'Through a translator, I was able to speak with several of the detainees from India who are seeking asylum.' 'I was saddened to hear the detainees tell us that they are being confined in their cells for up to 22 to 23 hours a day.' 52 Indian are among the 121 asylum-seekers held in an Oregon prison. Rediff.com Senior Contributor Pottayil Rajendran reports from New York on the case that is making headlines in America, India, indeed around the world.
The concept of social security is experiencing a renaissance in developing and emerging markets.
However, he refrained from speaking on Mexican immigrants and also declined to repeat his frequent promise to force Mexico to pay for the wall.
Intolerance toward the minority communities or attempts to humiliate them or the refusal to go the extra league to build an inclusive society -- these are all evident today in our society, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Photographer John Moore, who took the picture that has come to symbolise the horror of the new family-separation policy in the United States, reveals what happened that night.
'... For the India-US relationship to continue its positive trajectory, it will require India to adapt to a different approach.' Nisha Desai Biswal -- who as the Obama administration's point person for South Asia was in the inner circle of all the Obama-Modi Summits -- tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar why she is hopeful that India and the US are on an irreversible forward course.
Generations of Indian Americans have had Arthur first note their feats and recount it to the world. And that is why so many desis across America have been saddened by his passing.
Experts believe that the incident, which US President Donald Trump termed as an "act of pure evil", is unlikely to bridge the bitter differences between the pro- and anti-gun control law lobbies in the country.
Nothing, according to Deepak Lal. He argues that the contemporary attempts to control immigration in the US and UK are not nativist.
In his penultimate State of the Union address, Barack Obama said that the economy is improving.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is unelectable and would make the country less safe, US Vice President Joe Biden said as he launched an unprecedented scathing attack to prevent the real estate billionaire to enter the White House next January.
The possibility of a deal between Iran and the world on its nuclear programme has some perils but much promise for India, says Uday Abhyankar
'The fabric of democracy is fraying,' says T V R Shenoy. 'It is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the North-East, but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland.'
The Avengers: Age Of Ultron is one madly indulgent film says Raja Sen.
For Chef Thomas Zacharias, Chef Floyd Cardoz, was a partner, mentor. And family.
Aseem Chhabra lists the top 10 films at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
From May 26 onwards, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting applications for work visas from H-IB spouses, reports Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com.
'India may be new to world politics and her military strength insignificant in comparison with that of the giants of our epoch.' 'But India is old in thought and experience and has travelled through trackless centuries in the adventure of life.' 'Throughout her long history she has stood for peace and every prayer that an Indian raises, ends with an invocation to peace.' Jawaharlal Nehru's memorable speech to the United States Congress.
'2019 is just a year away and Modi can do with some peace and tranquility on the external front.' 'There are risks, of course, but isn't Modi a risk taker?' asks Ambassador B S Prakash.
'While India's 'secularism' is a matter of cultural values rooted in Hinduism, the Western concept became one of rights rooted in legal rights. India would be secular with or without Article 25 of the Constitution,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Biplab Deb said it was unfortunate.' 'If he continues to respond this way, then further damage will not happen.' 'But if under pressure from his party members he does not take action, then the future is dangerous.'
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Nebraska is not merely a black comedy, but one laced with light, with hope, with brightness. Black and White, then. Sometimes they do make 'em like they used.
India sees the maximum drop in women representation from junior to middle-level positions.
Indian and Pakistani movies, now in New York theatres!
Louisiana Governor Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal may not have been among the top 10 Republican presidential hopefuls at the first GOP primary debate in Cleveland, Ohio. But he sure did make a strong pitch for his candidature, ripping apart President Barack Obama and forcefully putting across his thoughts on contentious issues like immigration and foreign policy.
Meet Anna Chandy, chairperson of the Deepika Padukone-led Live Love Laugh Foundation.
Homecoming fuses the kinky-swiftness of the original superhero movies with the silly concerns of a 2017's teenager, points out Sreehari Nair.
Rajiv Malhotra's plagiarism may not be as horrifying as impersonating an exam candidate in Indore -- but they're both forms of cheating.
'How can Hindus protest efforts to ban an edition of the Gita in parts of Russia, and force a publisher to withdraw an academic critique of Hinduism, all in the same breath? It makes the Hindu community seem petty, self-serving, and hypocritical. Episodes like this allow Hinduism to be "owned" by the most conservative, intolerant, extremist voices. These people do not speak for me, and they certainly don't represent the form of Hinduism I practice and love," Princeton University's Hindu chaplain Vineet Chander tells Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece it's because Nandita Das could not quite crack the Manto code: She couldn't quite see the wholeness of her subject with the same eyes that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto, feels Sreehari Nair.
US President Barack Obama's plan to shield up to 4.7 million undocumented immigrants from deportation may be immensely significant, but only a comprehensive legislation from the Congress with a larger goal could do justice to immigrant expectations.
'It is strange that a country like India, which had gone through crisis after crisis resulting from militancy, insurgency and terrorist attacks, should still be practising ad hocism in managing its security imperatives,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and former member of the Joint Intelligence Council.
How many of the 354 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2017 have you seen?
After weighing all the costs and benefits, the next administration is likely to reduce and restructure assistance to Pakistan but not to end it altogether, says Daniel S Markey.
Dil Dhadakne Do is like a really long episode of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai where Satish Shah doesn't show up, says Raja Sen.
ISIS' advances in Iraq and Syria are not just tactical but strategic victories -- born of US errors and confusion
December 22 marks the 129th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the greatest Indian mathematician of our time. Just 32 when he died, Ramanujan has fascinated mathematicians, writers and filmmakers for nearly a century.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's success at courting Indians abroad have been as much a result of his old contacts as efforts by a dedicated arm of the BJP abroad. Archis Mohan reports
