When L.K. Advani was dragged kicking and screaming from the post of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president in 2005 under orders from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Delhi to Washington stated that the event "demonstrated the power of the RSS ... and will likely increase the party's (the BJP's) political decline".
The land that is now called Haryana has been famous for epic battles like the Mahabharat and the three historic battles of Panipat. Now a leading Sikh body is fighting a politico-religious battle in the state to retain control over its gurdwaras.
Putting people to inconvenience and even causing suffering by blocking rail tracks and roads in Punjab could now have a legal complication for protesters. The state government has approved a bill under which blockade of rail and road traffic would attract punishment of up to one year in jail and even a penalty of Rs.100,000.
Britain is witnessing one of the biggest strikes by public sector employees in three years with up to one million people expected to take to the streets to protest pay freeze and pension changes as part of austerity measures, media reports said Thursday.
Cleaning Ganga, linking of rivers and beautification of river banks were on top of the agenda of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who set aside Rs.2,037 crore for an integrated Ganga development project in the union budget 2014-2015.
Tax payers could save on their salaries and consumer goods like TVs, soap, footwear, processed food and computers will cost less as the Rs.18-lakh crore ($300-billion) maiden budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government promised to arrest price rise, boost investor mood, cut expenditure and restore India's growth to 7-8 percent in three years.