'The first time that China alleged the Dalai Lama was 'anti-national' and 'unpatriotic' was after he affirmed that Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang are part of India,' points out former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
Buddhists and Hindus have joined hands demanding that Bihar's twin towns of Gaya and Bodh Gaya be declared vegetarian and a dry area.
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
The latest Bollywood updates.
Universities must be the bastions of free speech and expression. It must be the arena where diverse and conflicting schools of thought contend. There should be no room for intolerance, prejudice and hatred within the spaces of this institution. Further, it must act as flag-bearer for the coexistence of multiple views, thoughts and philosophies, says Pranab Mukherjee.
Buoyed by his visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat, Chinese President Xi Jinping in a reciprocal gesture invited him to his hometown Xi'an, where the famous Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang spent his last years after his return from India some 2,000 years ago.
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Muhammad Ali and his family never seriously considered donating the boxing great's brain for research, according to the doctor who treated him. "Not really," was Dr. Abe Lieberman's answer when he was asked Monday if submitting the brain for research was discussed. Lieberman said he didn't think boxing contributed to Ali's contraction of Parkinson's disease but he couldn't be "a hundred percent" certain. The doctor spoke at a news conference at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Lieberman was among those who diagnosed Ali in 1984. The doctor said he believes Ali had the disease earlier, when he fought Larry Holmes in 1980. Ali thought the Holmes fight did serious damage.
'India and China have to make concrete progress with regard to the border issue, addressing the trade deficit, and facilitating people-to-people interactions. This has to happen in the next two, three years.' China expert Tansen Sen tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com how India and China can take their relations to the next level.
Celebs who became mommies after they were well past 40. Janet Jackson just gave birth to her first child at 50!
'Seven galleries range from the historical to the traditional, and from the contemporary to what constitutes the Diaspora -- the migrant labour that went on to create plantation colonies in far reaches of the world,' notes Kishore Singh.
Ten images that show it's an odd, odd world we live in.
He said that over the years, India has conveyed the message of friendship, cooperation, debate and discussions through the institutions of higher learning.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Saturday said India is a nation of non violence and noted that a majority of the Hindus believes in peace and amity.
A look into the state of Dalit entrepreneurship in the country.
The National Investigation Agency has released two local men for want of evidence in the serial bomb blasts at Bodh Gaya temple on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Ulan Bator on his historic visit to Mongolia to hold talks with the country's leadership to bolster economic and trade cooperation, including in transport, highways and energy sectors.
While the two sides' objectives may appear to differ, it is clear that both India and China are emphasising on the common minimum possible areas of cooperation between them, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
These forgotten wonders may not be on the tourist circuit, but are a piece of history worth visiting.
The moustache protest is the latest blot on the face of a nation that has failed to ensure even the safety of the Dalit community, says Veenu Sandhu.
'Sirisena will keep both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe on tenterhooks till the next general election due in 2020,' says Aditi Phadnis.
Hindus will become the world's third largest population by 2050 while India will overtake Indonesia as the country with the largest Muslim population, according to a new study.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera takes in the best of Bhutan, a beautiful little kingdom that has bundles and bundles of goodness to offer.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday came under attack from political parties for his controversial remarks that India is a Hindu nation and Hindutva is its identity.
Experts said the direction is meant to maintain party unity.
'The Hindu quest for political power in terms of a Hindu identity can pose a problem for tolerance, as the alignment of religion with power often does.'
'Why assail the Tibetan leader at a time when many in China realise that the Buddhist monk is the best bet if Beijing is seriously trying to find a solution to the Tibetan issue?' asks Claude Arpi.
China on Wednesday warned that it will take "necessary measures" to defend its territorial sovereignty and interests after India "obstinately" allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the "disputed" parts of Arunachal Pradesh causing "serious damage" to the bilateral ties.
'As the film progresses, you tire of the been-there seen-that spectacle.' 'You want a story. You want good dialogue, not the corny words you are hearing.' 'You want an emotional connect. You want a tighter film.' 'Sadly, with Padmaavat, that's not what you get,' says Savera R Someshwar.
'It is best that an amicable solution to the dispute is found outside the precincts of the courts of law,' says former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
'It was the Mughals who first established standard units of measurement and maintained offices of meticulous record keepers and auditors, departing from the more haphazard methods of earlier regimes.' 'By the end of the 16th century, their revenue and judicial administrations exhibited an obsessive preoccupation with order, the efficient management of time, and a spirit of rational self-control -- all of them characteristics of early modernity,' point out Sheldon Pollock and Benjamin Ellman.
Don't send us back, Rohingya Muslims plead the Indian government.
'It is a great misfortune that the Nehruvian Stalinists of India have colluded with the grand project of demeaning and destroying Sanskrit. Today, the number of Sanskritists in India is low, and falling,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Devdutt Pattanaik, who has simplified the ancient Indian scriptures for millions of readers, highlights what our scriptures have to say about homosexuals and transgenders.
China on Tuesday said that the Dalai Lama can improve ties with it only by giving up wish for Tibetan independence and publicly announcing that Tibet is an inalienable part of the country.
Lu said China will take 'further action' to safeguard its sovereignty.
Ratnesh Mathur remains a crucial link in learning about the legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen's India years, even assisting in research for a definitive biography by Sylvie Simmons, says Ranjita Ganesan.
Sharing the "pain" of quake-devastated Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hoped that the "beloved brother" bounces back quickly from its current crisis even as he observed that the task of recovery was long and arduous.
Sidestepping Chinese opposition, United States President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama at the White House on Wednesday, a move likely to infuriate China which considers the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist.
Kanika Datta visits the crumbling but oddly appealing complex of Bagan - a place where even an atheist can come close to a divine experience.