Unprecedented violence... Mobs determined to teach Delhi a lesson... An incompetent chief minister... Losses of over Rs 200 billion. Haryana's Jat agitation has a somber message for the nation.
Disappointed over Pakistan's slow pace of trial in Mumbai terror attack case, a top American lawmaker has demanded that the seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-tayiba operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, be handed over to the International Criminal Court to bring them to justice.
The 2019 election gives the Indian public the same choice: Between growth and oligarchs (or, in our case, dynasts and crony capitalists). If we chose wisely, well and good. If not, well, we have the Nehruvian Rate of Growth and massive corruption to fall back on. In a large sense, it is a choice between the India of the Lutyens elites and the Bharat of the real citizen, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
To make it possible to attract the best of our young people to join the armed forces, all university courses anywhere in India should include compulsory National Service for a total period of six months, says T Thomas
After an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced an immediate release of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation works in Tamil Nadu.
'At critical moments an inability to take tough decisions resulted in potentially far-reaching solutions slipping out of our grasp.' 'If similar opportunities come Narendra Modi's way will he act differently?' asks Karan Thapar.
There is a vital difference between Bofors and Rafale, explains Shekhar Gupta.
APJ Abdul Kalam was passionate about everything he did. He was perfect, says Aditi Phadnis
'The brutal violence of the UP government's first response to the anti-CAA protests suggests that the BJP will test drive the NPR/NRC in UP, where it has both a massive majority in the assembly and a chief minister whose instinct for Hindutva extremism and whose appetite for punitive policing allows a prime minister as darkly majoritarian as Modi to appear statesman-like,' notes Mukul Kesavan.
Group of young Afghans take to the skies of a capital where military helicopters and surveillance balloons are a far more familiar sight.
Cheap milk prices, rising fodder cost and the difficulties in buying new cattle and selling old ones on account of cow vigilantism have cast a triple shadow on this sunshine sector in Indian agriculture, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Indians want change and progress. They should be willing to accept tough decisions, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
In a strong message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said anti-India activities emanating from there will have to stop for relations to improve and asserted that all steps will be taken to prevent "dastardly" acts like the recent killing of jawans on the LoC.
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'When the first Islamic State flags appeared, it was called an aberration.' 'When videos appeared, they were termed exceptions!' 'It is high time we accepted that the global jihad is here.'
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
Sri Lanka's newly elected president Mithripala Sirisena waves at media as he leaves the election commission in Colombo. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/ Reuters
'In the late 1960s, Shashi Kapoor did not have any work. We saw a lot of him then. He sold his sports car. Mum also started selling things because we didn't have money.' 'After Sharmilee (1971), things changed again.' Kunal Kapoor talks to Patcy N/ Rediff.com about his famous father.
'The first clear cut call for 'engagement with all stake holders including separatists' came, not from the political class but the men in uniform,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished observer on Kashmir.
In this series, Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Why did Kim Jong-un order his brother's murder?
'Whether it's investments in Kashmir, building naval facilities, or selling top-of-the-range military equipment, Pakistan could well benefit more under Xi's watch.' 'Do Chinese concerns about the 'Islamisation' of Pakistan give it pause about how quickly to move forward with security and economic projects? At the moment the indication is quite the opposite: China is doubling down on its support to Pakistan, partly because of its fears about where the country is headed.'
'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).
'If Myanmar falls to China, let it.' 'Sooner or later the rulers of the country will have to call New Delhi.'
She is changing India one village at a time.
The year threw up quite a few shockers, some rather rude one. Below are Rediff.com's 12 picks that made us sit back and think, 'Did that really happen?'
N Sundaresha Subramanian, Karan Choudhury and Shreya Jai report on the sorry condition of homebuyers who invested in Jaypee Infratech and the Amrapali group's Noida-based projects.
'The forces of good are on the run.' 'But dark times also challenge people to fight.' 'I believe Indians will rise against these dark times.'
Shahnawaz Akhtar spoke to Diya Kumari at the iconic City Palace, which doubles up as her residence and office, where the princess opened up about her joining hands with the saffron brigade, being addressed by name and to a lot more.
'Why can't we make it mandatory for all IAS and IPS officers to serve in the armed forces for a year before joining service? What stops us from making it compulsory for every Member of Parliament to spend three months, immediately after taking oath, in military barracks/maybe a few nights in the bunkers on the borders, to learn and understand the life of a fauji?' wonders Tarun Vijay, MP.
'There is no Buddha or Gandhi among countries, existing for the service of others; they all exist for the good of themselves.' 'For each country, its own interests should be paramount, and it is futile and churlish to expect China to be an exception to this rule,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and long-time China-watcher.
Last September on the eve of the release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's MSG: The Warrior Lion Heart, Rediff.com's Patcy N and Afsar Dayatar attended a huge concert in Sirsa, Haryana, to promote the film.
Protester Sasi Perumal's death has given a new fillip to the pro-prohibition movement, which was beginning to draw attention across Tamil Nadu after different political parties began to make it a part of their poll manifesto for next year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Forbes 5th annual '30 Under 30' list features 600 women and men.
Shekhar Dutt's resignation has sparked a debate on the parameters of removing a governor.
British India Corporation employs about 1,800 people
The president also said that there should be no room in the country for the "intolerant Indian" as this nation has been a bastion of free though, speech and expression since ancient times.
'The Chennai floods in particular clearly show there is a nexus between corruption, disaster, destruction and death.' 'Urban development in India is the source of all corruption.'
The Cuban government has announced nine days of mourning and has set Castro's funeral for December 4.
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