Hiral Dave

PM overshadows Anandiben in 2nd anniversary ads of Guj govt

Modi Sarkar’s 2 yrs dwarfs Anandiben govt’s second anniversary

On Thursday, the Gujarat Information Bureau issued full-page newspaper advertisements highlighting Modi’s achievements.

After setbacks for Gujarat CM, Amit Shah aide hogs limelight

An RSS member close to BJP chief Amit Shah has emerged as the new power centre in Gujarat, fuelling speculations of a change in guard in the state ahead of elections next year.

Amit Shah confidante’s rise fuels speculations of CM Anandiben’s exit

The rise of 60-year-old Vijay Rupani, the Gujarat BJP president, has coincided with a series of setbacks for CM Anandiben Patel in the past two years which saw the BJP losing ground in local body elections and the state rocked by violent quota agitation by the Patidar community.

Girls outshine boys in Gujarat board Class 10 results

The Gujarat secondary and higher secondary board on Tuesday declared results for Class 10 examination, announcing overall pass percentage of 67.6.

Absconding Godhra plotter may be hiding in Pakistan: ATS

One of the seven key conspirators in the 2002 Godhra train carnage and the last one still evading arrest could be hiding in Pakistan, investigators probing the massacre said on Saturday.

Dawood’s men planned attack on RSS leaders, churches: NIA chargesheet

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a chargesheet in a Ahmedabad court against Dawood Ibrahim-led D Company’s 10 members, who allegedly tried to spark communal tension by targeting leaders of religious bodies and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Why Patels, including Anandiben, are unhappy over Gujarat’s 10% quota

Last week’s announcement of 10% reservation for the economically backward classes among upper castes has failed to mollify members of the community

Quota for upper castes: Gujarat joins BJP-led states to woo support base

Gujarat announced 10% reservation for the poor among upper castes on Friday, a move aimed at placating the influential Patel community whose violent protests seeking jobs and college seats shook the state government last year.

Quick-gun women! Festival or wedding, Gujarat is armed to celebrate

Photographs of gun-wielding women at a religious celebration in Gujarat have caused a flutter with police launching an investigation into the matter. People displaying and/or firing arms at functions are a mark of a family’s influence, and is increasingly becoming a regular feature in the state.

Patidar agitation: Gujarat govt to scale down Krishi Mohatsav

With assembly elections due next year and the Patels, majority of whom who are farmers, angry with the BJP, the Anandiben Patel government has sensed that rolling out raths to publicise achievements and schemes might just backfire.

Bride and prejudice: Patidars forbid women from marrying ‘outsiders’

The Patidars, who are faced with a problem of skewed sex ratio due to a centuries-old practice of favouring male children, have embarked on a drive to prevent “their” women from marrying outside the community.

Patel quota stir: Govt relents, to help free jailed leaders

The house of Gujarat’s home minister was burnt down on Monday by Patidar protesters as the fresh quota movement by the community turned violence once again in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP won’t come back to power in Gujarat: Patel leader Lalji

Mehsana in Gujarat, the home district of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel, is on the boil again. Lalji Patel (39), who mentored the face of Patidar OBC quota movement leader Hardik Patel, was injured on Sunday during clashes between Patidars and police, prompting community leaders to observe Gujarat bandh on Monday.

Patel quota protests: Gujarat bandh today, public buses off road

The administration on Monday lifted the curfew in Mehsana, which witnessed clashes between Patidars and police personnel the previous day, amid calls for a Gujarat bandh by leaders of the agitating community.

Patel quota stir: Curfew in Mehsana, protesters call for shutdown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home district in Gujarat was brought under curfew and internet services suspended on Sunday after more than two dozen people were wounded as Patidar pro-reservation campaigners clashed with police, demanding jailed leader Hardik Patel’s release.

Gujarat: Clashes at Patel protest for Hardik’s release, curfew imposed

Patidar protesters demanding the release of their leader, Hardik Patel, clashed with police in Gujarat’s Mehsana district on Sunday, injuring scores, setting a bus on fire and ransacking a minister’s office.

Sit-ups, crawling: Public shaming alive and well in Rajkot cops’ arsenal

A repeat offender was forced to crawl, a thief was made to perform sit-ups, and so were some unruly youngsters breaking traffic norms on Holi. These are just some of the techniques used by the Rajkot police to publically shame lawbreakers.

Tainted Gujarat cop Vanzara returns home, hints at joining politics

Vanzara was one of the key accused in two fake encounter cases — the killing of Ishrat Jahan in 2004, and of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005 — and spent eight years in jail after his arrest in April 2007.

Will Mother India rallies give Gujarat BJP that coveted shot in the arm?

The event comes close on the heels of the BJP national executive meet, during which the party leadership had given every indication that nationalism would top its agenda in the coming years.

4 Gujarat education institutes make Bharat Mata ki Jai their rule

Institutions run by a trust headed by a BJP leader make it mandatory for students to write ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ in their application forms to secure admission.

Not just quotas, sex-skewed Patel community also long for brides

Plagued by a skewed sex ratio, the upper castes in Gujarat – especially the orthodox Patidars – are now looking at marital alliances that extend beyond their borders as well as social-financial status. The belief that Kurmis from Odisha have a common ancestry in the Kards, who migrated from Afghanistan around 2,000 years ago, makes them overlook all the other differences.

No terror link to abandoned Pak boats seized along Gujarat coast

Multiple security agencies have ruled out any terrorist link to eight abandoned boats recovered off the Gujarat coast in five months and triggering a major security scare after a tip-off by Pakistan this month, a top police official said on Saturday.

Gujarat alert: No Pak militants killed, ATM thieves caused false alarm

Intelligence agencies and Gujarat police have dismissed purported home ministry official claims that three of 10 terrorists having infiltrated from Pakistan were killed in a western state on the basis of a March 5 tip-off by Pakistani national security adviser Naseer Janjua to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

Pak jails or bad business: Kutch fishermen’s livelihood crisis

Faced with depleting fish stocks, fishermen in Gujarat and Diu looking for a better catch often drift to the Sindhu river delta that forms the maritime border between India and Pakistan.

Anandiben’s twin headaches: Hardik and Alpesh give BJP sleepless nights

One is a fiery and outspoken leader. The other is soft-spoken and weighs his every word. But despite their contrasting styles, both have emerged as big headaches for the BJP in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat ahead of state elections next year.

In Rajkot, college students ensure no open defecation

About 50 young volunteers, all students of a sanitation course at the All India Institute of Local Self-Government, fan out across various parts of the city every day on an important quest — spotting people heading to the railway tracks or neighbourhood fields for answering nature’s call.

Boat hijacked for 26/11 Mumbai attacks given a makeover, renamed

The 2008 Mumbai attacks may still remain fresh in public memory, but Hiralal Masani – owner of the hijacked Indian fishing trawler Kuber – wants to turn the page on the sordid chapter.

Gujarat village bans mobile phones for unmarried women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be promoting his Digital India drive across the world but a village in his native district of Mehsana in Gujarat has banned mobile phones for unmarried women.

Battling in bastion: BJP has few takers for Gujarat chief’s post

Shaken by the drubbing in the recent local body polls and poor handling of the Patidar quota stir, the ruling party is looking for a strong leader as the state goes to polls in 2017.