SC to decide on Places of Worship Act
PUNJAB and Haryana are on the brink of a groundwater crisis that could jeopardise not only the region’s agricultural backbone but also the nation’s food security. Recent data from the Central Ground Water Board paints a grim picture: Punjab’s Stage...
IN the end, all that outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde managed to do was to delay the inevitable. He tried hard to punch above his weight, but the BJP had too many aces up its sleeve. In last month’s...
THE Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana, once a lifeline for Punjab, has deteriorated into a toxic drain. Years of unchecked industrial effluents, untreated sewage and lax governance have turned this tributary of the Sutlej river into a health hazard. Despite numerous...
THE attempt on the life of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal must be condemned by one and all, irrespective of their political and religious affiliations. That this incident happened while he was performing ‘sewa’ outside the Golden...
A rap on the knuckles — that’s what the Sikh clergy has given to Sukhbir Singh Badal and other Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders for the ‘sins’ committed by their government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017. The token punishment...
BOTH Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are reeling under severe financial stress, a crisis stemming from populist promises made during electoral campaigns. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) commitment to provide 300 units of electricity free of cost to the...
AS Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are poised to take to the skies en route to Chandigarh, the common commuters on the Delhi-Noida border found themselves mired in yet another gridlock. The irony is stark: while...
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has sounded the alarm. He has expressed concern over a paradoxical situation: population growth in the world’s most populous country is on the decline. Painting an apocalyptic picture, Bhagwat has warned that a society whose total...
ACHIEVING the global goal of ending the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030 requires a significant contribution from India, one of the worst-affected countries outside Africa. It is worrisome that the total number of HIV patients in...
INDIA’s economic growth in the second quarter of FY25 has decelerated to a disappointing 5.4%, the lowest in seven quarters. This figure, significantly below last year’s 8.1% for the same period, underscores the mounting pressures on the country’s economic resilience....
THE move by Australia to ban social media access for children under 16 has reignited global discussions on safeguarding young minds. While a similar ban in India might seem appealing, implementing it would be a logistical nightmare. Instead, a more...
AS the 32nd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition draws near, the all-too-familiar mandir-masjid conflict is straining India’s secular fabric yet again. From Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh to Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan, overzealous petitioners are claiming that there is...
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s landslide victory in Wayanad, with a margin of over 4.1 lakh votes, marks a significant moment in her political career and for the Congress party. Her win, alongside her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi holding...
A fierce backlash from leading oncologists forced Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu — renowned for stepping out and hitting sixes during his cricket days — to go on the back foot. With cancer specialists punching holes into his claim that...
THERE is no going back to paper ballot voting — this is the Supreme Court’s clear message to all the doubting Thomases who are questioning the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Dismissing a plea seeking to revert to the...
THE arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh on Tuesday has once again spotlighted the challenges faced by minorities in the country. Das, ISKCON leader and advocate for minority rights, was arrested on charges of sedition after allegedly...
TWELVE women have been elected to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly this time, the highest number since the formation of the state in 2000. The talking point though is how women voters, who outnumbered men by nearly six lakh in the...
DISCIPLINE in India is undergoing a transformative shift. In Faridkot, Punjab, a group of rowdy students, who allegedly endangered police officers during a clash recently, were met with an unusual punishment: a week of assisting the traffic police for two...
THE clash between protesters and cops during a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal district has added another tragic chapter to the annals of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh. The flare-up, which claimed four lives, came two days...