'India could become the newest Asian tiger under Modi's dynamic leadership. Modi could become the Nehru of the 21st century, and re-establish a new Tryst with Destiny, by stating once and for all that Mera Bharat Mahaan is and will always be a truly secular and inclusive democracy in the best spirit of Bharatiya-tva,' says Ram Kelkar, offering an NRI view of the Modi triumph.
To mark his 50th death anniversary, rediff.com has launched a special series to evaluate Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy.
The church bells don't toll in Churachandpur any more. The hill district in Manipur has been in mourning for more than a year.
Meaningful devolution of spending power to states could spread more confidence on the ground and stir precisely the sort of change Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.
'Will the new government, largely of the BJP, whose manifesto proclaimed "India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here" and whose patrons never tire of the glories of our civilisation in antiquity, stand up for these long-lost cousins, the Yazidis in Iraq?'
'The Parivar's ideology and politics was and remains the very opposite of what Dr Ambedkar stood for.'
Almost everyone in Gorakhpur has a story about an Adityanath intervention that helped push through a piece of work that would've been otherwise impossible.
'Unity in diversity is a dated notion as India, today, is more unified and cohesive and yet more pronouncedly diverse than ever in its history,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
A cow that speaks, a question on patriarchy and the story of a 17th-century poet - Sanskrit filmmakers are finding new ways to revive the 'dying' language.
The Maoist-infested state needs a visionary leader and Hemant Soren is definitely not one, opines Aditi Phadnis
Historian Romila Thapar, while delivering the 3rd Nikhil Chakravartty Memorial Lecture organised by The Book Review Literary Trust in New Delhi, delved on the growing hesitation among free-thinking Indians.
Crackdowns on bloggers often signal the ominous rise of religious fundamentalism
'It's not only holy reverence that drives them to such vigilantism -- there is adventure too.' 'Some of the younger gau rakshaks enjoy the thrill of the chase: Stopping vehicles, wielding weapons, badgering passengers and then gloating.'
'Nobody is killing you in Kerala because you are Hindu unlike in North India where Muslims have been killed only because they are Muslims and were carrying some meat.'
'We must begin dialogue with openness and goodwill, but we will not proceed very far without trust and good faith. The alternative is the violence of 'might is right,' which settles very little and destroys so much of real value,' says Dr Rudolf C Heredia, author of Religious Disarmament -- Rethinking Conversion in India.
There is something deeply disturbing about wanting to build such a large temple in what is arguably India's poorest state, a state that like many other states of India, particularly in north India, is crying for more schools, more hospitals and primary health centres, and, dare I say it, more toilets for everyone, says Amberish K Diwanji
'The BJP had ruled earlier too, but nothing of this sort happened then... I don't say the government is behind the attacks, but they don't do anything to stop the attacks.' 'The prime minister has to tell the perpetrators that it is not in the interest of the government that such incidents happen.' 'When somebody says all Indians are Hindus, responsible people should ask him to stop and assure the country that this is not the opinion of the government. But it is not happening and it is quite unfortunate,' Cardinal Baselios Cleemis tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
