflict zone.' 'Newton (played with sincerity and deep felt passion by Rajkummar Rao) wants to make sure that the locals cast their vote, a right given to them by the Constitution.'
'Killing 40, 50 or 100 Maoist leaders will not solve the issue. If there were no Maoists tomorrow it does not mean that violence will go away. And that is what the government should worry about,' says Rahul Pandita, author of Hello, Bastar: The Untold Story of India's Maoist Movement.
A Pakistani doctor who allegedly helped the US to track down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has sought a fresh probe into his conviction in a treason case.
The Pakistan media has received a warning from the late Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is dedicated to overthrowing the Pakistani government, to avoid publishing "anti-Taliban" reports.
He is among the contenders for the top job in the event the BJP gets fewer seats in 2019. That may have something to do with him picking up the cudgels for Sushma Swaraj when many in the party kept mum, says Aditi Phadnis.
'Our boys are very patriotic.' 'They say Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Hind in front of the Chinese.' 'We have never accepted their claims, we are Indians and proud to be Indians.'
Nitish Kumar had a week's time to prove his majority, but Laloo Yadav made full use of Siwan don Mohammad Shahabuddin. A revealing excerpt from Rajesh Singh's Baahubalis Of Indian Politics: From Bullet To Ballot.
'There is need to invent another enemy.' 'If you can add Maoists to Muslims, the tukde-tukde thread will tie in nicely.' 'You might even have a 'nation in grave danger' story by the summer of 2019,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Indian Parliament's new building will have a triangular shape to reflect the importance of triangles being a sacred geometry in various religions, while its interiors will have three national symbols as their main themes -- Lotus, Peacock and Banyan Tree.
'Amit Shah needs to understand that we are not against Hindus. But we need to preserve our ethnic character.'
'I would say it is not going to be days and weeks. It is going to be months and years, over which we would make an assessment on the decisions taken by the Parliament at this point of time. 'We are in for a long haul is what I would say.' It was a very diverse India, which was coming together, politically, in a very cohesive, democratically-resilient way." Professor Navnita Behera examines the wisdom of the exit of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Manjhi, is the president of Hindustani Awam Morcha, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
Stepping up her offensive against Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said democracy cannot be safe in the hands of one person and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of crossing all limits by spreading 'falsehoods' to come to power.
Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed demanded "stern punishment" according to Pakistan's constitution for US official Raymond Davis, arrested for shooting and killing two men.
'Will anything change for you after the election?' And the man said 'Kuch nahin badlega.' And he had a smile on his face. He knew nothing was going to change.
The challenge of Maoism can be met with equitable and inclusive socio-economic progress.
The Global Fund for Women, an international organization committed to defending women's rights globally, has awarded a first grant of $12,000 to the North East Network, which works in India's seven northeastern states.
From carrying portraits of their sons and husbands who have committed suicide due to agrarian distress to picketing to doing sewa 24x7 at langars, women have shown a rare determination not to capitulate before the government.
The latest updates from Bollywood!
Earlier, a government panel had said no to the controversial project in Orissa citing violation of a series of laws by it in active collusion with state government officials.
The Supreme Court asked the Chhattisgarh government some searching questions on disbanding the Salwa Judum, the anti-Naxal vigilante group accused of human rights violation in Maoist-hit tribal districts of the state, on Wednesday.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
Verdict to decide fate of Vedanta Aluminium's Rs 40,000-cr projects in Odisha that will source bauxite from Niyamgiri.
In a series of tweets, Shah also questioned Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi whether they support the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomerate of regional and national political parties in Jammu and Kashmir formed to demand the restoration of the Article 370, scrapped last year.
The winners for the year 2019 are from fields as diverse as agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, armed forces and education.
Saturday will be the last time the Mumbai Mirror will hit newsstands as a daily. Two Saturdays ago, its owners, the Times of India group, shocked the city by deciding to convert the Mirror into a weekly newspaper. Jyoti Punwani salutes the Mirror and its editor, Meenal Baghel, for its pathbreaking journalism.
The 33-year jail term given to Shakeel Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the Central Intelligence Agency track Osama Bin Laden, was on Thursday overturned by an official who ordered a fresh trial.
Modi said the National Democratic Alliance government wouldn't have been able to do any development work in the country without the support of the people.
He said that the voices of the weak, did not reach the BJP and the RSS.
'There was a period when they questioned the flag and there were questions also against the Constitution.' 'That's long past.'
'I do films because I want to feel proud of myself as an actor. Why should I sign nonsense? The right roles aren't coming. The only cameo I have done in Hindi is Zoya's Dil Dhadakne Do. She is a friend and I desperately wanted to work with her. She casts big stars, so obviously, I couldn't be the lead.' Rahul Bose on his films, and Poorna.
'... of protecting the lives and property of a large section of society.' 'It may further deepen the communal divide which already exists in the country.'
We've already presented some of the stunning early entries to the 2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest in the Nature category and now, here are incredible portraits and action shots of people from around the world that have been submitted in the People category. As mentioned earlier, the grand-prize winner will be awarded $10,000 (Rs 6.67 lakh), will have their photo posted on the @NatGeoTravel Instagram account, as well as the bragging rights. Take a look and be amazed!
A demand for autonomy for three tribal-dominated districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia in West Bengal was made on Saturday by a top Maoist leader, who also justified the Gorkhaland statehood issue.
Almost every home in this area has a slogan 'Jal, Jangal, Jameen' painted outside. Rashme Sehgal reports for Rediff.com on the four-year battle to save the Mahan forest in Madhya Pradesh.
In an exclusive interview given to ANI in Geneva, Daud said that the formation of a government in exile is possible and remained positive that there is no doubt about it.
Such is the force of his oratory that many Muslims, even those who don't vote for him, have come to believe that Asaduddin Owaisi is the first and only politician who speaks up for Muslims since Independence, observes Jyoti Punwani
