'The prime minister's worst achievement is that in the one year of his second government, he has not sent out the message that he means business,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
All those castigating the government for a feeble reshuffle are missing the point. Which is that the exercise was not meant to be anything more than a message, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The summit in Korea, Ahluwalia pointed out, was the first to be held in a newly developed nation, as well as in Asia, home to many emerging nations. With the financial crisis that necessitated the meeting of minds in 2008 a thing of the past, Korea is keen to bring development to the forefront.
In the final part of an interview conducted days before the Supreme Court fast-tracked the SIT probe into the 2002 Gujarat riots, Chief Minister Narendra Modi talks about national security, vote bank politics, terrorism and the riots.
From the humble cycle to reality television, Archana Masih points out the signs of a new Indian mindset.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy discovers that you can take a Tamil director out of Tamil Nadu, but you can't take Tamil Nadu out of him.
'True closure will come only when we as a people, as a civilisation, can relax in crowded, public places without fear, when the ugly metal detectors that greet us at the entrance of every single public space goes forever. That is a distant dream, towards realising which Kasab's sentence is but a baby-step.'
Jayendra Saraswati, the shankaracharya of Kanchi, discusses the temple entry for women controversy, the Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue and gurus getting into business with Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy and A Ganesh Nadar in his first interview since being acquitted recently by a court.
Vipassana will surely take you to your destination; but it is not going to take you any sooner than the other paths you have chosen. The important thing, according to me, is to get on the path, not the road you are on.
For the Congress, at 125 years, there is double good news. One, the dynasty is back and in control of things. Two, the BJP is in terrible disarray. But it also faces crucial challenges, writes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Today's India is vastly different from the one most of us grew up in. There is a new India that is rising, a young India that is yearning to join the international ranks of the brightest and best.
'Politics is playing a very big role in keeping communities apart in terms of religion,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
'The theory of karma and the principle of dharma go hand in hand,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
'In spite of enormous problems, there is still compassion, there is still the sense of serving the needy,' says His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Part II of the Kanchi Shankaracharya's exclusive interview to rediff.com
The Pakistan-Australia match, analysed by Manu Shankar, Abhishek Mande and Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Amidst the blazing heat, women line up the streets offering 'mor' (buttermilk), water, local snacks while supporters wait for a glimpse of their 'mother' AIADMK chief at an election rally in Tirunelveli.
Dhankhar, 68, who was Union deputy minister of parliamentary affairs in 1990-91, quit the Congress in 2003 and became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'The road from Zhangmu via Nyalam to Tingri is everything a Himalayan drive should be. With tall peaks as the backdrop, switchbacks yielding to roads that stretched into eternity, passing by some of the most scenic views on the planet.'
What does one do when one day, out of the blue, one is told to go on a road trip to the Everest Base Camp?
The costs involved in putting together a successful rally are bizarre.
The question wafting in the winds over the Vaigai riverbed is, has Karunanidhi's disgraced son accepted his fate? A Ganesh Nadar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy find out.
President Kalam was loved by the youth of India. Something evidenced by the mass of student volunteers who have arrived in Rameswaram to mourn and to help out other mourners who have arrived in the island town to pay their last homage to India's 'Missile Man.'
Watching a Rajnikanth film in Mumbai's Aurora Theatre can only be compared to watching a Salman Khan film in Bandra's Gaiety-Galaxy, but multiplied 100 times over, feels Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
In a lot of ways, Tamil Nadu votes exactly as do other states. But at places there are crucial differences.
'We may have the finest criminal laws, but of what use are they when it can ensure neither a quick, time-bound trial nor punishment?' 'The outcome, then, will be extra-judicial solutions like what the Telangana police has hit upon,' argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Seventy-six is not an age to be plowing a lonely furrow in the heartless electoral fields of India, especially in Rajasthan, given the heat in summer, but Jaswant Singh, the expelled Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, is not exactly alone, says Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'The financial situation of Tamil Nadu is much worse than it was in 2016.' 'The finance minister's is a horrendous job.' 'I am certainly not going to ask for it.'
The last auspicious day of the ongoing Kumbh Mela was full of action
By all yardsticks 2024 isn't expected to be like 2014 or 2019. But with the mandir expected to be ready in time for the next Lok Sabha polls, Modi will have a new ally in Ram to see him through, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'It is a well-entrenched belief in the downtrodden, the deprived sections, that Modi cares for them. He has come to occupy their mindspace as their messiah.' 'And it is this deprived, dispossessed section that is powering his electoral performance, breaking ancient shibboleths and shackles like religion and caste and region and language,' argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'The government may backpedal for now to stave off bad international press and diplomatic demarches, but that it will go ahead with putting religion at the centre of citizenship rules is certain.' 'For it is convinced that this is the magic bullet that will ensure its return to power in 2024,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly verdict.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly verdict.
Thanks to Sharad Pawar and him alone, Maharashtra has shown that the Modi-Shah duo can be halted. The next step is to take the battle to Dilli, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Is Rangoon a hit or a flop? Find out...
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances