A 20-year-old Sikh-American student has won a significant legal battle in the United States with a court allowing him to enrol in an army programme without removing his articles of faith like the beard and turban.
"The ruling establishment seems to have lost all sense of balance, and of proportion. It appears determined to undermine all democratic norms. It seems hell-bent to destroy the spirit of inquiry, the spirit of questioning, the spirit of debate and dissent, said the Congress president.
Don't let people with repugnant ideas abrogate your rights by taking advantage of your commitment to free speech, observes Mihir S Sharma
Despite the Oscars, the box office glory, and the universal acclaim, Francis Ford Coppola, I am sure, remembers The Godfather with as much frustration as pride. Like Michael Corleone, he got into it with the best of intentions, and got out of it on top but lost in the heights. Sreehari Nair revisits the film as it turns 50 this month.
'Nobody in AMU supports Jinnah's two-nation theory.' 'It is shameful we are debating Jinnah and not education or employment.'
The pleas came up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan which heard the submissions of advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, who appeared for one of the petitioners and claimed that Kamra had posted several tweets scandalous to the judiciary.
'We're going to campaign across the country to convince more candidates to endorse some/all of these issues -- and hold them to their promises if and when they are elected.'
Despite repeated appeals from the police and the varsity authorities, the protesters refused to end their agitation. Police said the protesters did not have permission to march towards Parliament.
First time voters say they expect political leaders to focus on "real issues".
The session, which was earlier scheduled to conclude on April 3, is now likely to be adjourned sine die on March 23, sources said.
After skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan, it's former cricketer Virender Sehwag, who has now jumped into the political bandwagon. The former India opener posted on his official Twitter account, appealing agitating protesters to cease violence immediately and sort out the issues peacefully by staying within the limits of Indian constitution. "I request all my brothers to voice their differences and protest by staying within the limits of our constitution. We are saviors and not violent predators," Sehwag posted on his twitter account," Sehwag wrote on his Twitter handle. "Our army and sportspersons fight for the country's pride. Our (the citizen's) passion should work in the benefit of India and not against it," he added. Sehwag's comments come in the backdrop of a raging debate on freedom of expression after an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Earlier Dhoni had also voiced his opinion by hailing the Indian army, saying that the nation is in a position to debate on freedom of expression because of the men in uniform.
About 90 per cent of the workers at this delivery service facility are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the Sikh community.
Generations of Indians don't quite grasp that there would barely be an India had it not been for the Sardar whose steadfastness and guile stitched together that which had been united only in philosophy and spirituality and sometimes not even then -- for thousands of years. A fascinating excerpt from Hindol Sengupta's The Man Who Saved India, Sardar Patel and His Idea of India.
PM indirectly referred to North Korea's proliferation linkages with Pakistan.
Regulations ensure only PGs from Indian universities qualify.
He said he wanted to tell those who damaged public property "not to forget that rights and duties go hand in hand".
'How ironic that a party that seeks to arrogate the mantle of nationalism to itself is actually behaving like the imperial oppressors.'
Denouncing the protest march in the Jawaharlal Nehru University against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Friday said that the nation will never tolerate "insult" to mother India.
"If slogans are raised on reputed campuses for fragmenting India, resolutions are made to destroy it, and if Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is hailed as a martyr, it is shameful and disconcerting," an appeal which has the consent of 33 individuals, including intellectuals and artistes, says.
The vice chancellor praised the valour of the Indian soldiers in the Kargil War and expressed his profound gratitude to the Indian Army.
The annual Mumbai Police calendar, shot by ace photographer Pravin Talan, keeps getting bigger and grander every passing year and is universally hailed as the most aspirational and inspiring police calendar in the country. The fourth edition of the Mumbai Police Calendar has stunning visuals and heartwarming emotions capturing the lives and duties of Mumbai cops through its sixteen pages. Each page of the calendar is filled with artistic interpretation of the act of policing filling you with awe and inspiration. Pravin Talan, the ace photographer behind the calendar, said it is a tribute not just to one of the finest police forces in the world, but also to the city itself.
'At Ramjas too, slogans for Kashmir's azaadi were heard. We won't let DU become JNU.'
'While many Chinese policy makers dismiss the political, economic and technological component of US-India relations, they express caution on the defence-related ties which also happens to be a major driver in US-India relations,' explains China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
After arriving in Brisbane, Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students at Queensland University of Technology.
Umar claimed that he was being labelled a terrorist because of Islam, which, he said, he did not practise.
Noted historian Bipin Chandra died on Saturday at his residence here after prolonged illness. He was 86.
In his maiden address to the employees of the State Department, the US president said he has come to the building to send a clear message to the world: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back.
He also expressed solidarity with the students and called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates as "anti-constitutional".
Justifying action against the JNU and the HU students, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said if slogans are openly raised for terrorists then action is imperative.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
'Not allowing people to speak or listen is the biggest act of anti-nationalism,' says Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India's finest poets.
'His speech at the bhoomi puja will stand out for a long time in the memory of those who listened to it for touching the pinnacle of excellence and brilliance in both style and content,' declares B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Dilip Padgaonkar, who heads the group of Centre's interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, asked students to prepare a roadmap for azaadi (freedom) by the time they return for a second visit to the Valley.
'There is little doubt that China today stands in the dock, charged with misdemeanour with regard to the health and well-being of its own citizens and of the people of the world,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
'The idea is to have a place where people can come together and bridge the gap. It will be a contemporary design for the future, and not have the shadows of the past' Ritwik Sharma reports.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We are calling for democratic accountability even as we talk about Digital India.' 'We are not against Digital India and it is important for India, but the government should not see what is applicable just to entrepreneurs but also to the vast majority of Indians who do not have the kind of advantages that many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have.'
On Tuesday, 49 people, including award-winning filmmakers Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam, and historian Ramachandra Guha, wrote to PM Modi, urging him to intervene in cases of hate crimes and atrocities against minority communities.
'Everywhere Anil Dharker went, he assembled teams of talented people, gave them opportunities, then got out of the way and allowed them to flourish.' Meenakshi Shedde remembers a very special editor.
