A statue of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar was allegedly vandalised in a village near Varanasi leading to protests by members of the community who demanded immediate arrest of those involved.
Braving freezing cold, the protesters also brought along sandals to give them to the Pakistani embassy officials.
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
Raising the communal temperature in riot-affected western Uttar Pradesh going to polls on Monday, Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah has spoken of the current election being an opportunity to take "revenge for the insult" during the violence in Muzaffarnagar last year.
The United Nations on Monday marked the world population reaching seven billion. And nations across the globe welcomed with lavish ceremonies newborns that symobolised the milestone. Here's a look at some of the 'seven billionth' babies, which are already a part of the swelling tide of history.
'He (Modi) has spoken of being a prime minister for all Indians but he...presides over and has mostly been silent in the face of widespread communal violence, mob lynching and cow vigilantism'
The incident occurred at Sindupur village under Bihar police station area. The victim has been shifted to a government hospital in Lucknow and is in a critical condition.
The Bill was supported by the members across party lines, however, some suggested to add in its purview hospital sanitary staff, ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers and 'Corona warriors' in emergency services such as police and personnel from other departments.
'This time, even the professedly secular parties have maintained a conscious distance from being identified with Muslims.' 'This could be interpreted as a success of the BJP campaign of what it has been calling 'minority appeasement', says Mohammad Sajjad.
'We have finished that fear.'
Six of the eight persons detained in connection with the vandalising of a cinema hall were sent to judicial custody till November 19.
The BJP assessment -- or at least that of some of its leaders -- is that the Congress in Gujarat has peaked too soon, having already fired all its weapons and has nothing new to say.
Noting that Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and only one session of Parliament remains, he asked the government to bring an ordinance.
Strident Hindutva has not been the Shivraj Singh Chouhan's hallmark in his long tenure as chief minister. What has changed?
As controversy continues over senior Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan keeping away from its Agra meet, Samajwadi Party on Friday said no one can "blackmail" the party as nobody has the stature which supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav enjoys among the Muslim community.
Without naming the BJP, Joshi added, "We are not begging for it. We are expressing our emotions. The country wants 'Ram rajya'."
The IOA also said that the decision will now relieve the Indian athletes of having to train amidst lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
BJP's Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore and Congress's Krishna Poonia face each other on Jaipur seat.
'It is very hard to get the police to file a report against someone from an upper caste.' 'Things are so bad that sometimes we have to sit on a dharna with the body of a Dalit victim to get the police to file a complaint.'
The Narendra Modi government on Monday supported the United Progressive Alliance regime's decision to include the Jat community in the central Other Backward Classes list for providing reservation and refuted the allegation in the Supreme Court that it was done to gain political mileage in the general elections.
The Yadavs will visit Azamgarh with a huge hamper of 'gifts' on February 6.
The BJP is banking on development. The opposition is raking up caste identities and the dangers of hyper nationalism.
It also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval.
'At least 6,000 people attended a meal at Shahabuddin's residence in a feast to celebrate his bail. As if the community has no other priorities of channelising such funds for better purposes!,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
As the Centre's decision ahead of the end of the 40-day lockdown brought cheers to lakhs of migrant workers across the country, quarantine centres and shelter homes were also being readied for the returning migrants with Uttar Pradesh alone preparing to receive an estimated 10 lakh people.
A day after Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad fielded his daughter Misa Bharti as party nominee to contest from the Patliputra seat in Patna, a senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramkirpal Yadav has revolted against him. He is now set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest against Misa.
'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
'It is precisely because of the apprehensions about Lalu's revival that the upper castes have started re-thinking their electoral preferences. Out of confusion, they are simply deciding to vote for winnable candidates from their respective castes of any of the three parties -- the BJP, JD-U or RJD. This is what has considerably neutralised the NaMo wave in Bihar and resulted in Nitin Gadkari's remark that "Caste is in the DNA of Biharis". This is why Giriraj Singh, the BJP candidate from Nawada, made provocative statements,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Amit Shah's sustained campaigning against slaughterhouses has unnerved UP's leather and meat export industry.
The batch of petitioners, while challenging the UPA government's decision to extend reservation to Jats
Applying balm on the wounds of the two religious groups is a better course of action for the rulers. Common sense dictates the verdict be accepted in good grace by all sides, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
"We have taken note of this anger. We should not take upper caste votes for granted believing that they will not vote for any other party as there is no option," a senior BJP leader said.
The third phase of Lok Sabha elections scheduled for Tuesday will see the maximum number of seats going to the polls in a single phase -- 117 across 15 states and Union Territories. It will also be a test for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party which will aim to defend the maximum number of seats at 62. This time the BJP will be tested in its bastion Gujarat -- where polling will be held for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state -- apart from Karanataka, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, where the party had done well in 2014. Here are some of the big political leaders' who await their fate on Tuesday.
With Thursday's win, the Congress's strength in the Lok Sabha has gone up to 48.
Owaisi said the CBI should appeal against the judgment "to protect its independence."
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
The prime minister said that India has invited Germany to take advantage of opportunities in defence production in the defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Suggesting that Muslims have contributed to Narendra Modi's victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, SP leader Azam Khan, who had indulged in a vitriolic attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, said they had proved that they were a "secular" community.
Digital radio -- 'Radio Saifai' -- launched in the native village of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has become an instant hit within a week.
Even as Uttar Pradesh government justified its decision to suspend IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal for pulling down the wall of a religious place, the report sent by the district magistrate has held her "blemish-free".
