Dismissing reports of the Burari family practising superstitious rituals, Vishakha said all the cousins were excited about Priyanka's (one of the victims) wedding and "things like registers with notes on salvation" never came up for any discussion among them.
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each, officials said.
Modi hasn't raised or encouraged the raising of slogans such as 'Jai Sri Ram' at public meetings
Ramya Nair tells us how she found love in Arun.
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
We take a look at the world's quirky, colourful - and downright bizarre - events.
Behold the breathtaking winning and shortlisted images from one of the world's most prestigious photography contests. The amazing shots are from the open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2020, which received 193,000 entries from photographers in over 200 territories. Scroll down and feast your eyes on our pick of the shortlisted and category-winning entries.
Long queues outside grocery stores, inflated prices, difficulty in getting important items -- these were some of the problems encountered by people in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The rationalist has proved to be a greater voice of reason in death than he was during his lifetime.
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.
The IG Prison was not categorical about the effective date of parole and said it depended upon when the jail authorities would release him.
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, 21, received the Mahavir Chakra in the 1962 War with China. Such was his valour that a temple and museum stands on the land he died defending in the icy valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of an era gone by, says Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. On the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, we republish this 2011 special.
'The return of India to its own civilisational values can never endanger freedoms as pluralism is the bedrock of our culture,' assert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Perumal Murugan's Songs Of A Coward reminds Uttaran Das Gupta of Orwell's Animal Farm and Ionesco's The Rhinoceros. Both works, as well as Murugan's stark poetry, are poignant for our times, when political figures build personality cults around themselves and demand absolute loyalty.
A Rediff reader recently travelled to Bihar's remote naxal effected district of Jamui... to attend a wedding! Snapshots from an unforgetful journey
Fathers and sons have had a vexed relationship throughout myth, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
'Pakistan has a big role to play in fomenting trouble, but we need to ask ourselves why ordinary Kashmiris are coming out in large numbers to attend the funerals of terrorists.'
Odisha has claimed that Rasogolla originated from the Jagannath Temple in Puri
A nation that aspires to be a superpower and wants to join the ranks of global leaders in knowledge, science and technology should declare an all out war on ills like superstition and black magic at all levels, says Dinesh C Sharma.
'In Rajiv Gandhi's time, out of every Re 1 spent by the government only 15 paisa reached the public.' 'At this moment, I cannot say that the entire Re 1 reaches the common man's pocket, but yes, two-thirds of that money definitely reaches the common man.' 'And the rest of the money will also reach soon.'
'It is exceptionally important for Hindus to once again get in touch with the foundation of Hinduism.' 'Aggressive evangelists are reducing Hinduism to its lowest common denominator.'
The Sindhis are a lesson in perseverance. Once uprooted, they've started all over, often reinventing themselves
After a brief suspension due to bad weather early in the morning, the rescue operations in rain-hit Uttarakhand resumed on Sunday on a war footing to evacuate 22,000 pilgrims still stranded in high altitude areas amid a MeT department warning of light to moderate rains in the region from Monday.
The tragic replay of events at the house of Bansal, Former Director General Corporate Affairs, in East Delhi's Neelkanth Apartments came to light when the family's maid entered the flat through an "unlocked door" around 9 am.
'No, the liberals haven't lost because there weren't any liberals in the fray to begin with.' 'What has happened is that left-wing orthodoxy has lost to right-wing orthodoxy.' 'That is at best a Pyrrhic victory for India,' argue Sonali Ranade and Sheilja Sharma.
When PK works, it does with great merit. When it does not, it sermonises, says Sukanya Verma.
Of India's sacred rivers, she is the holiest. It is believed that even the Ganga comes in the form of a cow for a purifying bath in the Narmada, says Geetanjali Krishna.
'It is time for all Indians to understand the truth that led to a 10-year long bloodbath in Punjab and not attempt to glorify the terrorists under the garb of human rights violations or scratch old wounds,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), on the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
With the Apollo Hospitals chairman saying that she has recovered, the party can go back to business as usual.
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PK is no satire -- it's a bit too toothless for that -- but it is a rollicking mainstream entertainer with ambition to evoke some introspection, says Raja Sen.
'Imagine how secure are our seaports and airports that 10,000 objects can leave every decade and our custodians are not even aware?' 'This kind of targeted looting when thieves pick and choose the best of Indian art and steal on an industrial basis will eventually impoverish our great land.'
'The Indian Right can afford to be rigid; but as liberals, our position has to be one of constant evolution, or else death awaits us,' argues Sreehari Nair.
We present some of the best photographs clicked across the globe in the month of May.
The wedding season is here. Want to flaunt a new piece of jewellery every time you attend an event? Here are the 9 jewellery pieces which look expensive but they are not -
'These people want to create fissures among the Hindus and they have been trying to do this for quite sometime.'
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
'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.'
'She really doesn't care if she is called heartless.' 'For her, the job needs to be done. That's all that matters.'
