Dhrubo Jyoti

Kejriwal ‘salutes’ Modi for strikes across LoC, asks PM to expose Pak’s lies

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal praised Narendra Modi on Monday for strikes on militant bases across the Line of Control but asked the prime minister to expose Pakistan, which has flatly denied the army operation across the de-facto border.

Watch: Nepal resort has unchained 12 elephants, and the jumbos are frolicking

For half a century, Tiger Tops, a popular resort in southern Nepal, offered elephant rides as a top attraction to draw in thousands of tourists from across the world.

Meet India’s new-age Gandhi who goes to the mall, takes the Metro

Even after seven decades since his death, the Mahatma is seen walking around Delhi, mostly on foot, sometimes even travelling ticket-less on buses and trains. Meet the Gandhi impersonater-- Mahesh Chaturvedi.

Pak in shock after army op, shouldn’t take our silence as weakness: Parrikar

Pakistan is in a state of “coma” after the army’s surgical strikes on militant bases across the Line of Control and shouldn’t take India’s silence for weakness, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday.

In 2 yrs of Swachh Bharat, only 4 states visibly improved cleanliness: Study

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet Swachh Bharat initiative may be celebrating two years with much fanfare on Sunday but just a fifth of the respondents in a recent nationwide survey say local municipalities have improved garbage collection or cleanliness.

10 years after Khairlanji horror, Dalits struggle for a just India

Half a century of independence has meant little for the community.

Govt targeted my online fundraising drive: Gujarat Dalit leader Mewani

Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani alleged on Thursday that online crowdsourcing platform Bitgiving closed down a campaign to gather funds for his movement following pressure from the government.

Cauvery row: Karnataka asks SC to modify order on water sharing

Karnataka asked the Supreme Court on Monday to modify an earlier order on sharing Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu and said it couldn’t release any more water, ANI reported, setting the stage for a face-off with the judiciary.

$1 microscope, cheap disease screening: Meet India’s ‘genius grant’ winner

Indian-American biologist Manu Prakash has won the prestigious MacArthur ‘genius grant’ fellowship for 2016 for his low-cost inventions, including a foldable microscope built for less than $1, that have transformed scientific research in some of the world’s poorest regions.

Day after Uri, Pak top judge accuses parties of backing terrorists: Report

Pakistan may have strongly denied a hand in an attack on the Uri army base in Kashmir but the country’s chief justice has blamed political parties for backing “terrorists” to further interests.

Before Bihar-Kashmir combo deal, here’s what Markandey Katju offered

Former Supreme Court judge and commentator-at-large Markandey Katju is in the news again, this time for suggesting that Pakistan could get Kashmir if it agrees to take Bihar also as part of a “package deal”.

FIR against Delhi women’s panel chief for ‘illegally’ hiring AAP supporters

The Capital’s anti-corruption branch (ACB) registered an FIR against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Tuesday for allegedly hiring Aam Aadmi Party supporters to the body in violation of norms, news agency ANI reported.

Man throws ink at Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia outside L-G’s residence

A man hurled ink at Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia outside the lieutenant governor’s house on Monday.

Kashmir’s Uri attacked: Why the key Indian Army base is on militants’ radar

The Uri military base attacked by militants on Sunday morning was one of the army’s most important garrisons in Kashmir and used to guard the Line of Control, which is India’s de-factor border with Pakistan.

India should form its own fidayeen, says ex-army chief Shankar Roy Choudhary

India should form its own “fidayeen” (suicide) squad, former army chief Shankar Roy Choudhary told news channel NDTV on Sunday, reflecting the rage in the military brass over an extremist attack in north Kashmir’s Uri that killed 17 soldiers.

Teresa canonisation sparks Mother of all junkets for VIPs

Vatican calling: Politicians make beeline for Mother of all junkets

Mother Teresa will be anointed a saint on Sunday and India’s politicians are in a mad dash to travel to at the Vatican to witness the historic event, most of them possibly at public expense.

Crimes against SCs fell by 4.4% last year, Rajasthan records highest rate

The number of crimes against scheduled castes across India dipped by 4.4% in 2015 when compared to the previous year with Rajasthan recording the highest rate of crime against the marginalized community.

You must have needed boats: John Kerry jokes at IIT on Delhi rain

United States secretary of state John Kerry joked at the IIT-Delhi campus on Wednesday morning about heavy showers in the Capital that had flooded roads and delayed his lecture by an hour.

The message in anti-superstition campaigner Kalburgi’s killing

One year ago today, noted scholar and professor MM Kalburgi was shot dead outside his home in north Karnataka’s Dharwad by suspected Hindu right-wingers for offending religious sentiments.

Rio medallist Sakshi Malik to tie the knot: Reports

Rio Olympic Bronze medallist and wrestler Sakshi Malik is marrying a fellow grappler this year, Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika has reported.

‘Attempts to paint my son a non-Dalit to shield killers’

My son’s killers trying to prove he wasn’t Dalit: Rohith Vemula’s mother

Govt will soon propose a substitute to pellet guns, Rajnath says in Srinagar

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday the government will propose a substitute to pellet guns in a few days following widespread criticism of the crowd-control device that has left thousands of Kashmiris blind in the current unrest.

A censor inside me: Perumal Murugan is back with 200 new poems

At the release of his new collection of poems in Delhi, the Tamil writer says he will revise his earlier work and revise the text, if necessary

VK Singh victimised me, imposed ‘illegal’ ban: Army chief Dalbir Singh

Dalbir Singh told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that VK Singh victimised him with the sole purpose of “denying” him promotion to the appointment of army commander. This is the first time a serving army chief has publicly attacked one of his predecessors.

US ambassador apologises to Shah Rukh for detention, SRK says thank you

The United States ambassador to India, Richard Verma, apologised on Friday to actor Shah Rukh Khan for his brief detention at the Los Angeles airport that sparked outrage in India.

Progressive Modi? The PM speaks on transgenders, Dalits and Kashmir

The prime minister has sprung a surprise indicates to the world that he is alert to mounting international criticism of his administration as a tech-savvy but culturally intolerant regime that is hostile to minorities and dissent.

Activists in India are up in arms over the new transgender bill. Here’s why

Activists and lawyers have complained that the transgender rights bill encourages corruption, is full of provisions open to abuse and directly opposes the spirit of a 2014 Supreme Court verdict that recognized the third gender and called for a raft of rights and measures for transpersons.

The Cursed Child: Harry deserves much better than this uninspired rehash

One always knew a published script would never fill the void of a full-length text, especially for a world one has grown up with. But for a book billed as the eighth story in the series – the script has little original story.