Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Modi cleared of complicity in deadly communal riots

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was not complicit in deadly religious riots that broke out in 2002 in one of the bloodiest episodes in independent India, according to a judge-led commission report released Wednesday (11).

Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when nearly 1,000 people -- the majority of them Muslims -- were killed in riots triggered by a fire on a train which killed 59 Hindu activists.


The riots have long dogged Modi, who was accused by human rights groups of turning a blind eye to the violence.

The Nanavati Commission found that the riots were spontaneous, sparked by the train burning deaths, rather than pre-planned attacks.

"There is no evidence to show that these attacks were either inspired or instigated or abated by any minister of the state," the Nanavati Commission said in its nine-volume report of more than 2,500 pages.

The release of the report came amid protests in northeastern India over a citizenship bill that proposes excluding Muslim refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), re-elected in a landslide in May after coming to power in 2014, has long been accused of following a "Hindutva" agenda favouring officially secular India's majority Hindus.

In August Modi's administration rescinded the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, in what his government said was aimed at boosting the local economy and rooting out corruption.

The report -- which included 44,445 affidavits from witnesses and 488 government officials -- was tabled in the Gujarat state assembly on Wednesday, five years after it was submitted to the government following a 12-year probe.

While the commission's terms of reference did not require the government to make the findings public, it said in September the report would be released after a petition for its publication was filed in the High Court.

The commission also cleared the police force of negligence, finding that police were unable to control mobs as they had inadequate numbers or were not properly armed.

In 2008, it had concluded that the train incident was a pre-planned conspiracy, with 31 people later convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder by a special court.

More than 100 people have already been convicted over the riots.

Modi -- who set up the inquiry in 2002 -- was cleared in 2012 by a Supreme Court-ordered investigation.

More For You

Trump says 'won’t get Nobel' as Pakistan backs 2026 nomination

Donald Trump walks out of the Oval Office before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on June 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Trump says 'won’t get Nobel' as Pakistan backs 2026 nomination

PAKISTAN government has announced that it will formally nominate US president Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention” during the recent military tensions between India and Pakistan.

The announcement was made on Saturday (21) on X, just days after president Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief general Asim Munir at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
King Charles praises yoga as thousands join global celebrations

Yoga Day celebrations in the UK (Photo: X/@HCI_London)

King Charles praises yoga as thousands join global celebrations

HUNDREDS of people gathered in central London on Friday (20) evening to mark the 10th International Day of Yoga, with King Charles III sending a special message of support for the ancient practice that continues to grow in popularity across Britain.

The celebration took place at an iconic square on the Strand, organised by the Indian High Commission in partnership with King's College London. High commissioner Vikram Doraiswami opened the proceedings by reading out the King's personal message from Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parliament backs assisted dying in historic law shift

Supporters of the assisted dying law for terminally ill people hold a banner, on the day British lawmakers are preparing to vote on the bill, in London, Britain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Parliament backs assisted dying in historic law shift

PARLIAMENT voted on Friday (20) in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying, paving the way for the country's biggest social change in a generation.

314 lawmakers voted in favour with 291 against the bill, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

An Air India Airbus A320-200 aircraft takes off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India, July 7, 2017. Picture taken July 7, 2017.

Regulator warns Air India over delayed emergency equipment checks: Report

INDIA’s aviation regulator has warned Air India for violating safety rules after three of its Airbus aircraft operated flights without undergoing mandatory checks on emergency escape slides, according to official documents reviewed by Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued warning notices and a detailed investigation report highlighting the breach. These documents were sent days before the recent crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8, in which all but one of the 242 people onboard were killed. The Airbus incidents are unrelated to that crash.

Keep ReadingShow less
assisted dying bill

Pro and anti-assisted dying campaigners protest ahead of a parliamentary decision later today, on June 20, 2025 in London.

Getty Images

MPs to vote on assisted dying bill amid divided views

UK MPs are set to hold a key vote on assisted dying on Friday, which could either advance or halt a proposed law that would allow terminally ill adults to end their lives under strict conditions.

The vote follows several hours of debate in the House of Commons and will decide whether the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill moves to the House of Lords for further scrutiny or is dropped altogether.

Keep ReadingShow less