Asghar Ali Engineer: Simple, fearless, straight from the heart
Renowned Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer, who passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday , was opposed to all forms of religious bigotry including by the clergy of his own faith. For opposing the Syedna, spiritual of Dawoodi Bohras, Engineer faced scorn, boycott and even, sometimes, violence. In February 2000 Dilip D'souza had chronicled in Rediff.com one such assault on Asghar Ali Engineer; we reproduce it here. In Tribute. Congress gameplan behind Digvijaya's dare to SC
His provocative comments are the first political steps taken by the Congress to handle the coal scam and its fall-out, says Sheela Bhatt 'Indian Special Forces are tied up in bureaucratic hierarchy'
Special Forces are a vital element of national power, possessing enormous freedom of action and should be fruitfully employed to successfully meet future challenges, say Lieutenant General P C Katoch and journalist Saikat Dutta. 'How could we get back Sarabjit from a bunch of barbarians?'
A senior government officer, who was dealing with Pakistan on sensitive and strategic issues, tells Sheela Bhatt that Pakistan never wanted Sarabit Singh to return to India and share all that he knew. He says the the killing of the Indian convict in a Lahore jail was a planned murder. Coal-gate: PM briefed by 2 law officers before CBI plea
The prime minister wasn't comfortable with the series of events in the coal block allotment scam probe, including the uncontested detailed letter sent by Additional Solicitor General Harin P Raval (who quit on Tuesday) to Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati recalling every instance much to the embarrassment of the government, reports Rakesh Bhatnagar Rediff SENTIMETER: Figure out how Karnataka will vote
Welcome to our interactive map showing which way Karnataka will vote in 2013. CBI chief's revelation on coal-gate embarrasses govt
The revelation by CBI director Ranjit Sinha that the law minister and other officials had vetted a status report on coal-gate which was submitted to the SC may result in a severe grilling for Ashwani Kumar when the SC hears the case on April 30. Rakesh Bhatnagar reports. 'India must use special forces better against Pak, China'
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt talks to Lieutenant General P C Katoch and journalist Saikat Dutta on how India has failed to strategically employ its considerable number of special forces especially in creating deterrence against the asymmetric war unleashed upon us by both Pakistan and China since past several years, and that we need to right this urgently. Mamatadi, this is not the poriborton we sought
We want a change in Bengal again -- but this time a change in the real sense of the term, writes Indrani Roy in an open letter to the West Bengal chief minister Rafale deal on slow track as graft charges worry Antony
Although officially the IAF and MoD continue to maintain that negotiations are on track and should be concluded soon, the reality is that even small acquisitions are on the backburner, says RS Chauhan 'China-India maritime rivalry is NOT inevitable'
A senior government source explains to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt why India cannot pre-judge a rivalry with China. Shailesh Gandhi and the under-trials in jail
For former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, the RTI Act remains a powerful ally, finds A Ganesh Nadar Why Jayalalitha is happiest at the DMK pullout from UPA
The DMK will not regret parting company with the Congress as Karunanidhi knows that in this era of coalitions, it is impossible for the Congress-led government to seek a third term, given its track of record of scams. Even otherwise, the Congress has no base in Tamil Nadu where it has been out of power since 1967, says S Murari PHOTOS: Inside the ultimate pop-up mega city
Every 12 years comes a mystical, mind-boggling phenomenon. It is the Maha Kumbh Mela. Harvard experts map the exotic and the mundane at the spectacle. Arthur J Pais reports It's a woman's world: Miners, eagle hunter, bomb expert
As our salute to women on their day, we present images from across the world showing how the fairer sex has broken deep-rooted barriers to leave a mark in our male-dominated society. Helicopter deal: India's jinxed Westland saga
India's dealings with Westland Helicopters, before it merged in March 1999 with Italy's Finmeccanica subsidiary to become AgustaWestland, were technically problematical and politically questionable. Cong reflecting on simultaneous state and general polls?
Congress is wary that state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and New Delhi to be held in December will impact its prospects in the 2014 general elections. Sheela Bhatt reports Copter scam puts defence agents back in spotlight
With the latest AgustaWestland helicopter import scandal, it is time to re-examine the role of the ubiquitous but ostensibly banned defence agents, middlemen, intermediaries, brokers, consultants, weapon merchants or reps as they are variously known, says Rahul Bedi Iftikhar Gilani: The police locked up my children
'Eight policemen were sitting in my drawing room, feeling at home. They had locked up my 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son in a room that did not have a toilet.' Onkar Singh reports on Iftikhar Gilani's plight after Afzal Guru's execution. Hope in Kerala's poison fields
After suffering from severe exposure to endosulfan for decades, the villagers of Kasargod are finally moving on. But the scars remain, T E Narasimhan finds out. Timing of execution clearly political
'The hanging has made Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's position very vulnerable. The government has created an issue in Kashmir when there was none.' 'Bold decision and the ends of justice had to be met'
'Where is the question of not hanging Afzal Guru when the case was an open and shut one,' former R&AW chief C D Sahay tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa. China's dams on Brahmaputra can be dangerous business
India should take up the issue in the strongest way with Beijing. But the solution is definitively not building more dams in Arunachal Pradesh, cautions Claude Arpi. R-day Special: The men who protect India's honour
On Republic Day, nine bravehearts of the Indian Army, who risked -- and in some cases lost -- their lives to defend their nation, will be honoured for their acts of exceptional gallantry. Let us join the rest of the nation in honouring these real-life heroes. R-Day special: Meet India's young bravehearts
Priyanka catches up with India's little champions on the eve of Republic Day as they narrate their stories. The Rafale deal and why it makes China nervous
The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist newspaper, says the sale of the Rafale fighter plane 'encourages, excites and spurs India's appetite and ambition to become a great military power.' Does India have a choice, considering the People's Liberation Army's frantic speed of development, wonders Claude Arpi. Exclusive: Priyanka tweaked Rahul's speech
What most people don't know is that the emotional flourishes and notes, the memories about Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi, the point about his mother Sonia coming into his room late on Saturday night and weeping, in the speech were added by his sister Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul: Last night, my mother came to my room and cried
On such a historic day in the 127-year-old Congress party's history, Rahul Gandhi presented himself as a dreamy-eyed idealist who is trying to be a visionary instead of an Indian leader keen to be a man of steel to take on the hard realities of India. Sheela Bhatt assesses Rahul Gandhi's emotional first speech as Congress vice-president. What Rahul Gandhi's elevation means for the Congress
The Congress Working Committee anointed Rahul Gandhi as party vice-president at the party's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur on Saturday. He is now the official number two in the Congress, paving the way for his projection as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the run up to the 2014 general elections. 'We don't want our salaries, we just want to go home'
Despite Union Minister for Overseas Indians Vayalar Ravi's intervention, the fate of 29 Indian fishermen, who have been languishing in Iran since October 10 last year, remains uncertain. Bihar village waits for a special guest of honour
Wajitpura village in Bihar's Patna district is gearing up to welcome a special visitor. The mehman (guest) is the rashtrapati (president) of a country once known as mirich desh by residents of rural Bihar and Uttar Pradesh many decades ago. July - December 2012 | January - June 2012 | January - June 2011 | April - December 2010 | February - March 2010