TENS of thousands of devotees from across the globe are converging every day in this holy town associated with the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, whose 550th birth anniversary falls on Tuesday. It is here that the Sikh first master gained enlightenment at the end of the 15th century...

FORMER chief election commissioner T N Seshan, who ruthlessly enforced the Model Code of Conduct and led the game-changing electoral reforms in the 1990s, died here on Sunday following a cardiac arrest. He was 86. The legendary Seshan was not keeping good health for the past couple of years and passed away around 9.30 pm, a senior police official told PTI...

JUST a day after the Ayodhya verdict, National Security Advisor Ajit doval held a meeting at his residence of religious leaders cutting across faiths. Shia Cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Swami Chidanand Saraswati was present at the inter-religious meet at Doval’s residence on Sunday. Baba Ramdev, Swami Parmatmanand were also present there. Naved Hamid of Majlis-E-Mushawarat and Salim Engineer of Jamat-E-Islami Hind were also part of the meeting...

IN A stunning political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday conceded its inability to form the Government in Maharashtra despite having the public mandate for its pre-poll alliance..

ON THE inaugural day, 562 pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan to offer prayers at the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur after the much-awaited corridor was opened, officials said on Saturday. The four-km-long corridor, which connects the revered gurdwara in Pakistan to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi...

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor here and flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims. The corridor links Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in this Punjab district. Modi flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims led by Akal Takhat Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib through the corridor, which was thrown open to public on the ..

THE Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict on Saturday cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India’s history, a 5-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi put an end to the more than a century old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation. The apex court said the mosque ..

ASSERTING that the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue highlighted “truth and justice”, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said it should not be seen as anybody’s victory or defeat. Welcoming the unanimous decision of the five-judge apex court bench, Bhagwat said everybody should now forget the dispute, which had continued for many decades, and work together to build a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. “We wanted the issue to end, this has happened...

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said every State and district in the country had role in India’s effort to become a five trillion dollar economy by 2025. Modi was inaugurating a two-day event here to attract investment to Himachal Pradesh. “Every State and every district of the country has a great potential and they will play a vital role in achieving the target ,” he said at the Rising Himachal Global Investors’ Meet...

MEGASTAR Amitabh Bachchan, who completes 50 years in Hindi cinema and continues to be one of the busiest actors in Bollywood, on Thursday shared a health update with his fans, saying doctors have advised him to cut back on work. Sharing several of his pictures alongside a photograph of a meeting with doctors at his home, Jalsa, Bachchan said he would be back to the grind despite the warning by “the stethoscope dressed messengers from heaven”...

THE onus is on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to act if no party stakes claim to form new Government in Maharashtra, a legislature expert said here on Thursday, two days before the present Assembly’s term ends. If no party comes forward, the Governor can invite the single largest party to form the Government, said Anant Kalse, former Secrertary of the State legislature. “If that party shows its inability to form Government, then the Governor will invite the second largest party to form the Government,” ..

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it is a question of life and death of crores of people in Delhi-NCR region which is facing severe air pollution and the authorities have to be held responsible for its failure to curb it. “Can you permit people to die like this due to pollution? Can you permit the country to go back by 100 years,” observed a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra...

LAWYERS in all the six district courts here abstained from work for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, protesting against the clash between advocates and the police at the Tis Hazari Courts Complex on November 2, and denied access to litigants in some courts. The lawyers closed the main gates at Patiala House and Saket district courts and did not let litigants access the court premises as part of their protest. During the protest at Rohini district court, one lawyer took off his clothes and poured ..

A FRESH low pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Tuesday, the Meteorological Centre here said. It is likely to further intensify into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday, the MeT Centre said. “The depression lay centred over east-central and adjoining south-eastern Bay of Bengal and north Andaman Sea, about 950 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha,” Director ofMeT Centre in Bhubaneswar , H R Biswas said. It is likely to intensify into a deep depression shortly ..

THE Reserve Bank on Tuesday enhanced the cash withdrawal from the scam-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank to Rs 50,000 per account. This is the fifth increase in withdrawal limit since the bank was placed under its direct control with an administrator on September 23. Since then as many as nine depositors have lost their lives including a 74-year-old man from Thane on Monday. The RBI also allowed the depositors of the bank to withdraw from the bank’s own ATMs within the prescribed limit ..

PREMIER technical varsity, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, on Tuesday launched the country’s “first indigenously” designed standing wheelchair, which will enable a differently-abled person shift from sitting to standing position. Named ‘Arise’, the standing wheelchair was launched in the presence of Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot at the institute here on Tuesday. IIT, Madras “in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems has launched India’s first indigenously-d..

IN A massive crackdown on alleged bank fraudsters, the CBI on Tuesday carried out searches at over 190 locations in the country after registering 42 fresh cases in scams involving cumulative funds of over Rs 7,000 crore, officials said. The exercise, launched early in the morning, was carried out throughout the day, with CBI teams knocking the doors of the accused to collect evidence and question them, they said. The cases pertain to State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Andhra Bank, Oriental ..

IN A gruesome incident, a woman Tahsildar in Telangana was allegedly burnt alive by a man in her office at nearby Abdullapurmet in broad daylight on Monday over some land dispute, Police and Revenue officials said. Tahsildar Vijaya Reddy, in her mid 30s, died on the spot and two other staff attendant and a driver, in the office were injured trying to rescue her, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat said adding the assailant also suffered burns in the daring attack that sent shock waves. ..

THE third edition of Odd-Even road space rationing scheme came into force in the national capital on Monday amid persistent high levels of pollution, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claiming that the exercise on the first day was “successful” as 15 lakh cars were off the roads. Nearly 200 violaters were fined including BJP leader Vijay Goel who in a “symbolic protest” drove his odd number SUV from his residence at Ashoka Road to Janpath. His party has termed the scheme as an “election stunt” by ..

AT A marathon hearing on air pollution, the Supreme Court on Monday passed a slew of directions, as it expressed its displeasure at the failure of the Centre and State machinery, to be followed by the Chief Secretaries to the lowest officer in the administration, to comply with its directions. “You can postpone the Assembly, people cannot be left to die”, said a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra seeking the presence of Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The court scheduled the ..

THE story of Chintaharan Chauhan may seem weird and even bizarre but it is true nonetheless. Fear of death and a superstition has forced this labourer from Jaunpur to stay dressed as a bride for 30 years. Chauhan’s is a tale of loss, despair and helplessness. Every day since the past 30 years, Chauhan of Hauzkhas village in Jalalpur, dresses up as a bride - complete with a red sari, huge nose ring, bangles and ‘jhumkas’ -- to ward off death...

TELECOM Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has directed the ailing telecom PSUs, BSNL and MTNL, to start a dialogue with their employees on the terms and conditions of the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and prepare a roadmap for its successful implementation, highly placed sources said. The Union Cabinet had last month approved a revival package for BSNL and MTNL which includes a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for their staff...

TAKING a grim view of unrestrained criticism of judges on social media for some of their judicial actions, Chief Justice of India designate Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde says it bothers him when he sees judges feeling ‘harassed’ and finds the attack difficult to ignore. Justice Bobde, who will assume charge as the 47th Chief Justice of India on November 18, also said the unrestricted criticism was not only scandalising but also tearing apart judges’ reputation. Criticism of judges instead of their judgements ..

INDIA and Uzbekistan have inked three MoUs pertaining to military medicine and military education during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s three-day visit to Tashkent, officials said here on Sunday. As had been reported by IANS earlier, the MoUs between the two countries had been on the anvil and were inked following a bilateral meeting that Singh held with his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov. “India and Uzbekistan inked an MoU on cooperation in the field of military ..

THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday opposed in the Delhi High Court the bail plea of former Union Minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case, saying the gravity of offences allegedly committed by him does not entitle him for the relief. The ED, in its affidavit filed in response to 74-year-old Chidambaram’s bail petition, said the contention of the senior Congress leader that no offence is made out against him is “untenable in law” and his plea is liable to be rejected...

THE website of BJP’s Delhi unit was on Saturday hacked by suspected Pakistani hackers, who defaced the page and posted abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A hacker group called _Muhammad Bilal TeAM (PCE) has claimed that it has hacked the website with a message like “Ghar main ghuss kar marain gy (will beat after entering the house) and “I can lie a lot, can I also get a ‘Vir Chakra’ like Abhinandan” with an email ID - [email protected]

CHANDRAYAAN-2 is not the end of the story about the country’s attempts to conquer the moon, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will attempt another soft landing ‘in the near future’, the space agency’s chief K Sivan said. Sivan, who was in the national capital to attend IIT Delhi’s golden jubilee convocation said a number of advanced satellite launches are planned in the coming months. “You all have heard about Chandrayaan-2 mission. On the technology part -- yes, we could not achieve ..

THE court of the additional district judge in Rampur on Friday convicted six of the eight accused in the attack on a CRPF camp 12 years ago. Two of the accused, Qauser Farouqi and Gulab Khan, have been acquitted. Of the six accused who were convicted on Friday, three are Pakistani nationals. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Saturday...

AS INDIANS break their heads over WhatsApp spygate where an Israeli bug infected select users smartphones to access their personal details, the mass surveillance technology has truly come of age and now the governments just need to make a missed call to install an “exploit link” into the device of a person they want to bug and listen in. From the days when surveillance methods involved bugging the phone or cable wires to tap phones (remember Radia tapes!) to track a person’s vehicle by installing ..

THE political picture in Maharashtra continues to be hazy even one week after the results, with Shiv Sena indulging in brinkmanship of extreme order trying to forge alliances with traditional foes Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Even as Congress and NCP denied any willingness to forge an alliance with Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhir Mungantiwar hinted at a possible President’s Rule if political solution did not emerge by November 7...

THE Centre has declared omission of “permanent residents or hereditary state subjects” in two newly-created Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh — which came into existence on Thursday, ending their seven-decades-long privileges over land and jobs. In a notification, the Home Ministry announced a slew of measures to be applicable in the two new UTs that include many central laws hitherto out of bounds in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir due to its Special Status. “...There are ..

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday emphasised on the need to step out of comfort zones and associate with people and noted that Government officials sometimes commit the mistake of remaining confined to air-conditioned offices and perceive that everything is all right. Addressing the civil service probationers here on National Unity Day to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbahi Patel, Modi said that it is necessary to do an honest assessment of the feedback received...

PAYING glowing tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on National Unity Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday defended the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the Special Status provision only bred terrorism in the erstwhile State. He also hailed India’s unity in diversity, calling it the biggest challenge for the country’s enemies...

CONGRESS leaders on Thursday paid tributes to late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 35th death anniversary and remembered her contribution to national security, economy and foreign policy. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were among those who paid floral tributes to the late Prime Minister at a remembrance ceremony held at Shakti Sthal, her memorial ..

FORMER Finance Minister P Chidambaram was on Wednesday sent back to Tihar jail till November 13 in the INX Media money laundering case by a Delhi court which said sufficient time has been given to the ED for his interrogation. Dismissing the agency’s plea seeking one day custodial interrogation of Chidambaram, special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said 15-day custody under the law is not a ‘ritualistic formality’. “I think sufficient time has been given for the custodial interrogation of the accused. No ..