Rakesh Sinha

On August 11, four days before the fall of Kabul, the Extended Troika on Afghanistan, comprising Russia, China, Pakistan and the US, met in Qatar’s capital Doha.

In Afghanistan, where ethnic faultlines run deep and come in the way of nation-building, the Taliban takeover raises questions, especially on the future of the not-so-dominant groups.

Last week, the US and allies exited Bagram airbase, the centrepiece of their presence in Afghanistan. Tracing the history that underlines its significance for Afghanistan, the former USSR and the US over the years.

In the final days of World War II, as the Allied forces closed in, the Burma National Army switched sides that day and turned against the Imperial Japanese Army to lead the underground Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League.

For a week beginning October 25, 1988, nearly 500,000 farmers took over the heart of the Capital, occupying Boat Club and its lawns, within earshot of North and South Blocks, and Parliament where the winter session was to start days later.

Arun Shourie told The Indian Express that if the Court is offended by a comment, it must, by law, give the person the opportunity to prove his assertion, since truth is a defence. 

An academician, who did not wish to be named in this report, said, “Muslims have accepted the defeat in the courtroom. In any case, this has gone too long, and has done no good to both the country and the community. We just wish the new generation doesn’t have to go through what we did.” 

For the Parivar, August 5 is the realisation of a dream, the end of a journey and the start of another. Article 370 and the Ram temple were two ideological issues that the BJP, in the NDA’s earlier avatar under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had been forced to place on the backburner due to coalition compulsions.

Frozen in time ever since the dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid found its way to the courtroom and the temple movement gathered steam, Ayodhya is weary of its past and present.

Hoardings of every size jostle for space to welcome the Prime Minister to the bhoomi pujan for the temple of Ram at his janmabhoomi, once the disputed site and now settled with the imprimatur of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling nine months ago.

Nikamma was the word rivals had picked, 11 years apart, to target H D Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh during attempts to unseat them from power.

Sixty years ago, from the very spot Amit Shah reiterated the Indian position on Aksai Chin, prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had informed the nation, belatedly, about what the Chinese had been up to in Aksai Chin, “where not even a blade of grass grows”.

In the din and many debates over the results, not many will devote much time to the fifth verdict — from Mizoram.

These lines could well have been from 26 years ago when Mahant Avaidyanath, Adityanath’s mentor, the head of the Gorakhnath Math and one of the leading lights of the Sangh Parivar’s temple movement, had hit out at the “delay”.

Subhash Pandey and Mohammed Shahid live in different parts of Ayodhya but share a common story — of life at a standstill from the time they lost their fathers.

In September 2010, the Allahabad High Court ruled that Nirmohi Akhara, Sunni Central Wakf Board, UP and Ramlalla Virajman were joint holders of the disputed property, and awarded each a third of the land at the site.

Revisiting Ayodhya: An iron fencing painted yellow runs around the entire acquired area with a three-tier security arrangement in place. The disputed site is in the red zone, guarded by CRPF personnel including women.

In December 1992, reporter Rakesh Sinha and photographer Praveen Jain chronicled the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Their reports and photographs led the Liberhan Commission to call them as key eyewitnesses. 25 years later, they return to Ayodhya to track the new battle lines in an enduring conflict.

Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is witnessing a joining together of nationalism and political Islam. And reaching out to erstwhile adversaries, Russia and Iran.

“If India is ready, Pakistan will be willing. But if India is not ready, we can always wait. India has to make up its mind,” Basit said.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India calls for serious sustained diplomacy between the two countries in this interview.

Arun Shourie talks about India-China border dispute, days before Narendra Modi leaves for China.

Jyoti rushed home. His family was safe, his property intact. But the city had been devastated.

Search teams say it is not easy getting to the bodies because they are probably deep inside, beneath layers of flattened buildings.