The 1987 assembly elections had dashed hopes of many Kashmiri leaders, who were traditionally not reconciled to Kashmir’s accession, to board the mainstream political bandwagon. Tired of being on the edges of the political arena, a motley gr
Oil prices fell nearly by 3% in Asian trade on Tuesday, with investors covering short positions and taking profits after Brent and US crude soared more than 8% in the previous session. Both Brent and US crude prices dropped nearly $2 a barrel shor
The central trade unions today resolved to stay on course and hold nationwide strike on September 2 despite being ditched by BJP affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). The strike is against the anti-worker polic
The rush to file return by the taxpayers on the last day resulted in the crashing of Income Tax site on Monday.The official website of the income tax department http://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in was inaccessible on numerous occasions on the
The supreme court has stayed Rajasthan high court`s order declaring Santhara, a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death, as a criminal offence and issued a notice to centre and the Rajasthan government. A division b
India has a new home secretary. Rajiv Mehrishi, retiring today from finance ministry, will be new home secretary with a two-year term of office. Home secretary LC Goyal, whose appointment in February was also sudden, has sought volu
From the president to the prime minister, and a sizeable section of Indians are on the social media. But no one seems to be safe in the virtual world. The Twitter account of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan` has been hacked. A tweet from Bachc
Switzerland has the happiest people in the world, says the World Happiness Report 2015, thereby reconfiguring the traditional trope of Bhutan and happiness. This would make some people scream at the “unfairness” of it all – imagi
On the second anniversary of the Muzaffarnagar riots, signs are visible about the second-phase of caste-communal polarisation at work in western Uttar Pradesh. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was the main beneficiary of the Hindu-Muslim riots
The land acquisition ordinance lapses today, a day after prime minister Narendra Modi`s announcement during his radio address `Mann Ki Baat` on Sunday that the government will not renew it. Modi had said that a statutory order would ensure that fa
Speaking directly to the people India, prime minister Narendra Modi today announced that the government will not re-promulgate the land acquisition ordinance which expires tomorrow and declared readiness to accept any suggestions to benefit the
The government has appointed Shaktikanta Das as secretary of the department of economic affairs in place of Rajiv Mehrishi, who retires by the month end. In a major reshuffle at the bureaucratic level ahead o
Battle for Bihar has become a battle of numbers. In his bid to upstage prime minister Narendra Modi`s Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar, state chief minister Nitish Kumar today unveiled his package which doubles Modi`s offer and also ai
In the beginning, as usual, was the word. In 1904, when Mohandas Gandhi boarded the train for Natal for what would have been just another dreary journey, his new friend Henry Polak thrust a slim volume in his hands. “The book
The dark side of police action during Patel community agitation is coming out and it is going to hurt the Gujarat government. The Gujarat High Court on Friday ordered the state criminal investigation department (CID) to investigate the custodial d
Smart city is not just about facilities but about is also about safety of the people. This week FICCI hosted ‘Homeland Security -2015’ conference on the theme ‘Safe & Smart Cities’ and triggered a debate on the needs of
Reserve Bank of India will focus on lower of inflation, faster resolution of distressed assets and ensuring banks have enough capital. Governor Raghuram Rajan said in the central bank’s 2014-15 annual report that these t
At the crack of dawn, tea pluckers get ready to go to work at a well-known tea estate in Baksa in lower Assam. There is an uneasy silence in the air. As the workers file into the garden to begin the day’s work, they wonder about the 25 child
Three civilians were killed and eight others injured on Friday in fresh ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani troops indulged in unprovoked firing and heavy mortar shelling in the RS Pura sector. Mortar shelling from the
Isro’s geostationary satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D6) lifted off from Sriharikota spaceport at 4.52pm on Thursday carrying communication satellite GSAT-6. At 5.10 pm the satellite was placed in its designated orbit. This was the ninth flig
