The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
One is hopeful that if he becomes CM, Mr Thackeray will not be as trigger happy in calling for bans or encouraging outrage, says Uttaran Das Gupta.
Scholars and students have cautioned that the proposed divisive and discriminatory changes would harm the country.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry has not yet responded on the demand of the Film and Television Institute of India students to remove television actor and Bharatiya Janata Party member Gajendra Chauhan from the post of chairman of its governing council even as their strike entered the fourth day on Monday.
'I defy all the controversy. For me, it is meaningless. They say the students are unhappy that I have been appointed as the head of FTII. They have not seen my work so how can they be unhappy?' Gajendra Chauhan tries to justify his appointment to head the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'What if Modi becomes the fascist the leftists paints him as? What if he does suspend the Constitution and declares himself the ruler, with support from the army? What exactly will you do, Mr Leftie?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.
A meeting to pay homage to K G Subramanyam, one of India's most interesting painters and thinkers.
The 13th edition of Mumbai International Film Festival honoured several women documentary filmmakers recently.
'Goa is about community living, but blending in takes time.'
'It was a battle that took many forms, ranging from non-violent mass satyagrahas, mammoth public meetings, huge protest rallies in cities and towns to underground organisation of sabotage of communication and transport networks, an underground radio, illegal patrikas (newsletters) and the formation of parallel governments in Ballia, Midnapore and Satara.'
#Not In My Name, said ordinary citizens, as they took to the streets to reclaim the India they believed in.
A group of academics and scholars on Friday expressed their outrage and anger against the "assault on academic and constitutional freedom", joining the recent protests by writers, artistes, filmmakers, historians and scientists over "rising intolerance".
'Fashion brands that have leading stars as brand ambassadors spend a fortune on showcasing them.'
Intensifying their protest, three students of the Film and Television Institute of India have gone on hunger strike demanding the resignation of Gajendra Chauhan.
In the results that were declared today, girls did marginally better in class X examination with a pass percentage of 98.95 per cent as opposed to 98.12 per cent in case of boys.
Muslim community members came in large numbers to support the Dalit community in their campaign.
'Gajendra Chauhan may be a good administrator, or even a good leader, but he lacks the basic quality of inspiring others.'
'People want to blacken my face for showing "leaders in a bad light".' 'People want to show loyalty to the party.' 'There's no end to it.' 'How many people should I show the film to?' 'Where do we draw the line?'
'The BJP has no presence where the regional parties are strong.' 'And we should think of the Congress and support the Congress in those places where it is the dominant regional party.' 'The leaders of the other parties (have to) get together on this simple principle of one candidate against the BJP candidate.'
At the Paris climate change summit, there is talk of restricting temperature rise to 1.5?C instead of 2?C, which has been negotiated so far. This would give India less space to grow by limiting carbon emissions further, reports Darryl D'Monte, reporting exclusively for Rediff.com from the French capital.
'Those days, none of the leaders thought of amassing wealth.' 'All of them wanted to sacrifice their all for the country.' 'There are many who didn't have any money, but sacrificed their lives for the country.' 'There are many who spent their own money and worked for the country.' 'There are many more about whom we do not even know what they had done; they did everything so silently and selflessly.'
As his directorial debut Maine Pyar Kiya turns 25 on December 29, Sooraj Barjatya remembers his equation with his lead star and friend Salman Khan, and how the film came into being.
'We will never really lose him because in death, his spirit, trapped in a frail body, has been set free and will surround us like the air we breathe.'
Filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who as FTII chairman was himself gheraoed by students, gives us his point of view on the crisis facing India's premier film school.
Gajendra Chauhan is just one the many troubles that ail the national film institute. But all may not be lost yet.
Anupam Kher on why he thinks the prime minister is a genuine person.
'While the government must be relentless in its efforts to curb unruly elements to ensure secular harmony and protect its goal of national development,it must not lose the moral high ground by giving in to the antics of the anti-nationalist lobby.' 'They must be countered and relegated to the dustbin of history,' says Vivek Gumaste.
'I was in love and so I got married very early. Love makes you do crazy things. If I had not married then, my life would have been different. Today, I see women balancing their careers and homes. They are giving equal importance to their personal desires and their families, and that is great. I haven't been able to find that balance.' Bhagyashree, close and personal.
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