'The awareness of how big my father's sacrifice came to me when we went for the Republic Day parade and my mother received the Ashok Chakra,' Rukmini Vasanth, whose father Colonel Vasanth Venugopal was killed in action fighting terrorists, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
Nine army men have been awarded Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award.
'India's first and longest-serving prime minister created -- or at the very least imagined -- a modern, democratic nation-State of the 20th century,' says Sunil Sethi.
Though this time India's first astronaut remained earth bound, P Rajendran/Rediff.com finds out more about his journey off the beaten track along America's East Coast.
Ajit Balakrishnan envisions a flag to capture the spirit of the impending conflicts of the Information Age.
T S Sudhir, who was present at the occasion, reports
'Ashok the Great did not slaughter foreigners or Muslims when he conquered Kalinga. It was Oriya- speaking Hindus whom he butchered by the tens of thousands. But Ashok is called Great, and his lion emblem is the official symbol of the Republic of India.' 'Why do we honour Ashoka and not Tipu, when both men are accused of the same crime?' asks Aakar Patel.
Life inside the prime minister's official residence is highly regulated, but it comes with its perks, says Veenu Sandhu
NDA government has shunned populism.
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