'It is a great honour and responsibility because I will be a representative of India at the wedding,' Suhani Jalota -- whose Myna Mahila Foundation was selected by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as one of the seven charities to benefit from donations from the Royal Wedding - tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami met a hero's end battling Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists in the jungles of Kashmir. His valour earned him the nation's highest gallantry award in peacetime this Republic Day. Archana Masih/Rediff.com travelled to Lal Kuan, Haldwani, to find out who this hero was.
Having lost her job as a stage dancer for film award shows in the pandemic, Smita Soni learnt how to make organic bath and body products. Archana Masih/Rediff.com met her as she sold her handmade items from the boot of her car with baby on her hip.
'An earthquake of a slightly higher magnitude in the Western Himalayan region is going to be catastrophic -- not just because of the fragility of the region but because of how densely we have occupied it.'
'All political parties have exploited the police. The current government at the Centre is blatant and unapologetic about it.'
'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
'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.'
'Both Russia and the USA seek New Delhi's friendship, because for both -- Russia and the USA -- India is a certain counterbalance to China.'
'Both of us are not politicians. We were forced to enter politics to counter corruption that is looting the country.'
'We can't be outliers. We can't be bystanders. We have to be players.' 'The Taliban also need India to balance the winners in this game.'
'Every bit of the parade is important. Everything that is being executed, you have to be completely in it,' says Captain Tania Shergill, the first woman adjutant at a Republic Day parade.
'We are seeing 50% fewer cases now.' 'It is primarily due to the lockdown.'
'You don't want to harm the satellites of other countries, but you also don't want your own satellite to be harmed.'
On a mission to visit the families of soldiers who have died in action, Vikas Manhas has met over 1,000 families whose loved ones made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
'The adversary will always exploit India's anti-national elements.'
'India's defining characteristic has been its ability to manage and sustain democratic governance through an accommodation of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity.'
'He could relate to strategic and security issues almost instantly.' 'He had the ability to grasp, absorb and come out with actual rectification.'
'Both Modi and Yogi are contesting this election together.' 'Both bring their individual strengths to BJP in UP.'
Major Ruchi Agarwal is commander of the United Nations Female Engagement Team in the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo.
'I'm now living under threat, but life has to go on because as a soldier, you can't run away from it.'
'If the situation deteriorates and there is further escalation, the USA is in preparedness.'
'As an actor he was surrounded in stardom, but as a politician he is humble'
'...Cliffy with utter disregard to his personal safety, charged through the fire zone, closed in on the enemy, threw hand grenades inside their bunkers and killed six enemy soldiers!' '...He was hit by a volley of bullets. Even before breathing his last, Cliffy killed a Pakistani soldier in hand-to-hand combat...' Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, who was just 24, received the Mahavir Chakra posthumously for his superhuman act of valour in the Kargil War just 18 months after he joined the Indian Army. Archana Masih/Rediff.com remembers one of India's Bravest Of The Brave as the nation salutes the 527 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland on Vijay Diwas.
'There is a sense of realism in the Pakistan army that if they needled India during the Ladakh standoff, they would have seen a strong retaliation.' 'Pakistan was hoping that India would come out looking weaker in the region and get embarrassed, but that obviously has not happened.'
'If I win, my victory will shatter the belief that caste is all that matters in Bihar.'
'However, a lot of preparatory work would have to go in and China must be prepared to announce an end to the standoff by disengaging from the remaining areas along the LAC.'
'Different people resonated with different films of his, but beneath all of that was his unique ability to capture the human spirit in an intimate and honest way.'
Vicky Toppo is a young man who transforms into a woman each time he takes to the stage to dance to Bhojpuri or Bollywood songs. He tells Archana Masih about life as an entertainer in the interiors of Bihar's villages.
'Since we don't have toilets, we go in the fields. It is worse for the women. Men and women have demarcated different area for themselves. But it is most difficult for us during the monsoon.'
'The government can do many things to improve the situation in Kashmir.'
'I had done 23 years of very satisfying service -- 10 years in the police and 13 years in the Enforcement Directorate.' 'I had done law enforcement and thought the next step should be towards contributing to make good laws.'
'The government needs to think if a draconian, outdated and colonial law is needed in a democratic, multi religious, diverse country governed by a democratic government.'
'Political parties are following the Divide and Rule policy to break the unity of farmers.'
'Voters from the forward castes voted for JD-U because they feared Laloo Yadav's return, but since that fear is no longer there they may not see the need to vote for Nitish Kumar anymore.'
'Modi's charisma and appeal is unparalleled.' 'Yogi has his own appeal and people connect.' 'He is seen as trustworthy, hardworking and honest.' 'People feel that these qualities are both common to Yogi and Modi.'
These inspiring stories of women shattering the glass ceiling will make you believe in a brighter, gender positive future for India.
'It will be wrong to raise the expectations of tribals because of a tribal President. 'Tribal issues have not been resolved for 150 years.'
'But will there be matching action as far as tribals are concerned on the ground?'
'Although he was bed ridden most of the time he was in the vessel and unable to move on the upper deck, his condition is stable.'
'It would be a huge mistake to think that Gorbachev's reforms did not achieve anything.' 'We all live in the world, which is in many respects a result of Glasnost and Perestroika.'
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