- Thursday, April 18, 2024
Campaigning officially ended on Wednesday evening for the first phase of India's general elections, involving 102 Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) seats across 21 states and Union territories. This initial phase is set for 19 April, with key political figures from both the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA (National Democratic…
India's general elections are set to begin in just three days, on April 19. Spanning six weeks, this monumental electoral exercise will involve 968 million eligible voters, making it the largest democratic vote in the world. As the nation prepares for this massive process, the focus is on the logistical…
INDIA's first Olympic medallist in boxing, Vijender Singh, who took a plunge in politics in April 2019 by joining the Congress, switched to prime minister Narendra Modi's party on Wednesday (3). Addressing a joint press conference with BJP leaders in New Delhi, Singh praised Modi and said that the respect…
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) unveiled the nominations for their 2024 Television Awards on Wednesday. Leading the pack are The Crown with 8 nominations and Black Mirror with 7 nominations. Both dramas are up for the prestigious "Best Drama Series" award, alongside Happy Valley, Slow Horses,…
NOW that it has been announced that the Indian general election will be held between April 19 and June 1, many books and articles both for and against Narendra Modi will be written about the country’s prime minister. Firmly in the latter category is Christophe Jaffrelot’s Gujarat Under Modi: Laboratory…
India's interior ministry said Monday it was enacting a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before the world's most populous country heads into a general election. While the law was passed in December 2019, its implementation was delayed after widespread protests and deadly violence erupted in…
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday met with veteran singer Asha Bhosle and unveiled the latter's photobiography 'Best of Asha'. Conceptualised and initiated by Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president and MLA Ashish Shelar, 'Best of Asha' is a compilation of photographs of the singer captured by ace photographer…
INDIAN agencies Wednesday (28) made their highest-ever narcotics bust from the sea as they seized 3,300 kg drugs, which sailed from an Iranian port, off the Gujarat coast and arrested five foreigners from a dhow. The cache could be worth anything between £124 to £191 million in the international market,…
The film Article 370 has been in the news ever since the makers dropped its trailer a couple of weeks ago. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and starring Yami Gautam and Priya Mani in central characters, the film delves into one of the most contentious and debated issues in Indian…
The president of India, Droupadi Murmu will be attending a ceremony on February 12 hosted by the Arya Samaj, to celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, the organisation's founder, at his native place in Tankara within the Morbi district of Gujarat, the organisers said on Sunday (4).…
THE four-part ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, has changed the debate about the scandal resulting from the implementation of the faulty Horizon software by Japan’s Fujitsu company. Following the national outcry triggered by the show, prime minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg last…
India has unveiled plans to revamp its colonial-era penal code in a bid to eradicate any remnants of "the slavery of the British Raj." Addressing the lower house of parliament on Thursday (21), after the passage of three new criminal justice bills, Amit Shah, the minister of home affairs, emphasised…
NEARLY 100 opposition MPs were temporarily barred from India’s parliament for demanding a debate into last week’s protest when a smoke canister was released in the legislature. The 92 suspended MPs include opposition leaders in both houses of parliament. Six people were arrested after the protest last Wednesday (13), when…
India’s union home minister and member of parliament, Amit Shah, was warmly welcomed, along with his accompanying delegation on Saturday (9) at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, better known as the yoga capital of the world. This visit followed his participation in the Global Investors Summit held in Dehradun,…
India’s southern city Chennai, witnessed streets inundated with chest-high waters on Tuesday (5) caused by Cyclone Michaung, resulting in the death of eight people due to the intense floods, as the cyclone approached the southeast coast. The cyclone was forecast to hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh state later Tuesday…
At least 36 individuals were killed, and 19 sustained injuries in a tragic incident in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Wednesday (15). The accident occurred when a bus, carrying passengers, skidded off the road, rolling down into a 300-foot gorge, officials said. The bus bearing registration number JK02CN-6555 was…
A suspected bomb blast during a Christian prayer meeting in India's southern state of Kerala killed one person and wounded 36 others, police said Sunday (29). "At about 9.40 am (0410 GMT) approximately there was an explosion in Zamra International Convention Centre in which one person died and 36 are…
BRAZILIAN legend Ronaldinho was in Kolkata last Sunday (22) to usher in an early onset of the Durga puja festival. The Durga puja, the grandest festival in the region, traditionally commences on the sixth day (Shasthi) following Mahalaya, but it got rolling on the second day itself with the Ronaldinho…
INDIA'S government moved three bills in the lower house of parliament on Friday (11) aimed at overhauling some colonial-era criminal laws, ranging from the controversial sedition law to strengthening laws that protect women and minors. On the last day of the monsoon session of the parliament, home minister Amit Shah…
CHARRED walls, collapsed tin roofs and smashed windows in a burned Kuki community church illustrate how deadly ethnic violence has led to brutal sectarian attacks in India’s troubled Manipur state. At least 120 people have been killed since May in armed clashes between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the…
INDIA'S parliament on Wednesday (26) authorised a no-confidence vote against Narendra Modi's government by an alliance of opposition parties, to force the prime minister to address in detail concerns about ethnic clashes in a northeastern state. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a clear majority of 301 members in the…
Ten policemen and a civilian driver were killed in a blast in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday (26) as they were returning from an operation against ultra left-wing guerrillas in the state, local police officials said. Rebel Maoists are suspected of having carried out the attack in…
Eleven individuals died due to heatstroke following a government-funded awards ceremony in Indian state of Maharashtra where an estimated one million attendees waited in the sun for several hours. According to local media reports, temperatures soared to nearly 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) with significant humidity near Mumbai on Sunday,…
A minister from India’s Maharashtra state government said they are trying to bring back warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s sword from the UK. Records show that the sword, named 'Jagdamba’, made its way to St James’s Palace in London after the Maratha ruler’s descendant presented it to Albert Edward, then…
The police reported that a tragic accident occurred early on Saturday (14) in Raigad district, Maharashtra, as a bus transporting young male and female members of a traditional `Dhol-Tasha-Zaanj' music troupe fell into a gorge on the old Mumbai-Pune highway. The incident claimed the lives of 13 individuals, including five…
India's home minister Amit Shah on Monday (10) visited Arunachal Pradesh, a state located on the Himalayan frontier, which China claims as its own territory. He launched a development scheme worth (£471 million ($585m) that he claimed would enhance the security of the unmarked border. Shah stated that the initiative…
MM Keeravaani, composer of the Oscar-winning song “Naatu Naatu,” on Wednesday was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri, by President Draupadi Murmu at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were in attendance during the presentation ceremony. MM…
Sushma Swaraj's daughter, Bansuri Swaraj, has been appointed co-convener of Delhi BJP's legal cell, marking her entry into active politics. She practices law in the Supreme Court. The appointment was made by Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, his first in the state unit after taking over as full-time president. Sachdeva…
Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Telugu cinema veteran Chiranjeevi and his son, RRR star Ram Charan, and congratulated them on the Oscar win of the song "Naatu Naatu". The foot-tapping track from SS Rajamouli's directorial won the Best Original Song Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards. Shah met the…
Indian politicians were united in their praise for the country's two Oscar wins on Monday as the song "Naatu Naatu" from Telugu film "RRR" and Tamil documentary "The Elephant Whisperers" created history in Los Angeles. Speaking about the achievement by Indians, prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the country…
Reacting to home minister Amit Shah's statement on the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir, JKNC MP Farooq Abdullah said that they (the government) will give a truncated statehood after elections. Union home Minister Amit Shah said that the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will come up…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has "nothing to hide or be afraid of" on the controversy over the Adani group, the home minister said on Tuesday, responding to opposition allegations of favouring the conglomerate attacked by a U.S. short seller. Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the business house's seven…
As the final episode of Happy Valley airs on Sunday, actor Amit Shah, who plays the character of troubled pharmacist Faisal Bhatti on the series, has revealed that he knows the ending of the critically acclaimed and hard-hitting BBC One crime drama. The 41-year-old actor recently appeared on ITV’s Lorraine…
The two had taken the internet by storm with their grand Hindu marriage held in New Jersey, US, in 2019. And now, the couple -- Amit Shah and Aditya Madiraju, are set to welcome their first baby in May. The partners also had a paternity shoot and its photographs were…
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and leaders cutting across the political spectrum on Friday condoled the death of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Hiraben, recalling her simple and compassionate life that was an inspiration for all. Hiraben, Hiraba to many, passed away at an Ahmedabad hospital on Friday…
Many events were held during the first week of centennial celebration of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The grand centennial celebration was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi and His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj on December 14. The celebration will continue through January 15, 2023, and each…
Indian home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (30) visited the BAPS Yogiji Maharaj Hospital in Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat to receive the blessings of Param Pujya Mahant Swami Maharaj. Shah, who arrived around 5.10 pm local time, was garlanded and welcomed by Swami Maharaj in the presence…
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday (23) launched 36 satellites of London-based firm, OneWeb, in its heaviest rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota. Prime minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the successful launch of these satellites. He said that the latest initiative exemplified Atmanirbharta (self-reliance)…
India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been left with no Muslim parliamentarians following the exit of union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. His resignation followed the expiry of his term as a member of the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of Parliament. Naqvi, who headed…
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's determination that he would not allow cross-border terrorism to be normalised has helped in shaping India's Pakistan policy since 2014. Speaking at an event at Delhi University, S Jaishankar noted that Prime Minister Modi is perceived abroad…
There was no delay on part of the Gujarat government in requisitioning the Army to deal with post-Godhra 2002 Gujarat riots, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said and noted that former Punjab DGP KPS Gill had termed the state government's action as "prompt and neutral". He also attacked Congress over…
Most of the historians in India have given prominence in recording the history of Mughals only, ignoring the glorious rules of many empires like Pandyas, Cholas, Mauryas, Guptas and Ahoms, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday. Releasing a book 'Maharana: Sahastra Varsha Ka Dharma Yuddha', Shah also said…
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who attended a special screening of the period action drama Samrat Prithviraj with his cabinet colleagues, on Thursday declared the movie tax-free in the state. The screening of the movie was held at Lok Bhawan here, and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, female lead Manushi…
ASSERTING that an era of cultural revival began in India in 2014, when prime minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to power, home minister Amit Shah has said this journey will take the country to heights of glory it enjoyed earlier. In a brief speech after watching Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Samrat…
Kashmiri Pandits, employed under the PM package, on Tuesday threatened to undertake mass migration from the valley if the government did not relocate them to safe places within the next 24 hours as employees from the community hit the streets at various places to protest against the killing of a…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat has become the "gateway of drugs" to the country under his watch, the Congress alleged Friday, questioning the "silence" of the PM and Home Minister Amit Shah and demanding answers from agencies tasked to control narcotics smuggling.Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters…
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi and other leaders on Friday (18) wished the country on the occasion of Holi. He called on Indians to promote brotherhood as millions celebrated Holi, the festival of colours, amid a sharp dip in Covid-19 cases in the country. The festival saw restricted celebrations last year…
AN INDIAN court upheld on Tuesday (15) a ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms in the southern state of Karnataka, a ruling that could set a precedent for the rest of the country which has a big Muslim minority.The ban last month by the state sparked protests by some…
INDIA'S home minister said he favoured students wearing uniforms in school rather than any religious attire, but that his position might change once a court decides on the merits of a ban on the hijab in schools in the state of Karnataka. The ban imposed by Karnataka on Feb. 5…
INDIAN businessman Rahul Bajaj, who died in Pune last Saturday (12), aged 83, gave Lakshmi Mittal crucial support in 2006 when Mittal Steel’s takeover bid for Arcelor was almost blocked by the French government of president Jacques Chirac.Bajaj, one of India’s most prominent industrialists, built up the family’s business in…
BAJAJ CHETAK scooter became an aspirational symbol for the middle class in pre-liberalised India. And the man behind the brand was - Rahul Bajaj.Straightforward and outspoken, Bajaj not just had the guts to create a two and three-wheeler brand during the red tape era but also had the courage that…
VETERAN industrialist Rahul Bajaj, whose name was synonymous with road transport in India, died Saturday (12) aged 83, his company said.He "had not been keeping well", the Bajaj Group said in a statement, adding he would be cremated on Sunday in Pune, western India.Bajaj was born into the Indian elite…
INDIA’S home minister Amit Shah and his family visited the BAPS Mandir at Sarangpur in Gujarat on Monday (1). BAPS saints Gnaneshwar Swami and Brahmavihari Swami welcomed the minister with a garland on behalf of BAPS leader His Holiness Pujya Mahant Swami Maharaj. Shah, who visited HH Param Pujya Pramukh…
MAHANT Narendra Giri, president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the largest grouping of sadhus in India, was found dead on Monday (20) at Baghambari Math in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The police said a seven-page ‘suicide note’ was found in which the…
SENIOR BJP leader Bhupendra Patel will become the next chief minister of Gujarat. He will succeed Vijay Rupani who resigned on Saturday (11) in a surprise move. Patel along with Rupani and state BJP president CR Paatil handed over the government formation claim to governor Acharya Devvrat on Sunday evening.…
AN academic conference in the United States addressing Hindu nationalism has come under the wrath of right-wing Hindu groups and the controversy has snowballed to the extent of the participants getting death threats and several scholars hounded out of the event. The conference, titled Dismantling Global Hindutva, is co-sponsored by…
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi, Indian home minister Amit Shah, minority minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan were among those who condoled the demise of former head of Sivagiri Mutt, Swami Prakashananda. One of the oldest spiritual leaders of the southern state of…
IN what was called a drone attack by Pakistan-based terrorists for the first time, two bombs were dropped at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu airport in the early hours of Sunday (June 27), officials said. The airport where the blasts took place is used for VVIP movements…
THE Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has always been an ambitious outfit. After having done well in its first-ever election in Delhi in 2013, the party of Arvind Kejriwal came to power but thereafter, it failed to keep up the momentum. The party could not stay in power in Delhi for…
LAKSHADWEEP, a normally tranquil group of islands off the southwest coast of India, has been simmering with tension over a slew of rules proposed by its administrator Praful Patel. Critics said the proposals are "anti-people" and threaten the livelihoods of the islanders. The opposition to the rule that started as…
INDIA reported on Monday (31) its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections since April 11 at 152,734 cases over the past 24 hours, while deaths rose by 3,128. The South Asian nation's tally of infections now stands at 28 million, while the death toll has reached 329,100, health ministry…
DESCRIBING state and district officials as "field commanders" in the fight against Covid-19, prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (18) said localised containment zones, aggressive testing and sharing correct and complete information with people are weapons to defeat the pandemic. Interacting with them at a meeting, which was attended by…
By Amit Roy INDIA has just held assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the union territory of Pondicherry. But the key battleground was West Bengal, where the prime minister Narendra Modi and his home minister, Amit Shah, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were determined to topple…
By Rithika Siddhartha INDIA’S coronavirus caseload topped 20 million on Tuesday (4) with some cities expected to reach the peak of the second wave in the next few days. More than 350,000 new cases were reported in India on Tuesday, a fall from the high of 402,000 last week as…
India prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback on Sunday (2) when it lost a fiercely contested state poll. Over the past month India held its biggest democratic exercise in two years, with 175 million people eligible to vote in five regional elections. But the marathon polls…
INDIA extended a record daily run of new Covid-19 infections on Friday (16), spurred by hundreds of positive tests at a major religious gathering, as politicians pushed ahead with election rallies against advice they could worsen the outbreak. India is battling a massive second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with…
INDIA on Tuesday (13) reported 161,736 Covid-19 infections as hundreds of thousands Hindu devotees are set to take a holy dip in the Ganges river tomorrow (14). Deaths rose by 879 to 171,058, while total nationwide infections stand at nearly 13.7 million as government critics have called for the cancellation…
India's coronavirus epicentre Maharashtra went into a state-wide weekend lockdown on Saturday as the country battled exploding infection numbers and shortages of vaccines, drugs and hospital beds. Having let its guard down with mass religious festivals, political rallies and spectators at cricket matches, India is experiencing a ferocious new wave…
INDIA reported another record number of new Covid-19 infections on Friday (9) and daily deaths hit their highest in more than five months, as it battles a second wave of infections and states complain of a persistent vaccine shortage. Evoking memories of the last national lockdown when tens of thousands…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (12) launched 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' (elixir of the energy of freedom), India's initiative to mark 75 years of India's Independence, in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. Modi flagged off the event by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters who lost their…
THE world's biggest cricket stadium was renamed after India's prime minister Narendra Modi in a surprise move on Wednesday(24) hours before its inaugural international match between India and England. The stadium can hold 110,000 fans but because of coronavirus 55,000 tickets went on sale, and officials expected between 35,000 and…
India's top court on Friday granted interim bail to a stand-up comedian who was jailed for more than a month over allegations of insulting Hindu deities during a show, court officials said. The comedian, Munawar Faruqui, 30, was arrested early last month following a complaint by the son of a…
India will fly doctors in from other regions, double the quantity of tests carried out and ensure people wear masks in efforts to contain the coronavirus spread in the capital New Delhi, home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday. "Amit Shah also directed that the hospital capacity and availability of…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi's coalition retained power in Bihar state, results showed on Wednesday(11), in what was a referendum on Modi's handling of Covid-19 and which may boost his chances in three more state elections next year. Modi's coalition won a fourth straight term in Bihar, the third-most populous…
India's central bank Shaktikanta Das on Sunday (25) said he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, one of the most high-profile figures in the world's second most-infection nation to contract the infectious disease. "I have tested COVID-19 positive. Asymptomatic. Feeling very much alright," the 63-year-old tweeted. "Have alerted those…
At least 17 members of the Indian parliament have tested positive for the coronavirus, government officials said on Tuesday, underlining the widening spread of infections set to cross five million cases soon. The lawmakers were screened ahead of the re-opening of parliament on Monday after six months. MPs cleared by…
A few days ago, Kangana Ranaut had stated that she is scared of Mumbai Police and when she comes to Mumbai, she prefers security from the Himachal Pradesh government or the Centre. Her statement irked, Shiv Sena leader, Sanjay Raut and he stated that if Kangana is scared of Mumbai…
INDIA reported 78,512 novel coronavirus infections on Monday (31), more than any other country but fewer than the previous day when it posted the world's biggest, single-day tally, as authorities looked to open more sectors of the economy. On Sunday (30), India's total of 78,761 new cases exceeded the previous…
INDIA reported another record jump in its surging coronavirus cases on Thursday (13) with nearly 67,000 new infections, among them a religious leader who shared a stage with prime minister Narendra Modi during a ceremony to launch construction of a grand temple in Ayodhya. Nritya Gopal Das, an 82-year-old Hindu priest,…
THE holy site Ayodhya in Northern India has been the spark for some of India's worst sectarian violence. Here is a look at the history of the three-acre patch of land in the holy northern town of Ayodhya and why it has long been an explosive source of contention between…
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will attend a foundation-laying ceremony for a Hindu temple on Wednesday (5), organisers said, even though his interior minister has contracted COVID-19. Amit Shah, who is Modi's top lieutenant as well as India's interior minister, was admitted to a private hospital near Delhi on Sunday,…
India's Interior Minister Amit Shah has been admitted to hospital after catching the coronavirus, he said on Sunday (2), becoming the most senior politician in the country to test positive for the disease. Shah, a close aide to prime minister Narendra Modi, heads a ministry that has been at the…
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said on Sunday he had been discharged from hospital, three weeks after being admitted with "mild" coronavirus symptoms after testing positive for the disease. The news came as powerful Indian home minister Amit Shah revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus, which is infecting tens of…
Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film Dil Bechara is all set to premiere today on Disney+ Hotstar at 7:30 pm (IST). Well, it will surely be a very emotional moment for his fans to watch the actor’s last movie. Sushant’s girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, took to Instagram to write how she will…
INDIA's IT hub Bangalore will go back into lockdown Tuesday (14) as the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged towards a million with about 500 people dying daily. After imposing one of the world's strictest lockdowns in late March, India has been steadily easing rules to lessen the…
INDIA's Covid-19 cases rose to 440,215 on Tuesday (23) with 14,933 fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll went up to 14,011 as the pandemic claimed 312 lives in a day. According to the health ministry, there are 178,014 active cases in the country while 248,189…
Ashwani Jain succumbed to the coronavirus in an ambulance as his family pleaded with several hospitals to take him in, the latest victim of the pandemic sweeping through the Indian capital and exposing a deadly shortage of hospital beds. "They don't care whether we live or die," said his 20-year-old…
A US government panel on Tuesday (28) called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a "drastic" downturn under prime minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is…
There is no larger symbol of the global sports shutdown than cricket's 110,000-seater Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, opened by US president Donald Trump, but yet to see a ball bowled. India's newest and the world's biggest cricket stadium lies empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. Where there should be…
A day after announcing his resignation from the Congress party, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the ruling BJP on Wednesday (11) in presence of party president JP Nadda. The BJP on Wednesday named Jyotiraditya Scindia as its Rajya Sabha, upper house of Indian parliament, candidate from Madhya Pradesh soon after he joined the party. He criticised…
INDIAN health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday (4) said that 28 positive cases of coronavirus have been detected so far in India. Out of the total 28 COVID-19 cases in India, one person was from Delhi, six of his relatives in Agra, 16 Italians and their Indian driver, one in…
AT LEAST 20 people have been killed in the Indian capital during violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups over a new citizenship law. Indian PM Modi has urged to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged that the situation has become "alarming" and…
TEN people have been killed and more than 130 injured in some of the worst sectarian violence in India's capital in years, as rioters went on the rampage in several parts of the city, setting fire to buildings and vehicles and attacking journalists. Protests against a contentious citizenship law descended on…
THE Indian High Commission in London has clarified that immigration officials in Delhi had deported British MP Debbie Abrahams because she “did not hold a valid visa”, and that there was “no provision for visa on arrival for UK nationals”. Mission has confirmed from the Indian immigration authorities that Ms…
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s decision to set up a temple trust to build the Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday (February 5). The government has also decided to transfer the 67.703 acres of land to the trust. The trust will be called ‘Sri…
Protests were held across India on Monday (6) after masked assailants wielding batons and iron rods went on a rampage at a top Delhi university, leaving more than two dozen injured. Controversy over Sunday's violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) comes as a new challenge to the government as it…
Tens of thousands of people protested across India on Friday (3) against a citizenship law passed by the Hindu nationalist government that critics say discriminates against Muslims. Some 30,000 marched in the southern city of Bangalore, more than 20,000 in Siliguri and thousands in Chennai, while big rallies were also…
Nearly 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in India are not eligible for citizenship under a new law, sparking concerns they may be forced to return to the island nation they fled during a decades-long civil war, many with no homes to return to. India's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to…
Huge protests in India against a citizenship law seen by many as anti-Muslim have wrong-footed prime minister Narendra Modi and sent his Hindu nationalist party scrambling to douse the anger. In Modi's biggest challenge since taking office in 2014, hundreds of thousands have rallied against the law offering citizenship to…
Prime minister Narendra Modi sought on Sunday (22) to reassure India's Muslims over a new citizenship law that has sparked deadly protests and put his Hindu nationalist government under pressure like never before. At least 25 people have died in almost two weeks of demonstrations and violence after Modi's government…
For the past two decades India has been enthusiastically feted in Washington, with politicians across the spectrum eager to nurture an alliance between the world's two largest democracies. But as prime minister Narendra Modi pushes forward his Hindu nationalist agenda, India has suddenly found itself in an unusual position --…
Angry protesters in northeast India vowed on Sunday to keep demonstrating against a contentious citizenship law as the death toll from bloody clashes sparked by the bill rose to six. Tension remained high at the epicentre of the unrest in Assam state's biggest city, Guwahati, with troops patrolling the streets.…
Protestors in northeast India clashed with police, set fire to tyres and cut down trees to block roads on Tuesday in a shutdown across the region hours after lawmakers approved the government's new citizenship bill. The legislation, set to go before the upper house on Wednesday, will fast-track citizenship claims…
India's lower house passed controversial legislation early Tuesday (9) that will grant citizenship to religious minorities from neighbouring countries, but not Muslims, amid raucous scenes in parliament and protests in the country's northeast. The Citizenship Amendment Bill provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim-majority…
At least forty-three people were killed in India's capital New Delhi on Sunday (8) when a fire swept through a six-storey factory where labourers were sleeping, government officials said. The factory was making handbags and lots of raw material was stored inside the building due to which the fire spread…
INDIA'S cabinet approved a bill on Wednesday (4) to give citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighbouring Muslim countries, the first time that the country is seeking to grant nationality on the basis of religion. Last month, Amit Shah, India's federal home (interior) minister, told parliament that non-Muslim minorities -…
A BRITISH court has sentenced three women for a total of 15 months while two others were handed community service. The court found them guilty of abusive actions towards a 94-year-old Indian-origin woman in a care home in north-west London. Paniben Shah was abused by the women, many of who…
THE National Register of Citizens (NRC) process will be carried out across India, country’s home minister Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on Wednesday (20) while making it clear that there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion. Shah said the government accepts that refugees -…
"Total normalcy" prevails in Kashmir, India's home minister said Wednesday even as the government said 600 people remained in custody since the region, cut off from the internet, was stripped of its autonomy in August. "Petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG (liquid petroleum gas) and rice are adequately available," Amit Shah, prime…
SHOPS and offices were shut in Kashmir on Thursday (31) and the streets largely deserted as federal authorities formally revoked the restive state's constitutional autonomy and split it into two federal territories. Prime minister Narendra Modi's decision in August to change Kashmir's status and tighten its grip over a region…
HISTORY will be created on Thursday (31) when Jammu and Kashmir, which has been part of the Union of India since 1947, will cease to be a state and will be bifurcated into two union territories. Indian administrative service (IAS) officers Girish Chandra Murmu and R K Mathur, who have…
Sourav Ganguly was one of the most astute captains ever and his move to take over the world's richest cricket body could be just another step to becoming one of India's future leaders. The 47-year-old took over Wednesday as head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),…
Sourav Ganguly will lead the Indian board like he led the national team, the former captain said as he promised a fair and untainted administration after taking over as president of the world's richest cricket board on Wednesday (23). One of India's most successful captains, Ganguly took over the reins from a court-appointed panel…
Former captain Sourav Ganguly is set to take charge as the head of India's cricket board this month, completing his transition from star player to a top administrator. The 47-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2008, filed his nomination for the president's post of the Board of Control for…
India's home affairs minister on Sunday (8) said his government "will not allow a single illegal immigrant to stay", as he visited Assam state where a controversial citizenship register sparked uproar from the almost two million people excluded. The register, feared to be a cover for the ruling Bharatiya Janata…
DEBT-RIDDEN Air India said it will stop using single-use plastic and replace the packaging with eco-friendly paper and wooden cutlery, as the government ramps up its "clean India" mission. Prime minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech in mid-August said eradicating single-use plastics was a key goal and called…
ALMOST two million people in northeast India were left facing statelessness on Saturday (31) after the state of Assam published a citizenship list aimed at weeding out "foreign infiltrators", in a process the central government wants to replicate nationwide. A total of 31.1 million people were included in a National…
by LORD MEGHNAD DESAI INDIA’S home minister, Amit Shah, and prime minister, Narendra Modi, achieved a fundamental change last week in abrogating Article 370 and announcing the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir state into two union territories. To understand the significance of the move, you have to go back to…
By Bob Blackman MP I first became aware of the challenge of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s after the Kashmiri Pandits were ethnically cleansed from their ancestral home in the valley after threats from extremist Islamist terrorists. I eventually had the opportunity to visit…
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's strongarm move to tighten control on Muslim-majority Kashmir is a gamble that could trigger conflict with Pakistan and re-ignite an insurgency that has already cost tens of thousands of lives, experts warn. Revoking Kashmir's special status, stripping away constitutionally guaranteed privileges to land and jobs,…
The UK government on Tuesday (6) said that it was monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely and called for calm as the country's parliamentarians echoed some of the wider divisions over the India's decision to revoke Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian government on…
Today, the government of India scrapped the Article 370 of the Indian constitution that gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The decision created a lot of ruckus in the parliament and even on social media, it has received a mixed response. However, actress Kangana Ranaut feels…
INDIA'S government on Monday (5) revoked the special status of Kashmir in a bid to fully integrate its only Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, the most far-reaching move on the Himalayan territory in nearly seven decades. Interior minister Amit Shah told parliament the federal government would scrap…
Born in India 71 years ago, Mohammed Rehat Ali is still traumatised a month after his release from a detention camp, struggling to shake off a fear for the future shared by millions -- many of them Muslims -- under prime minister Narendra Modi. The push to render stateless people…
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before a metropolitan magistrate's court in Ahmedabad on Friday for the hearing of a criminal defamation suit filed against him by Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank and its chairman Ajay Patel. Gandhi would appear before the court, said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi. "Since the…
INDIA'S powerful home minister Amit Shah on Monday (17) hailed the country's cricket World Cup win over Pakistan as "another strike" -- months after his country launched air attacks over Pakistani territory in an escalation of tension between the two rivals. The long-running political tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours spiked…
A firebrand Hindu nationalist nun accused of participating in the deadly bombing of a mosque appeared in court on Friday (7), two weeks after she won a parliamentary seat in India's election. Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is being tried on terrorism and criminal conspiracy charges over the 2008 attack in western…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers took oath to office on Thursday (30). The union cabinet for the 17th Lok Sabha (lower house) includes 24 cabinet ministers, 9 ministers of state with independent charge, and 24 ministers of state. The list of the top leaders who were…
INDIA'S prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (31) named Nirmala Sitharaman, formerly the country's defence minister, as the next finance minister, and chose ruling party president Amit Shah to become home affairs minister. Having masterminded the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory in the April-May general election, Shah had…
INDIA'S prime minister Narendra Modi was sworn in Thursday (30) in front of cheering supporters ahead of unveiling a drastically revamped government for his historic second term. Modi was the first of more than 50 cabinet ministers and deputy ministers to take the oath of office at the presidential palace…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi will take his oath of office on Thursday (30) along with his ministers, though he suffered a setback at the start of his second term when key aide and finance minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the next government. The swearing-in ceremony at the forecourt…
AHEAD of being sworn in as the prime minister for a second consecutive term, Narendra Modi Thursday (30) morning paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and BJP veteran, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He also placed a wreath at the National War Memorial adjoining the India Gate in New Delhi. The…
INDIA'S influential but ailing finance minister Arun Jaitley announced today (29) that he would not serve in prime minister Narendra Modi's new government because of his poor health. Modi is set to be sworn in Thursday (30) after winning a second landslide election and should name his new cabinet shortly…
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat on Sunday () evening to seek the blessings of his mother after his BJP-led NDA returned to power with a massive majority in the Lok Sabha elections. On Monday, he will be in Varanasi, the LS seat he retained in the elections…
INDIA'S finance minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to continue in his current role due to poor health as prime minister Narendra Modi begins his second term, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter. The sources said that Jaitley, 66, is unlikely to take up any offer to continue…
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi will hold talks on Friday (24) to form a new cabinet to tackle a stuttering economy and other challenges facing his second term after winning a big majority. Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party had won 296 of the 542…
The absence of its charismatic leader late J Jayalalithaa appeared to have cost the ruling AIADMK dear as it is staring at a virtual rout with the DMK staging a spectacular electoral comeback in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. From being the third largest party in the outgoing…
HINDU nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi claimed victory Thursday (23) in India's general election and vowed an "inclusive" future, with his party headed for a landslide win to crush the Gandhi dynasty's comeback hopes. With around half the 600 million votes cast counted, Election Commission data showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata…
THE mood was upbeat at BJP headquarters in New Delhi shortly after it became evident that prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party was headed for a historic win. Although counting of votes for 2019 Lok Sabha election is underway, trends so far show the BJP leading with more than…
WITH India's ruling Hindu nationalists headed for a stunning election victory on Thursday (23), prime minister Narendra Modi's powerful right hand man, Amit Shah, could reap his reward as a potential home minister, an analyst and a party official said. Shah, who has long been Modi's backroom strategist, helped run…
With trends favouring BJP at the Centre and the party making deep inroads in West Bengal, the saffron party workers and supporters burst into celebrations outside its headquarters here and elsewhere. BJP workers were seen distributing sweets, shouting slogans "phir ek bar Modi sarkar" and dancing to the beat of…
NATIONAL Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Thursday (23)congratulated the BJP and the NDA for its "stellar performance" in the Lok Sabha polls. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister credited prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for putting together a winning alliance and a professional campaign. "So…
WITH the BJP set to return to power, its parliamentary board is expected to meet Thursday (23) evening at the party headquarters where prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a speech. Top party leaders, including BJP president Amit Shah and some senior ministers besides Modi, are members of…
THE BJP is leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, home state of prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, as per trends available so far. Shah is leading by over 50,000 votes in Gandhinagar at the end of second round of counting. His party's candidate…
Counting of votes for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections began Thursday (23) morning across the country. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said…
INDIA'S mammoth election, the biggest in the world, was a frequently bad-tempered affair and awash with insults. Ahead of the vote counting and results due on Thursday (23), here is a look back at the worst of the mudslinging during almost six weeks of campaigning. Thief Versus Prince Prime minister…
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (21) expressed concern over the "needless controversy" created by the Opposition over Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs at a meeting of NDA leaders, even as the ruling alliance laid out its agenda for the next five years if it is elected to power again.…
INDIA’S poll body the Election Commission Tuesday (21) rejected with a majority vote election commissioner Ashok Lavasa's demand that dissent notes should be recorded in its orders on model code violations, days after the simmering tension within the poll body over the issue came out in the open. The 'full…
A DAY after exit polls forecast a return of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, enthused state BJP leaders predicted Uttar Pradesh would give them more than 74 of its 80 seats to enter lower house of the Indian parliament, a claim dismissed by the…
OPPOSITION leaders took swipes at prime minister Narendra Modi for not taking any questions at a press conference and diverting them to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Friday (17). Former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav tweeted a picture of three…
THOSE not aware of the struggles of prime minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah have tried to create "fabricated" stories that the cadre-based party has become an individual-centric organisation, union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. Denying claims that a sense of fear prevails in the…
INDIA'S election watchdog says it has forced Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to take down hundreds of posts during the country's election but experts say it is just a drop in an ocean of misinformation that has engulfed voters. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress party have thrown armies…
BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur on Thursday (16) kicked up a row as she called Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse a “patriot”, but apologised for it hours later and withdrew the statement. The BJP distanced itself from her statement saying it did…
SOLDIERS patrolled the centre of Kolkata, the capital of India's West Bengal state, on Wednesday (15) a day after rival political supporters clashed during campaigning for the country's general election. With the third highest number of parliamentary seats among Indian states, West Bengal has emerged as a battleground where prime…
CLASHES between the followers of prime minister Narendra Modi and an opposition leader heightened tensions in the key Indian city of Kolkata today (15) ahead of the final round of the country’s hard-fought national election. Fifty-nine people were arrested in street battles late Tuesday (14) that forced Amit Shah, president…
Clashes broke out between BJP supporters and student activists and those of the Left and Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad (TMCP) during Amit Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday, officials said. Trouble began after stones were pelted at Amit Shah's convoy as it passed through College Street and the arterial…
With prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP continuing their attack on the Congress over Sam Pitroda's remarks on the 1984 riots, party chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday (13) said the leader should be ashamed of himself and seek apology from the country. Rahul Gandhi was addressing a poll rally…
He has been smeared with chilli powder and slapped, but Delhi's chief minister will still be leading the fight against prime minister Narendra Modi in Sunday's penultimate round of the Indian election. Fifty-nine seats are up for grabs across the country on the sixth voting day of the marathon ballot.…
BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday (2) claimed the Congress and National Conference wanted Kashmir's separation from India, and vowed to scrap Article 370 if his party is voted back to power. Shah addressed three rallies in Madhya Pradesh, where three phases of Lok Sabha polls are yet to be…
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday (28) said the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are about saving democracy, as he accused prime minister Narendra Modi of following "dictators" in preaching nationalism. He said people will not be "lured and fooled" by BJP's talk of nationalism and will change the government…
Prime minister Narendra Modi staged a show of strength on Thursday (25) in the city of Varanasi, one of the most sacred places for India's majority Hindu population, as the country's 39-day staggered general election neared its mid-point. Dotted with ancient temples and sitting on the banks of the Ganges…
BOLLYWOOD actor Sunny Deol today (23) joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, and praised prime minister Narendra Modi for being a leader capable of taking the country forward. Deol joined the BJP amid speculation that he may be fielded from a Lok Sabha seat in Punjab. “Like my father Dharmendra associated…
Polling will be held on Tuesday (22) for the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha election in 116 seats, including all constituencies in Gujarat and Kerala, with BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and several Union ministers among prominent candidates in the fray. The stakes are high…
PM Narendra Modi, the much-publicized biopic on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will not enter theatres on 5th April as it has failed to receive the required censor certificate for its theatrical release in the country. The movie, which features actor Vivek Oberoi in the titular role of PM Narendra…
INDIA'S frenetic cities, historical monuments, tasty food, and beautiful scenery may be among the biggest attractions for foreign tourists. But with election fever hitting India, a few of them are prepared to forgo some of that - and the elephant ride - to meet an election candidate or attend a…
INDIA prime minister Narendra Modi's 'Main bhi chowkidar' campaign on Monday (18) drew more ridicule from Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Raising the Rafale issue, Rahul said Modi was attempting to convert the whole country into chowkidar after being "caught", while Priyanka said chowkidar are…
India and Pakistan have retreated from the brink of possible war but an information conflict still rages over their tit-for-tat air strikes and an aerial dogfight between the nuclear-armed arch rivals. A suicide bombing on February 14 killed 40 troops and was the deadliest attack in Kashmir on Indian forces…
India is not just the world's biggest democracy, its elections are also the most gruelling -- with nearly six weeks between the first round of voting on April 11 and the last. Rival politicians are permanently at daggers drawn and if prime minister Narendra Modi is to win another five-year…
TALENTED British actor Amit Shah has done great work on television and appeared in a number of high-profile films. His big screen performances include winning turns in major projects like Breathe, Johnny English Strikes Again and The Hundred-Foot Journey. He also stars in London-set action movie Final Score alongside Hollywood…
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist party has been turning up the heat on some controversial and potentially highly divisive religious issues in recent days, with crucial state elections only weeks away and a general election due by next May. Top officials from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…
[caption id="attachment_35868" align="alignnone" width="187"] by Amit Roy[/caption] THE Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson struck a dissenting note about the much-praised BBC drama Bodyguard, which she said “wasn’t much cop.” “And that wasn’t just because the police in the show had been cast with diversity, rather than talent or charisma, in…
Hours after Indian TV channels flashed that the country was deporting seven Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, Sahidullah said he received a call from his nephew: "Uncle, please get us out of here. They will send us back too." Sahidullah, a Rohingya living in the far north of India after fleeing…
by LAUREN CODLING A NEW “gripping” action thriller paying tribute to classic 1980s films such as Die Hard will debut in cinemas on Friday (7). Final Score tells the story of a terror attack in a football stadium packed with 35,000 fans. Starring Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista…
Indian police arrested five outspoken lawyers and left-wing activists during raids across the country on Tuesday (28) that drew condemnation from opposition parties and rights watchdogs who said it was a crackdown on critics of the government. Police said the five had been detained for their links to Maoist militants, but Rahul Gandhi, head of…
India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi pleaded not guilty on Tuesday (12) to defaming a powerful Hindu supremacist group closely linked to the ruling party of prime minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi will fight charges in court that he defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organisation when he accused the Hindu movement…
India's Supreme Court ordered prime minister Narendra Modi's party to hold a vote of confidence on Saturday (19) in a key state where it has been allowed to form a government despite its lack of a majority. The order heightened political tensions in Karnataka and the opposition Congress party moved…
India has vowed that a new nationwide tax will transform the economy by bringing more businesses into the digital system and filling state coffers, but for shopkeeper Sanjay Kumar Rai, who has never used a computer, the transition is terrifying. Rai is one of hundreds of thousands of small traders fearful of the…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced on Monday to produce his college degrees, days after bitter political rivals accused him of lying about graduating from university. At a press conference in the capital, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and ruling party chief Amit Shah released copies of Modi’s Bachelor of…
More than 200,000 devotees gathered on Wednesday (17) at Sarangpur in Gujarat for the last rites of His Holiness (HH) Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), who passed away last Saturday (13), aged 95. Followers of the saint came from India…
Head of socio-spiritual organisation BAPS and inspirer of world renowned Akshardham mandir, HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj passed away on 13 August 2016 at 6 pm. The word spread fast and the small town of Sarangpur was soon flooded with devotees and well-wishers eager for darshan. As soon as news were…
THE chief minister of Gujarat and a long-time confidante of prime minister Narendra Modi resigned on Monday (1), amid protests by the low-caste Dalit community in the state. Anandiben Patel, who was Gujarat’s first woman chief minister, posted the resignation letter on her Facebook page. She said the decision was…