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The news of J Jayalalithaa, the CM of Tamil Nadu, being admitted to a hospital due to fever and dehydration has caused an outbreak of alarm, panic and despair among her followers, affecting public life in the capital of the state. But given her secretive nature, Jayalalithaa has never revealed the exact diagnosis of her condition. Left to be a mystery to the public, the various myths circulating about her health have lead to a barrage of misinformation. From diabetes to renal disease to liver trouble to gangrene in her toes, guesses about her problems are varied and just as unverifiable.
Noted actress Tannishtha Chatterjee recently went on the Comedy Nights Bachao Taaza TV show to promote her next film, Parched. However, what she thought to be a regular TV affair with random jokes turned out to be a nightmare for the actress. Apparently, the hosts of the show which is aired on Colors, felt that it was funny to make jibes at Tannishtha's complexion. Understandably, the actress walked out of the show.
Relations between India and Pakistan have hit rock bottom after four terrorists attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir on 18 September, killing 18 soldiers. Besides trying to isolate Pakistan internationally, as well as in the region, for sponsoring terrorism, the Modi government is reviewing its stand on the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in order to hit back at its neighbour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, "Blood and water cannot flow simultaneously." Even if India could stop the flow of the water from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab from flowing to Pakistan, it would take years to construct the dams and canals needed to divert the water. In the absence of these structures, large swathes of Jammu and Kashmir would be in danger getting flooded. Not only would this displace millions of people, it would cause unimaginable damage to the environment. While India will be reeling from floods, withholding the water could cause severe drought in Pakistan, bringing untold misery to its civilian population.
At a recent event in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that Muslims are more safe in India than anywhere else across the world. Talking about the Indus Valley Treaty which the Indian government is thinking of revoking, Mufti said that Jammu had suffered the most lossed due to the agreement.
India's financial capital Mumbai, home to 45,000 millionaires and 28 billionaires, is the wealthiest city in the country with total wealth of $820 billion. According to New World Wealth, Mumbai is followed by Delhi and Bengaluru at the second and third place respectively.
With the Karnataka government (almost) not complying with the Supreme Court's order to urgently release more water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu, CM Siddaramaiah is set to meet union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday. The meeting had been earlier called by the apex court, which has expressed its displeasure at Karnataka's inaction, saying that it violates the spirit of federalism or cooperation between states.
Blending its Operation Calm Down with Jadoo ki jhappi (magical hug), Army is now foraying into the interiors of South Kashmir, giving semblance of law and order and building up confidence among the locals to open their establishments which have been shut for nearly three months. At the break of dawn, Colonel Dharmendra Yadav, in-charge of the most sensitive Anantnag district, takes out his jeep to take a round of his Area of Responsibility (AOR). He mingles with locals, interacts with them, especially the children and is greeted by smiles and hugs all around.
A thorough search that went on in the costal town of Uran, near Mumbai, was reportedly a result of a 'prank' played by a 12-year-old girl in a nearby school. According to reports, the girl, who had claimed that she had seen kurta-clad men with weapons speaking in a 'strange language' around the Uran Naval Base, had done so "just for some thrill". After cross-examination, the girl was let off with a light warning and a piece of counselling about the consequences of such 'pranks'.
Despite the angry rhetoric, this seems to be a slow-paced war, which thus far is limited to both India and Pakistan playing to domestic audiences, writes Ayesha Siddiqa in The Hindu. "While it is up to PM Narendra Modi to calculate benefits from scrapping most favoured nation (MFN) status or the Indus Waters Treaty, such initiatives have little prospects of short-term gains. Notwithstanding the fact that opinion in Punjab had changed regarding India with greater keenness to do trade, it did not turn into a strong enough lobby to influence how the generals think," says the opinion piece.
The majority of men are not sexual predators, but a corrosive, significant minority are. While it is not the complete solution, they have to be confronted everywhere, writes Anurag Behar in Mint. "So how can the background threat of sexual harassment be tackled? Let me just share what we have learnt from our experience and that of others, without suggesting that this is some kind of a formula. First, it is about best efforts to minimise the risk of this happening. Second, is to support women in recognising it as something that must not be tolerated, and then to enable them to speak about it. Third, is to confront it head on if it happens," he writes.
Irrespective of India's future relations with Pakistan, the Modi government's search for alternatives to SAARC will now acquire a new momentum, writes C Raja Mohan in The Indian Express. "Pakistan is free to choose its partners. It has consciously embraced China as the strategic economic partner; Rawalpindi believes that restoring historic economic connectivity with India is a threat to Pakistan. India can't compel Pakistan to join the project of South Asian integration. Instead of bemoaning that fact, Delhi must devote itself to bilateral, sub-regional and trans-regional cooperation with our neighbours, all of whom except Pakistan want India to do more," he says.
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