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In West Bengal, the law and order situation has hit rock bottom, with over 100 people killed in armed clashes among rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) groups in recent months.

The recent launch of India’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the nuclear-capable Agni V, from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast signaled the country’s capability to build and launch sophisticated long range nuclear missiles. This was for long an exclusive preserve zealously guarded by an “elite club” of countries— including the US, Russia, China, and France. In its remarkable proving flight, Agni V was launched from a hermetically-sealed canister mounted on a launcher truck in what the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) described as 'a deliverable configuration'.

Contrary to popular perception that Sanjay Gandhi and his caucus were behind the decision to impose Emergency, the fact is that they wanted Indira Gandhi to take over as President and by virtue of being President become Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed forces. Sanjay Gandhi was also against Mrs. Gandhi’s 23 January 1977 decision to go in for general elections. He wanted elections to be delayed for five years through one-year extensions.

If the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa Jayaram thought that troubles had come to an end with her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court last month on her disproportionate assets case, she must be in for a shock as the Damocles sword is hanging over her head once again. The Karnataka government has gone to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict this week putting a question mark on her political career. If the apex court quashes the high court ruling she would be back to square one. The Congress ruled state government had come under pressure from different quarters and ultimately decided to file the appeal. Leading the demand for an appeal was the DMK and PMK from Tamil Nadu. Also the original complainant and the BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy had been threatening to go on appeal.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)’s oft-repeated assertions that there was no interference in the bar bribery probe have been proved to be what they really are: a humongous sham.

Recent issues with Nestle’s Maggi noodles and, now, the ITC group’s Sunfeast Yupee noodles are testimonies to how sloppy India’s healthcare quality assurance is. Even more glaring is the absence of awareness among the responsible agencies about the necessity of ensuring healthcare aspects in fast selling foods for the masses.

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah must be a worried person. On the mission to Bihar to accomplish the dream project International Yoga Day of his mentor Narendra Modi and to evolve the campaign strategy for October assembly elections, he had to witness the worst type of personality feud in the NDA. The alliance partners were not only squabbling over seats, instead they were engaged in the nasty war to assert their personal and caste identities.

There is nothing surprising about China’s blocking of the United Nations action against Pakistan for releasing Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi killing 166 innocent Indians although the UN action has received support from all other permanent members of the Security Council – namely, the United States, Russia, France and United Kingdom. Expectedly, China has parroted the Pakistani logic that India has not provided conclusive evidence on Lakhvi’s involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

Praful Bidwai, one of the leading political and social commentators in the Indian media, passed away on June 23, while attending a conference at Amsterdam. He was 63.

The debate over the June 9 raids by the Indian Army’s Special Forces unit against two Northeastern insurgent groups on Myanmarese territory has produced two main reactions. The first reaction, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diehard supporters, is triumphalist and holds that the retaliatory operation’s “great” success against National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) rebels must be trumpeted. The second reaction defends the present covert operation, but believes that publicising such operations is unwise, even self-defeating.