All parties including Cong divide people; all Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits affected by militancy: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Pope Francis, the beloved spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, has passed away at the age of 88. After battling age-related illnesses and spending over a month in the hospital, he departed peacefully, leaving behind a legacy of compassion, humility, and service. His death marks the end of an era and opens a sacred and solemn chapter of transition for the Roman Catholic Church.

The Final Hours and Ancient Rituals

With the pope’s passing, the Vatican enters the interregnum — a time between the end of one papacy and the beginning of another. The camerlengo, the Church's administrator of temporal affairs, performs a centuries-old ritual to confirm the pope’s death. He gently calls the pontiff’s baptismal name three times. If there is no response, the pope is declared dead — a symbolic moment of both loss and tradition.

An earlier custom involved tapping the pope's forehead with a small silver hammer, a practice discontinued after 1963.

The camerlengo then seals the papal apartment and prepares for the destruction of the Fisherman’s Ring and the papal seal — powerful symbols of papal authority. Their destruction signifies the official end of the pontiff’s reign.

A Funeral Rooted in Legacy

In accordance with the constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, the pope’s funeral must be held within four to six days. It will most likely take place at St. Peter’s Basilica, unless otherwise requested by the pope himself. A nine-day mourning period, known as novemdiales, follows the funeral.

The Sacred Search for a Successor

Around 15 to 20 days after the pope's passing, the papal conclave begins — a profoundly secretive and spiritual election process. Cardinals under the age of 80 gather in the Sistine Chapel, cut off entirely from the outside world, including phones and media.

They vote in repeated rounds. After each, ballots are burned. Black smoke rising from the chimney signals no decision. White smoke proclaims that a new pope has been chosen.

"Habemus Papam" — A New Dawn

Once a cardinal is elected and he accepts the sacred role, he chooses a papal name — often in honor of past saints or spiritual inspirations. Then, from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the senior cardinal deacon steps forward and declares to the world:

“Habemus Papam” — We have a pope.

A moment of silence gives way to thunderous cheers as the newly chosen pope steps forward, greeting the faithful and offering his first blessings. The bells of the Vatican ring out in joy, marking the beginning of a new spiritual journey for the Church and its followers.

Bengaluru: The leaked contents of Karnataka’s long-awaited caste census suggest a significant policy shift—extending the creamy layer rule to Category 1 castes under the backward classes reservation list. This category includes some of the most disadvantaged nomadic and microscopic communities.

The commission, headed by Jayaprakash Hegde, has reportedly recommended that the creamy layer policy—already applied to categories 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B—be extended to Category 1. The report notes that some groups within Category 1 have achieved considerable progress socially, economically, educationally, and politically, thus justifying the introduction of a filtering mechanism.

The panel emphasized the growing inequality within Category 1 itself, stating that children from impoverished farming and labourer families are unable to compete with the children of wealthier households in the same category.

“The competition is stiff here and there is a threat that this category may become one populated by the rich in due course if the creamy layer policy is not implemented,” the report reportedly states.

It further underlines that to fulfil the constitutional goal of equitable opportunities, the policy must be introduced across all categories of backward classes, including Category 1.

New Delhi: In the wake of the deadly terror strike in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday personally reached out to the Chief Ministers of all states, instructing them to take immediate action to identify and deport Pakistani nationals who are overstaying in India beyond the newly imposed visa deadlines, according to official sources.

During the calls, Shah emphasized the urgency of locating any Pakistani nationals still residing in their respective states and ensuring their departure in compliance with the fresh directives. He also made it clear that while overstayers must be deported, Hindu Pakistani nationals holding valid long-term visas are exempt from these measures and should not face any action.

This directive follows India’s sweeping decision to revoke all visas issued to Pakistani nationals from April 27 onwards. Medical visas, however, will remain valid only until April 29. The government has also urged all Indian citizens currently in Pakistan to return home at the earliest.

Furthermore, as part of its comprehensive response to the April 22 terror incident, India has withdrawn Pakistani access to the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Pakistani nationals currently in India under SVES were given a 48-hour deadline—until Friday—to leave the country.

The Home Minister had just returned from a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and attended a high-level Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in Delhi, where key decisions were taken, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed foreign envoys about the nature of the Pahalgam attack and the measures India is undertaking in its aftermath.

Addressing a public gathering in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and asserted that India will "identify, track, and punish" every terrorist and their "backers," vowing to pursue the perpetrators to the "ends of the earth."

The government has also begun consultations with both ruling and opposition political parties, seeking unity on national security even as questions were raised regarding potential lapses that led to the attack.