Over 2 million Muslims, including 136,000 Indians, will begin Haj when they assemble in the valley of Mina as Saudi authorities said preparations have been completed for the world's largest annual gathering after the city underwent a multi-billion overhaul.
The Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, on river Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran, will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power.
'Elected representatives have won elections in the past on the basis of money power received from the central government.' 'This fact has been highlighted by former army chief V K Singh who boasted of crores of rupees being distributed to Kashmiri politicians in order to buy their loyalty and win votes.' 'All the Kashmiri politicians have been co-opted by the Indian State,' says separatist Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Yes, Aurangzeb was a tyrant who ill-treated his subjects. But was he the only Mughal emperor guilty of this, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
A young IT grad jailed for visa fraud committed by his agent, gives an insider's view of life in jail.
The new arrests came as the injured toll doubled from 59 to 119.
Ditch your tuitions and expensive books; there is a way you can crack the GRE without burning a hole in your pocket.
Releasing its 70-point programme, Kejriwal called party's manifesto 'holy'.
Yaadhum is a documentary that talks about how Islam spread in South India because of trade and not through invasion.
Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Ansari believes a national debate on a Uniform Civil Code is a must. 'The need of the hour is to debate this issue at length in order to create a consensus,' Ansari tells Rediff.com, adding, 'Such a debate must take place at the grassroot level. We must understand all the divergent viewpoints before any draft can be prepared.'
'Disgruntled, disillusioned, Muslim youth -- of whom there is no dearth, given the Muslim world's sorry state -- are ready to take on the might of the West and attack it in any way they can.' 'For them, it is their faith, and not the reasoning of Newton or Descartes that has stayed with them, sustained them through the misery their world had sunk into,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Yakub Memon, who was convicted for helping finance the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which 257 people were killed, was hanged at the Nagpur Central Jail on Thursday morning shortly before 7am.
'If you go up to an average American or British citizen, and tell them you are a Muslim, they look at you suspiciously. It's not a good feeling,' Saif Ali Khan tells Sonil Dedhia.
Sanaya Dalal on feminism, France and the burqa
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Narendra Modi has expressed readiness for a probe by any government agency to be completed within 30 days into charges by Congress leaders that he had spent Rs 10,000 crore on poll publicity and offered to write to the Election Commission himself in this regard.
The man behind Aligarh Muslim University 200 years on.
Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta.
'For showing us a shining vision of how even a ceremonial role can be infused with life by a patriot, a scientist and a humble man of the people, representing the best of India's pluralist ethos, we will remember Dr Kalam.'
The collector king Sayajirao Gaekwad III, who lived a century ago, put together a fantastic world of Indian and European art for his subjects.
Shubir Rishi/Rediff.com speaks to rockstar saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan days before the release of the sequel, MSG 2.
'Small bands of terrorists believe they can destabilise superpowers if they are ready to become martyrs.' 'Since the road to paradise is under the shade of swords, it is a win-win situation for those ready to die for the cause of Allah.'
'He never believes in loose talk.' 'If he is done with you, then you go your way, he goes his way.'
Unlike Al Qaeda, ISIS recruiters are proactive and internet savvy. They know there is angst among Muslims about their helplessness even in a vibrant democracy like India, leave alone other parts of the world where Muslims live. So ISIS feeds them a regular diet of the golden age of the Ummah, creating for these youngsters a live yet make-believe world which is completely disconnected from the reality around them, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Muslims, like people of all other faiths, are quite comfortable with the idea of nationalism and democracy today. But are they following Islam in its spirit? That is a different question.'
Australian photographer Warren Richardson has won the Photo of the Year 2015 award at the 59th annual World Press Photo Contest, results of which were announced on Thursday.
Mumtaz Kazi recounts her life's journey in her own words.
Saudi Arabia's Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died on Friday and his half-brother Salman took over reigns of the world's top oil exporting nation in a smooth transition of power, calling for "unity and solidarity" among Muslims.
People like Dr Kalam teach us to dream and to chase our dreams. It is their humility that they wore on their sleeves that makes them truly great people. While we weep for a true Ratna that has left us on Monday, let us be happy that we lived in a period when he was alive and with us, says Rediff.com reader M C Sujil Bose.
'The reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the President's iftar was not merely to break a fast with the faithful, but more importantly to broker an understanding with India's second largest set of citizens,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
Where does the religious preacher and theologian want to take Pakistan?
There is no war against Islam, but there is definitely one against Islamic radicalism, says Claude Smadja.
'He was the only new face in a sea of superstars and slowly talk started in the unit that perhaps Ramesh had made a mistake by casting him.'
In the pitch dark of the African night, a herd of cape buffaloes gather at the watering hole for a drink, taking care to stay by the edge to avoid the crocodiles lurking in the depths. In Gangiova, a village in Romania, a doctor places her stethoscope to the chest of a newborn baby, listening intently for the beating of his tiny heart. These are just some of the moments that have been picked by the judges for the Sony World Photography Awards. For the 2017 competition, photographers entered 227,596 images across the awards' Professional, Open and Youth categories. The Open competition winner will receive $5,000 (Rs 3.3 lakh), Sony digital imaging equipment and flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony at Somerset House in London. Sony World Photography Awards has been kind enough to share some of their shortlisted pieces with us.
'The root of the Kashmir problem lies in Partition. To solve the issue, we have to begin from there and settle it forever.'
50 years after the 1965 War, India still thinks we can have a 'limited war' when our opponent has time and again shown it does not believe in a limited war, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Rediff.com reproduces the translation of the remarks made by President Ashraf Ghani at a press conference.
'Is it a crime to be inspired by the Left ideology? Why can't I read a book on Marxist philosophy? Is it banned in India?'
By weakening Sharif, the corps commanders could have a final say in important matters like relations with India, dealing with Taliban militants, interacting with Americans and once again achieving strategic depth in post-NATO Afghanistan. Which is why they may be behind the unrest in Pakistan led by Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri, says Shahzad Raza.
'Modi has said he has been made the PM of India not to do small things but big things. What bigger thing can there be than to have peace with Pakistan and in the neighbourhood?'
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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