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Last week’s two developments highlight the paradoxes Indian politics often experiences. One was Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari’s timely call for complete separation of religion and politics. The other was the claim asserted by both Maharashtra Chief Minister Devender Fadnavis and self-styled yoga guru Ramdev on chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

LUCKNOW: with the appointment of Keshav Prasad Maurya MP, an OBC face, BJP is aggressively playing caste card to grab power through Mission 2017.

Battle-lines are now drawn in Tamil Nadu for the May 16 poll to the 234-member assembly, with the ruling AIADMK leader Ms. Jayalalithaa giving a flying start to her party's campaign for renewal of mandate, at a mammoth rally in Chennai on April 9.

The tiny state of Panama, a central American republic of just three million people, has long been known to the global shipping community for its famous 77-km long canal, a world wonder, and also as a US promoted rogue state registering ships, largely from the US, plying in the oceans and seas around the world under Panamanian flag, helping shipowners to hide their income and profit and violate all kinds of maritime regulations, including those for seafarers.

Even as Narendra Modi goes ahead with his Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Start Up India, Stand Up India and other showpieces, the saffron brigade continues with its own agenda of violence and intimidation.

Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s shift to Look Africa from the rhetoric Look East policy is not for instant gratification for the Gujarati diasporas or for any strategic considerations. Africa is hogging the headline in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new foreign policy. Africa primacy emanated from two viewpoints - one, from the point of view of new hope for trade and investment expansion and, second to utilize the strong emotional link, established in the pre-independence period.

BHOPAL: Ujjain, one of the most ancient cities of India, is ready to welcome around two crore pilgrims from various parts of the country and abroad. It is claimed that Lord Krishna’s schooling was done in Ujjain. Kalidas, the world-famous Sanskrit poet, is said to have composed his famous poetry works in the city.

What does ongoing elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry portend? The outcome of poll may set the tone of general elections in 2019. Of course, the stakes are high both for the Congress and the BJP; but not so much for the BJP because, except Assam, the party has virtually no stake in four election-bound states.

Assamese politics is at a crossroad. While Assam’s assembly elections typically doesn't matter in the Indian Union’s ‘national scene’, for Assam's people, it means the world. For the first time, a non-Congress Delhi headquartered party has positioned itself as the primary voice of Assamese Hindus. After its spectacular success in Assam at the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is aiming to be the primary ruling party of Assam after the upcoming election. That'll be a political earthquake.

India and European Union have had prolonged negotiations on a Free Trade agreement, which had been going on since 2007. India-EU bilateral trade is close to $100 billion annually and it is therefore in the interest of both sides to speedily conclude a free trade agreement that would help in boosting bilateral trade and investment manifold, particularly at a time when global economy and trade are going through a rough patch.