As he is laid to rest, Indian cricket bids farewell to one of its greatest administrators -- a visionary who understood that breaking monopolies and building stadiums were about the same thing: Giving millions of cricket-loving Indians the infrastructure worthy of their passion.
It took Udham Singh 21 years to avenge the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. And 34 years for his remains to return to India after execution in a British prison.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
President Droupadi Murmu and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived at Kartavya Path for the 76th Republic Day parade in a traditional horse-drawn buggy, a practice that made a comeback after a 40-year gap last year. The gold-plated, horse-drawn buggy is a black carriage with the national emblem embossed on it in gold. It was discontinued after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 but was revived by President Pranab Mukherjee in 2014. The buggy's history dates back to the British era, with India winning ownership through a coin toss after independence.
Shyam Benegal passed into the ages on December 23, leaving behind a rich legacy. We look back at some interesting moments from his life.
"The Congress did not behave properly with my grandfather. I campaigned for the BJP during the Madan Lal Khurrana days in Delhi. My grandfather wanted me to join the BJP. He had introduced me to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani," he said.
No single individual, institution, or action is to blame for this. The BJP is responding in kind -- definitely not without checking with its government. And they wait for Mr Trump, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The presidents were escorted by the President's Bodyguard -- "Rashtrapati Ke Angrakshak".
They try to hide behind the smokescreen that these are works of fiction inspired by real events. So, you can pick and choose from facts and fictionalise to push the right triggers with your audience or appease the powers that be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Unlike Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Giani Zail Singh, one hopes Pranab Mukherjee will do a better job when asked to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution', says T V R Shenoy.
When elected on July 18 -- which is almost a certainty, given the NDA's numbers in the electoral college -- Droupadi Murmu will be the first President born after Independence.
Barring 2004 and 2009 when Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar seat as a BJP MP and 1998 when Daya Singh Sodhi from BJP was elected as the MP, it has essentially a Congress bastion.
How could a President, seen as a political time-server, have manoeuvred things to a stage where he could strike fear into the heart of a prime minister who, only two-and-a-half years before, had been elected with the largest majority in history?
Special Chabbis is one of the finest films of the year so far, writes Sukanya Verma.
Four years after he left Bihar to move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Ram Nath Kovind returned to Patna to address the inaugural event at the centenary celebration of the Bihar legislative assembly building.
In the present case, the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir is yet to be constituted after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019.
'Maulana Mohammad Abdul Aziz is the head of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad.'
The case comes after a 26-year-old woman, on whom Dr Gurdeep Kaur performed a surgery at her private clinic, died.
A revealing excerpt from Mani Shankar Aiyar's fascinating new book, The Rajiv I Knew.
'The politics that is now being played in Punjab doesn't contribute towards peace and tranquillity.'
'She showed courage at every turn in her political career.'
'...only if we sort it out with Pakistan.'
Two women candidates; Lok Sabha Speakers; Chief Justices; A Chief Election Commissioner; drafters of the Constitution; the RBI's first Indian governor; a farm leader who unsuccessfully contested four times; an iconic Bharata Natyam dancer...
Gianiji had crafted his moves with the meticulous planning of a chess grandmaster. He did not know whether a checkmate was feasible, as his time was running out, but he wanted Rajiv Gandhi to smell the fear of loss. A fascinating excerpt from K C Singh's The Indian President: An Insider's Account of the Zail Singh Years.
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
'The Centre and state need to take a unified approach and take concerted action before this matter assumes menacing proportions because unemployment, the drug trade and the levels of frustration among the youth make them vulnerable to any maverick who promises something better.'
With Charanjit Channi's selection as Punjab CM, the Congress has got its opponents thinking seriously about their next move, notes Sanjeev Nayyar.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
'If you put your own party into the witness box, like what Sidhu did, and treat them as wrongdoers, then how will the people of Punjab trust the party?'
It was never the quality of the CV that defined an incumbent's performance or legacy.
'Change was very much needed for the Congress to win the 2022 assembly elections.'
Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao has finally got a memorial in his name in the national capital, ten years after his demise.
Whatever the outcome of the assembly election in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot is firmly ensconced in the Congress inner circle.
When it comes to spying, our netas are habitual offenders. Vicky Nanjappa digs up past records of prying politicians that date back to the 80s.
Maithripala Sirisena was considered so meek and self-effacing that he appeared no threat to anyone. What a mistake his rivals made!
The description of his career by Ambassador Nazareth in his elegant language, judicious choice of details, without ego or malice to anyone, shows that it had its ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies and lucky and unlucky accidents. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan reviews A Ringside Seat to History.
'In a party run by 'two-and-a half men', Kovind fits the bill perfectly because, unlike the BJP's previous choice for the Presidency, A P J Abdul Kalam, he is unlikely to return a bill as Kalam did with the office of profit legislation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
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.
'Modi's political economy is more inspired by Indira Gandhi than Vajpayee.' 'She so wanted an Opposition-mukt Bharat.' 'Sounds familiar?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances