From the torch, to the gas cylinder, to the sewing machine, to a whistle, to a camera... Uttarakhand's Independent candidates are in the fray with some interesting election symbols.
'We had become buffoons with Lalu. If you were a Bihari you were seen as a buffoon -- that has changed. Now there's a pride in being Bihari.' Archana Masih reports on the changes in Bihar.
The man who wrote two of the 20th century's greatest novels, Animal Farm and 1984, was born in Motihari. But few come to the sleepy Bihar town seeking George Orwell.
In Gujarat, the system is such that even if Narendra Modi is not there, the growth will continue. But in a place like Bihar it is different, it will still matter who is the CEO of the state,' says social scientist-economist Dr Shaibal Gupta.
'The worry among many international actors is whether there will be stability to provide assistance to the government because the political developments in the last few months are a real concern.'
A new house, an inverter for electricity and a scooty are the material things Sushil Kumar has acquired from his prize money. But what he misses most is his cycle. Archana Masih meets the first winner of Rs 5 crores on KBC at his home in Motihari, Bihar.
No journey can give you a taste of the Indian landscape like train travel. Rajesh Karkera and Archana Masih capture vignettes on one such long journey through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
'As we reach 2022 we are creating a very new, different India where the Citizenship Amendment Act will be passed, NRC will be pushed through, Article 370 scrapped...'
The house in Allahabad where Amitabh Bachchan lived in many, many, years before he became THE SUPERSTAR.
Conrad Sangma, 35, Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Meghalaya assembly that goes to the polls on Saturday, explains the need for a fresh approach to solve the problem of insurgency in the state, the reasons for the lack of women in state politics and the need for cultural exchanges between the North-East and the rest of India.
'These incidents of indiscipline in army units are happening with increased frequency which is a dangerous trend and is a wake up call for the senior leadership of the armed forces,' says Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (retd).
Lady officers in the Indian Air Force have become trendsetters, carving a prominent place for themselves in diverse IAF stations across the country. This year, for the first time, the IAF contingent was led by a young lady officer at the Republic Day parade. Rediff.com's Archana Masih meets some dynamic IAF lady officers who make India proud.
I do think a younger population structure is an advantage against this virus, but there are other important factors such as the capacity of the healthcare system," says Dr Jennifer Dowd, associate professor of demography and population health, University of Oxford.
The medal was parcelled to his home. He sent it back. 'It should be conferred at the ceremonial function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.'
Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar (retired), who has been on the hit-list of Khalistan separatists since 1984, survived an attempt on his life in London last year. The general tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih what it is to live a life under threat and how he has not let that cow him down.
'He will be remembered for his simplicity and for taking up the cause of the labourers with great passion.'
'The India-China relationship has deteriorated greatly over these past two years and it is set to deteriorate further.'
From the rented home where he paid Rs 500 a month in the 1990s to the flat he will buy from the one crore won on KBC, Ajeet Kumar's personal journey is a story worth cheering for.
'Seven hundred farmers lost their lives.' 'The protesting farmers were demonised and called names like andolanjiwi, Khalistani, anti-national.'
'Everybody of a certain age wanted to write like Rushdie and so did I but I wouldn't want being hunted around the world. I am sure even Rushdie wouldn't want that life, says Pakistani Writer Mohammed Hanif.
Reema Kaur is one of the students on strike for nearly three months at the FTII. The Delhi resident feels the campus that had been a cocoon for her in the last three years has turned into a revolution ground demanding change -- and she is happy to be a part of it.
'While parliament has elected him, the people are demanding that he goes home.'
'An earthquake of a slightly higher magnitude in the Western Himalayan region is going to be catastrophic -- not just because of the fragility of the region but because of how densely we have occupied it.'
'For Modi, it's not just winning, but winning with style.'
A year after her husband Mukesh died in a bomb blast in Mumbai, Sheela Seth and her nine-year-old son Mohit confront grief and an uncertain future, reports Archana Masih.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
Major Ruchi Agarwal is commander of the United Nations Female Engagement Team in the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo.
'The last thing he would want is new tensions with India.'
Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu & Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
'This trip will solidify India's understanding of the new kind of world leadership Obama wishes to achieve, one very different from that of George W Bush,' says Professor William Chafe.
Far from civilian populations, facing the onslaught of weather, terrain and a hostile neighbour lurking in the distance, the band of young men at the Indian Air Force's most strategic radar location near the Line of Control say life is hard, but they would not have had it any other way.
'The government says it is trying to improve the institute, but its latest appointments say otherwise.'
Biharis seem to have broken the caste divide to vote for good governance in a deeply caste-ridden society and that is Nitish Kumar's biggest triumph.
General Bipin Rawat was given the guideline by the prime minister to achieve the integration of the three forces by the 75th year of India's Independence. This should be carried forward with utmost speed.
Members of Parliament from diverse parts of India -- from the Naxalite-affected regions to south India -- react to President Obama's speech.
'IT is not just about export and dollars -- or about big cities like Delhi and Mumbai --but also about how it is improving villages," said a proud Sachin Pilot, Union minister of state for communication.
A group of first time voters who run 10 km everyday to prepare for fauji recruitment rallies, tell Rediff.com's Archana Masih they need two things: quality education and jobs.
'No one is saying that the police can become the solution, the police have to become the first respondent to create a situation where other people can enter,' says Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan.
27-year-old Vinod Dhar's entire family was massacred when he was just a teenager. He now has a government job and a flat alloted by the government in a township for Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu but almost a decade later, the horrors of that night remain with him. Archana Masih reports from Jammu.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances