Amol Shinde (25), a resident of Zari village in Chakur tehsil of Latur, was arrested on Wednesday along with Neelam, 42, of Haryana's Hisar, after they opened gas canisters that emitted smoke outside the Parliament building and shouted Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi (dictatorship will not be allowed), "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat".
The thing is that unemployment and joblessness are a personally felt shame. It is not easy to mobilise a set of people who identify with others as a group that cannot get work, asserts Aakar Patel.
"We are strengthening our communication and other infrastructure to continue the agitation for a long period," said Deep Khatri associated with managing logistics at the Singhu Border protest site.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
Sandeshkhali Block 2, the epicentre of the violent protests triggered by allegations of land encroachment and sexual misconduct involving local TMC leaders, has contributed the largest share of close to 1,000 complaints.
The government is thrusting new leaders to the fore and moving others aside to create a rift between the Maratha and OBC communities, he said, stressing that those protesting over their demand for non-dilution of the OBC quota are not at fault.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghaziabad looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protesters have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.
A massive manhunt is underway for three foreign terrorists, possibly of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, responsible for the deadly attack on pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi that resulted in the loss of nine lives, including a two-year-old, officials involved in the investigation said on Monday.
Climate activist Soman Wangchuk announced on Sunday that he will launch a 28-day fast on Independence Day if the government does not invite Ladakh authorities for talks on demands for statehood and constitutional protection for the union territory.
A delegation of the Maharashtra government, comprising ministers, on Tuesday failed to convince Manoj Jarange, whose hunger strike for Maratha quota entered the 8th day, to withdraw his protest.
When he started his indefinite hunger strike in support of Maratha quota in a village in adjoining Jalna district on August 29, it largely went unnoticed, but everything changed on September 1 when violence broke out when local authorities tried to move him to hospital.
Nine people including three women were killed and 33 injured as a bus carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi plunged into a deep gorge after an ambush by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Sunday evening, police said, as political leaders cutting across party lines strongly condemn the dastardly attack.
Jarange, aged around 40, has been holding the hunger protest in Jalna district's Antarwali Sarati village since August 29.
"The government is just giving empty promises due to which I do not have any trust left (in the government)... Let's see, what action the Centre takes on my demands. They have sought time for a month, so I have given them time till January-end. If my demands are not met, I will resume my huger strike protest. This would be my last protest," the 83-year-old said.
Dharashiv, earlier Osmanabad, is among the eight districts that comprise the state's Marathwada region, where activist Manoj Jarange has led an agitation demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Everything here is 'sewa'. We saw so many children from neighbouring slums roaming around for food, and thought why not also help them keep engaged in a constructive way'
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar journeys through villages and towns, districts and cities for a reality check.
Angry protesters allegedly forced the two vehicles to stop and set them on fire.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
Fadnavis also said the lathi-charge order was not given by any top official to the Jana Police last week.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
The protests against farm laws saw a fair share of controversies as well with climate activist Greta Thunberg and pop sensation Rihanna making their way to India's prime time debates and terms such as 'toolkit' and 'andolanjeevi' entering the Indian political lexicon.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Gogamedi, the chief of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, was shot dead in Jaipur on Tuesday by unidentified bike-borne criminals.
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were stopped by police on Friday from visiting the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, escalating the political tensions in the state as the leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of fostering a 'lawless situation' and attempting to 'communalise' the issue.
Of the 20,831 voters in this assembly constituency, an overwhelming majority of around 18,000 are not tribals.
Truck drivers protesting against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents, called off their strike in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday after the local authorities assured to look into their demands.
Over seven months of violence severely hit businesses, schools, colleges and other institutions, besides disrupting transportation and communication networks. It also affected the agrarian sector, considered the mainstay of the state economy.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Farmer outfits on Friday started mobilising more batches of peasants from Haryana and Punjab to head towards Delhi's borders to join the ongoing agitation against agri laws, even as political parties such as the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Indian National Lok Dal threw their weight behind them.
Twenty days on, life has settled into a routine for protesting farmers who are devising ways to crack the code of living through an agitation with no immediate end in sight.
Standing by his cycle, the 36-year-old from Punjab Moga's district said he could have taken a bus or a train to Delhi, but that could mean his family would have to go hungry.
Nine people were on the helicopter that crashed in northwest Iran on Sunday, including three officials, an imam, and flight and security team members, as reported by Tasnim news.
The, villagers, backed by the opposition, were protesting the acquisition of land for a Special Economic Zone.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
The shootout occurred at a place between Haraothel and Kobsha villages though the police are not yet sure about how it began.
The GoC said the security forces have also recovered a huge quantity of narcotics which establishes a deep nexus between defence establishments in Pakistan and terrorist groups.
