'Few practitioners of yoga doing the Surya Namaskar, including lakhs of Americans and Europeans, see it as a form of worshipping the sun. They do it because it is good exercise.' 'In my view Muslim groups need to be more flexible on such things and not present their problem in terms that are confrontational.' 'Having said that, are they over-reacting? The history and the background of the government and its ministers would lead us to believe otherwise,' says Aakar Patel.
'Even if the BJP wins Maharashtra because of a division of votes, I want to be counted as one of those who voted against Modi.'
Blessed with a computer-like brain and an elephantine memory, Anandji Dossa was a pioneer in compiling cricket statistics and scores. Haresh Pandya pays tribute to the modest stats-man, who has passed into the ages.
Facing attacks back home over the issue of intolerance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India's diversity was the country's "strength and pride" and underlined the importance of peaceful co-existence.
With Mukesh Ambani taking over Network 18, the space for disseminating a diverse range of views could shrink, feels Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
There have been significant changes in Gujarat, says Uttam Ghosh, as he captures the state in his camera.
'In today's India very few would, of course, stand Basavanna's test. This led Professor Kalburgi to not only take on casteist and conservative forces in general, but also some powerful conservatives among Lingayats.' 'Conservatives found him polarising and some researchers disagreed with his speculations while admiring his scholarship, but he posited that culture studies and historians have to perforce join the dots, speculate, interpret, interpolate, extrapolate and take leaps to make progress even if some of them later turn out to be wrong.' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Professor M M Kalburgi, the scholar who was assassinated in Dharwad on Sunday, August 30.
It is unusual to see Narendra Modi highlight his OBC status -- something he has never done in his long political career. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com examines Modi's compulsions for bringing his caste to the foreground
'I was actually appointed captain for the West Indies tour (in 1971).' 'But Mr Vijay Merchant (the then chairman of the selectors) didn't like me nor did he like 'Tiger' Pataudi. He thought we were far too flamboyant.' 'He made Ajit Wadekar captain.'
BJP's Member of Parliament Tarun Vijay on why he chose to demand national status for Tamil
'What was predictable, but entirely missed by Modi's strident critics, is that the excessive and intemperate demonisation of Modi allowed him to assume his own metaphor -- the underdog, the martyr, the marginalised,' says Dr Aseem Shukla.
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In the last 10 years, when the people looked at New Delhi, they saw two centres of power and not one decisive leader between them. There was nobody who could speak in a language people wanted to hear. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reveals the true reason why the UPA appears rudderless on the eve of Election 2014.
'The sense of urban loneliness is felt most in the modern residential complexes. To be in the neighbourhood does not make one a friendly neighbour, so while one may appear friendly does not mean one is a friend. I am alarmed at the rate at which we Indians have grown away from some old systems that were ingrained in our society,' says N Suresh.
'Arthur was a charming, quirky, funny, smart journalist who loved all things about films. And he would change my life forever.'
From Dindigul to Google and Chennai, this entrepreneur has travelled a full circle riding on English
'Modi is a symbol of Asia Rising; and, for the first time in decades, a non-white has the potential to be the most compelling global leader.'
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
Specially abled Sai Kaustuv Dasgupta talks about how he wants to make his life a message to all the 'wheelchair warriors'.
Who are the men the prime minister relies on to execute his impressive agenda?
The Varanasi versus Azamgarh story is about the fears and insecurities of two of our strongest leaders, Narendra Modi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, says Sheela Bhatt.
'People in Pakistan opened their homes and hearts to me because I was an Indian. I didn't feel alien at all and I felt as if I was in my own country.' 'I believe that there is a strong chance that the Taliban can win over Pakistan. In an era of ideological confusion these people (Taliban) thrive.' 'The Pakistani State is an enemy state not just for India but for Pakistan itself. By funding non-state actors, the Pakistani government is destroying itself.' Film-maker Hemal Trevedi speaks on her experiences when filming a documentary on Pakistani madrasas
Narendra Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-VHP to a new level. Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history. By surrendering to the spirit of mystical Varanasi, Modi and his party can change the trajectory of their political journey.
Jyoti Punwani examines the relevance of the Sairat, the hit Marathi film everyone is talking about, in today's times.
'In each hartal, enormous amount of public money is wasted. The entire state comes to a standstill. How long can this go on?' 'Every year 3 crore people sit at home not because they support hartals, but because they are forced to do so.' 'This is part of a larger measure to curb democratic rights.'
As Maharashtra and Haryana show, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah completely control the BJP and are taking it to the next level ruthlessly, without carrying forward any past baggage.
Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition parties on Wednesday alleged that selective leak of information on demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes to 'friends of BJP' and demanded making public the names of those who had bought gold and foreign exchange of over Rs 1 crore since April.
'Not allowing people to speak or listen is the biggest act of anti-nationalism,' says Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India's finest poets.
'Kejriwal has taken a leaf out of Modi's campaign of 2014 and improved upon it.' 'That suit will haunt Modi till he exits politics.' 'Of all the factors that favoured Kejriwal, the biggest was the arrogance and over-confidence of the Modi-Shah led BJP.' 'What the Congress could not do in the last two decades in Gujarat, Kejriwal did it in no time in Delhi.' 'The BJP has behaved exactly like the Congress in decoding Kejriwal's politics.'
Deven Verma passed away into the ages on December 2. We re-publish an interview done with the veteran actor.
Pavan Malhotra, one of our finest actors, shows us another side of Bollywood.
'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.
In Delhi, the poor are pitted against the middle class, with the former led by Arvind Kejriwal and the latter by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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