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Things are not happening along planned and expected lines for Sambhal's Shahi Jama Masjid, i.e., as expected by the mosque's Masjid Management Committee and "protector", the Samajwadi Party. For example, is this Masjid also going the way of the Babri Masjid? The Allahabad High Court on Friday referred to it as "disputed structure" and "alleged mosque".

Rekha Gupta’s appointment as the Chief Minister of Delhi marks a significant political moment, not just for the Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’), which has returned to power in the national capital after 27 years, but also for the broader discourse on women’s representation in Indian politics. The decision to elevate Gupta to the state’s top executive position came after eleven days of deliberation within the party’s high command, eventually making her the fourth woman Chief Minister in Delhi’s history, only the second to currently serve in the chief minister’s position nationwide.

Democratic rights activist Jagdeep S. Chhokar in his recent piece in the news portal The Wire mentions of his four conclusions on the state of Indian polity in the present stage after the BJP sweep in Delhi assembly polls. His four concluding points are: first, the BJP is almost achieving an opposition-free political landscape in India; second, This seems to have been achieved by decimating the opposition parties and institutional capture; third, the opposition parties have failed the nation and its people; and fourth, the people of India have failed the nation.

The latest article four consultation papers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives a unique peep into the state of the Indian economy from an outsiders’ point of view, tampered with inputs and interactions with the national economic managers. India’s latest review was released yesterday at Washington, at the end of detailed reviews stretched between September last year and January this year.

Bihar has always been a hard nut for the BJP, precisely for the saffron ecosystem. The more the saffron brigade strives and tries to exploit the existing social and caste contradictions, more it gets alienated from the mainstream politics and also from the Bihari people. A system born out of the copulation of communalism and politics of hatred and growing up swallowing the milk of Hindutva cannot comprehend the basics of the political economy of Bihar.

The politics on enforcement of Hindi through multiple ways across the country and sidelining the languages of the states has turned bitter, first in Tamil Nadu, and now in Punjab. Both the states have objected to Modi government’s attitude on three language formula under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the way it is being implemented.

The decision of US President Donald Trump to close the United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID) led to a slugfest between the two main ruling class parties – the BJP and Congress. Announcing the closure, a list of recipients of USAID was published. Quoting from this list, Trump claimed that $21 million was given for ‘voter turnout’ in India. Doubling down on this claim, Trump stated that this was intended to get ‘somebody else elected’. He followed this up in yet another public interaction stating that this money went to his “friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout”.

The political analysts who have predicted immediately after the Delhi Vidhan Sabha election results were out on February 8, 2025 that it was the beginning of the end of the future of Arvind Kejriwal, his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and his mode of politics, may after 20 days now, like to revise their predictions, on account of having no trace of political depression over them despite setbacks one after the other. They have been seen navigating with the crisis with full force in the direction which is likely to pose serious political threats to BJP.

KOLKATA: A close read of the memoranda submitted recently to Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla suggests that Meiteis and Kuki-Zos, the two sides involved in the ethnic conflict, unhesitatingly agree on the urgency of alleviating the persisting misery of internally persons (IDPs) by executing a proper time-bound rehabilitation programme for them. There is also an indication in the memo that both sides agree on the need to check influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar and create conditions for refugees from that country to return. However, they have given no hint of softening of their stance on their core demand.

There’s a difference between lip service and good policy. And if the Union Budget’s approach to millions of gig workers is examined, one can draw only one conclusion – it is nothing but mere lip service. The government has claimed that it would provide identity cards to all gig workers and register them on a national database for the unorganized sector so they can avail the benefits available for unorganized sector workers.