Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu, which has been rocked by student protests over the last few days, closed down two days ago. A Ganesh Nadar visits the campus to find out what went wrong.
Most of the opposition parties blamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliates for the cow vigilantism.
Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar told Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that it was "a very nice meeting and President Barack Obama was extremely cordial."
Fires are still burning at the site of the two massive explosions some 36 hours after the blasts as another 6,200 people were evacuated to prevent further casualties.
'So they are extracting a price from me for letting me marry their son, is it? Manas, I cannot believe that you subscribe to this view of theirs. This is our child growing in me. It is part of me - girl or boy. Can I just throw it away if it is not a boy?'
The Government of India has failed Kashmiri Pandits as they are still living as refugees in their own country. The state as well as the central government has not taken substantial measures till date for the return of Kashmiri Pandits back to the valley, says Varad Sharma
You'll see that there's more to the state than just its forts and havelis!
The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.
'As Rai spoke, in an unbelievably dead pan, almost off-the-cuff tone, about helping plan the murder of two youngsters, drugging them with vodka and whiskey spiked with dava (medicine), smothering one, dragging a body in rigor mortis out of a car, burning a corpse, destroying evidence, and so on, it felt like he was discussing nothing more surprising than the intricacies of the weather.'
From starting with two sewing machines in her bedroom, Anita Dongre is all set to launch two stores in America. Archana Masih meets the designer for the working woman and the bride.
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
The Sheena Bora murder mystery has seen more twists in a day than a television sitcom. As skeletons tumble out, a mighty media baron and his glamorous wife have become the centre of a media storm.
Dhananjay Desai has been allowed to spread his poison to young men in Maharashtra and Goa over the last five years, by a 'secular' Congress-NCP government. The 23 cases pending against him have not stopped him. He and his supporters must have thought they were immune when they lynched a bearded Muslim at night. Neither Desai nor his followers, nor the police, nor their 'secular' political masters, must have expected the nationwide furore that followed, says Jyoti Punwani.
'Modi's promise of change during the election campaign was on the domestic front, but his first year in office focused on foreign policy beyond all expectations,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'This is not the handiwork of ordinary sub inspectors and constables.' 'If the police claim there was a scuffle between them and these five men, then how come none of the policemen were killed, or even hit by a bullet?'
It seems like Xiaomi has achieved what it had set out to with the Mi Pad: Providing a cost-effective iPad, at least, in terms of look and feel, says Himanshu Juneja
"I am a corporate story teller. I write stories that people can relate to," says Partha Basu, author of Mid-Career Crisis...why some sail through and others don't, in which he charts out a plan to tackle mid-career crisis and offers insights into how you can achieve success in your career.
The tragedy is that, at least on social media, the narrative that was being lapped up by many Indian Muslims was that Yakub Memon was being victimised. The purveyors of this poisonous line of thinking of course want this sentiment to grow since communal polarisation is the primary pillar of their political strategy, says Sushant Sareen.
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on how his Rang De Basanti has become a catalyst for India's youth.
'There is nothing wrong in accepting Rama as a God.' 'You will not get to read a story as deep as Valmiki's Ramayana in which he talks about complex relations, strong emotions, pain, desertion and unconditional love. Whether you depict Rama as a human being or a divine person, the Ramayana is an epic with a great human story.' 'It is not religious intolerance at all; this is part of political power and polarisation. A religious person will never act intolerant towards another religion.'
'I do hope the Patel family sues the hell out of the state of Alabama, and I hope the Hindu American Foundation and other community organisations are helping with legal aid and monetary support. For, there is reason to believe that it is religious and racial bias that led to the incident: In other words, a hate crime. There is no reason to suffer that silently.'
Aseem Chhabra's take on the highlights of Indian cinema this year.
'As the night wore on, we could hear insects, see fireflies and slowly, the stars took over the naked sky.' 'For those of us who spend the largest part of our lives in a cement jungle and wake up to machine sounds, this was music.'
From developing the right partnerships to employing strategies that help you to turn the game in your favour, the world of sports is full of lessons for your life and career.
The jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen as the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
'Little about this regime, given its vindictive credo, is a complete surprise. But we were still taken aback by the CBI raid as it was a complete abuse of due process.' 'These are not legal inquiries, but abusive use of State power. They are not legitimate investigations, but a witch-hunt.' 'Ours is a typical, classic case of the State and its organs being used as an outlet for motivated vendetta of the vilest kind.'
The controversy over Sant Rampal and his army of followers taking the law into their hands has once again thrown the spotlight on the clout that India's godmen possess.
Three Indian Air Force officers captured as Prisoners of War by Pakistan during the '71 War made a daring escape from a Rawalpindi jail. M P Anil Kumar recounts that heroic story.
'What is true khadoos? Stubborn? Dogged? Unyielding? Relentless? Or something in between that? Or all of it together?' 'Just like you can't translate it, you can't teach a kid to be khadoos either. You can only inculcate that attitude in him by sharing stories of all the khadoos-ness of past stalwarts.' 'For instance, the story of Sunil Gavaskar batting left handed to counter the left-arm spin of Raghuram Bhat and salvaging a draw in the 1981-1982 Ranji Trophy semi-finals...' Rahul Dravid on Cricket's Great Oral Tradition.
'After the 2002 riots when the media and other political parties started blaming Modiji, thousands of people like us -- now, it must be crores of us -- started becoming staunch supporters of Modiji. The more you blamed him the more of our support he gained.' Pramod Singh of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh is one of Narendra Modi's biggest fans and a member of Modi's India272 Web initiative, spreading the leader's message on social media and the Internet.
