On Republic Day in Delhi, we celebrate being citizens of the world's largest democracy in many different ways. The glitterati have long boozy lunches in the sun, the children organise flag-hoisting in their local parks, and so on.
Tikait said the government should "release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks".
Several protests and mass movements across Delhi and the country were at their peak when the coronavirus threat slowly crept in, throwing normal life out of gear and pushing everyone indoors to ensure social distancing.
Attacking Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for opposing its proposed flag hoisting at Lal Chowk in Sringar, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday accused the Centre and the state government of "surrendering" to separatists who have declared that they will not let the tricolour be unfurled.
Bihar's choppy political waters were on Tuesday astir over the prospects of a meeting between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Telangana counterpart, both of whom share a passion for building a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party's hegemony.
There was high-drama at the Jammu airport after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were not allowed to leave the airport ahead of the flag yatra planned in Jammu. Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Anant Kumar were asked to return to Delhi after they landed in Jammu to "take command" of the party programme to hoist the tricolour in Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called on Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday morning and discussed with him the current situation in the state.
In a goodwill gesture, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitely and invited party members, who were arrested for trying to enter the state, to attend the Republic Day function either in Jammu or in Srinagar.
The separatist Hurriyat Conference is finished in Jammu and Kashmir but attempts are being made to keep it alive from Pakistan, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Monday, adding that the militancy in the region is "on crutches".
Murli Manohar Joshi demanded an apology from Omar Abdullah for saying that Jammu and Kashmir had not merged with India but it agreed to be with India under the accession instrument which had the clearance of the then Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten.
Glimpses of I-Day celebrations across India.
'The Modi government must tell us what this person's connection with the BJP is.'
'We will be hoisting the tiranga, but this kind of celebration is uncalled for when the farmers in this country are dying by suicides, their families are ravaged by poverty and farmers are not enjoying any freedom.'
Against the backdrop of recent attacks on Dalits, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said freedom can never be for the few and asked Indians to aspire for a country where ideas are not "crushed violently" by the forces of hate and mediocrity.
In her message on the occasion of the 73rd Independence Day, she appealed to all to reinvigorate the principles of compassion, coexistence and inclusive development as the indelible features of polity, society and economy.
A day after farmers' tractor rally turned violent in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and measures taken to ensure peace in the city, officials said.
The assembly also saw the passage of four bills amidst the din, and Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri taking strong exception to Congress members "unnecessarily" bringing in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's name during their protest in the well of the House.
These are the new government decisions outlined in the 11th Five Year Plan that was approved by the National Development Council recently. The Plan document, under the head 'Madarsas/Maktabs', says that "Every School and EGS/AIE center will receive a special grant to celebrate national festivals of Independence day and Republic Day. Hoisting of national flag at these institutions on these occasions is mandatory".
60 years down the line no one knows where these flags are. There is no official record available about the whereabouts of these flags nor is there any move to trace them
As per protocol, only those in uniform salute the Tricolour while the national anthem is being played.
The opening ceremony has been created by British screenwriter Steven Knight, who had produced the famous crime drama 'Peaky Blinders'.
Seventy years after Independent India won its first Olympic gold in hockey in London defeating Britain, living legend Balbir Singh Sr. went down the memory lanes and said he was overwhelmed by a sense of patriotism after the triumph.
The programme would begin on January 25 with a ghazal performance by Talat Aziz, who would be accompanied by renowned tabla maestro, Jeetu Shankar.
Bollywood celebrates 75 years of Independence by telling us what freedom means to them, and posting interesting pictures on social media.
Eyeing the revival of the crisis-ridden party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party chief Sonia Gandhi described the march as a "landmark occasion" and hoped that the march would help rejuvenate the grand old party.
India is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the historic 1999 Kargil conflict, which was termed 'Operation Vijay' by the Indian Army. To commemorate the event, the day of celebrations is marked as the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas'. It was on this day 20 years ago that the Indian Army managed to make the Pakistani forces withdraw along the Line of Control, hoisting the tricolour atop the high-altitude Kargil, in Jammu-Kashmir.
Jawaharlal Nehru was a man of the people and of many gifts and achievements, says veteran author Ruskin Bond in his new book, and describes Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a man of humble beginnings, whose political acumen and yogic willpower have brought him to the top.
"We are feeling quite uncomfortable over some of your actions and undesirable utterances especially which hurt patriotic sentiments," read a letter to Mufti signed by three leaders.
'I have seen that many madrassas do not celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day. They don't even invite people for Independence Day celebrations and this is an insult to nation. It is wrong.'
The boy from Kanpur kept his audiences in theatres, on television and lately on social media platforms engaged with vivid societal sketches, be it about travelling in Mumbai's famous locals or lampooning queues at wedding buffets.
The toast of the Congress for their tenacity and the difficult choices they made to fulfil a five-month political commitment, their stories are many.
Experts, however, feel that given the intensity of the second wave and the high single dose coverage, India is in a good position to avoid any drastic wave in the near future.
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari reveal that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's name is now doing the rounds as President Kovind's likely successor.
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 Delhi police's Special Cell has lodged an FIR under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sections of the IPC dealing with sedition to investigate the violence at Red Fort in Delhi on January 26.
Congress legislators will spend Thursday night inside the Karnataka legislative assembly and council, demanding the sacking of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and also that he be booked for sedition for his statement about the national flag.
He said more than one crore children have sent him 'their Mann Ki Baat' via postcards which have come from many parts of the country and even from abroad.
