'If you look through the optics of BJP leader Kapil Mishra, he was standing with a deputy commissioner of police while giving a hate speech.' 'Immediately, the message goes down that the police is 'with us' so let's start rioting.'
'As soon as the BJP feels they are going to lose power, they will publish the caste census data of 2011 and conduct the caste census of 2021.'
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
What connection does Qaumi Tarana -- Pakistan's national anthem, which millions of Indians heard at the Eden Gardens on Saturday -- have to Bombay?
'As far as I know Burhan Wani did not kill anyone.'
'Nobody in AMU supports Jinnah's two-nation theory.' 'It is shameful we are debating Jinnah and not education or employment.'
The various theories and statements about the culpability/innocence of 1993 blasts accused Yakub Memon present him with a Rashomon act, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Whether Lord Ram is a historical person is not the subject before the court.' 'The court was asking every time if can anyone show the exact birthplace of Lord Ram on the basis of documents.' 'I have shown that on the basis of documents. And these documents are not (based) on my beliefs.'
'The test of true secularism in India is when a girl in your family decides to marry someone from another religion. If you accept her decision happily, then you are truly secular. If you don't, it means your secularism is fake,' argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Rediff.com reproduces the translation of the remarks made by President Ashraf Ghani at a press conference.
'One one hand, the BJP puts Uniform Civil Code as a goal in its manifesto, and on the other, it pushes massive discrimination against Hindus.' 'This is not sabka saath, sabka vikas. Rather it is "Haj ka saath, church ka vikas",' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'The objective is not to make India into a one religion place, but to ensure that there is harmonious and peaceful co-existence of all faiths with each of them having their cultural personality.'
Little has changed in Digital India. The issue that rocked the nation 100 years ago still creates a furore in Indian society, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'In 2013, Modi said his government would be of Dalits and OBCs.' 'During his tenure, the highest number of atrocities have taken place.' 'What they want is that this Ambedkar Constitution must not be practised in India in the future.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com recalls his encounters with the late Gopinath Munde many years ago, when he was Maharashtra's home minister.
'No lives should be taken during Paryushan.' 'When fish is taken out from the sea it is dead, hence no ban on it.' 'They hang the meat in shops and those who are fasting are pained by this sight.'
Only nine out of India's 29 states have Hindi as the official language, so why impose Hindi on the other states, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'I have stopped going to college and instead come here to protest.' 'What is the point of going to college when you are unsure about your citizenship?' 'I am here to protest and save my future.'
'No other terror organisation has valued popular consensus as the Islamic State does -- instead of repressing people, IS wants to gain their support. This is a major innovation in terrorism,' says terrorism expert and author Dr Loretta Napoleoni in an interview to Archana Masih and Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.
Days after Jammu and Kashmir high court banned sale of beef, the state government has shunted out Additional Advocate General Vishal Sharma apparently for "failing to defend" its stand on the matter before the court.
A day after masked goons entered Jawaharlal Nehru University and ran riot, injuring over 36 people with sticks, lathis and hammers, noted economist and professor C P Chandrasekhar resigned from a Narendra Modi government-appointed committee on statistics. The committee was set to hold its first meeting to review India's economic data. In his resignation letter, Professor Chandrasekhar wrote, "I regret to inform you that because of the situation in JNU where I stay, I will be unable to attend tomorrow's meeting." He was also quoted as saying, "The JNU's incident on Sunday has further undermined the faith in the system. It shows that we are now living in a different world and it's hard to work with a government in which you have lost faith."
10 Things You Didn't Know About Manikarnika, Rani of Jhansi.
The entire campaign in Lucknow is based on Narendra Modi -- there is little mention of the BJP candidate, a certain Rajnath Singh. Some locals wonder, 'Rajnathji is not coming to campaign in Lucknow. How will he take care of this city after he wins?' Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
'The JD-U has become an ideology-less accessory to the BJP,' says Ambassador Pavan Varma, who has been expelled from the JD-U.
'Nehru's hegemonic politics has been responsible for many ills, which undoubtedly includes Kashmir'
'The attacks made clear to all the Gulf States that Pakistan was the nursery and sanctuary of extremist violence and that this violence threatened all the countries in the region.'
'Secularism is associated either with corruption, malgovernance or minority votes.' 'That allows the BJP to construct its own majority vote.' 'It will remain a feature of electoral contests, but it is not the only reason for the BJP's success.'
'If JNU students are anti-national, why do we send in the police? Why not send in intellectuals like M V Kamath to have a debate and discussion?'
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
Twenty years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, India is in rebirth mode. Whether there is a Babri Masjid or a Ram temple or not in Ayodhya, India will go on. And it will see many tomorrows, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Omar Mateen, the Afghan-origin gunman who killed at least 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, was allegedly infuriated over seeing two men kissing in Miami recently, according to media reports.
Cafe Irani Chaii is Mansoor Showghi Yezdi's attempt at preserving Irani culture in an age of globalisation, where old cultures are swiftly fading away.
Pompeo defended the killing of Soleimani saying he was making efforts for an attack on Americans in the region.
'Noise pollution is a health issue, it is not a religious issue.'
If you want Ranbir to get the girl, this film isn't for you.
'I would like to say that there is a fear of Dawood. We thought we are a nation of 120 crore people and if we do not bid for this property it will be a matter of disgrace.' 'Here is this man sitting in Pakistan and is being able to lord over our country especially Mumbai through remote control. I think somewhere we must draw the line.' 'There is no Hindu-Muslim issue at all. The underworld is the most secular entity in the country. Whether you are a Muslim or a Hindu it does not matter. Whether you are able to deliver or rake in the moolah is all that matters.' Former journalist S Balakrishnan on why he is bidding for Dawood's Ibrahim's property.
'Amethi people will not leave the Gandhi parivar even if they do not meet them.'
'In our country, files disappear from government offices so easily and you expect a poor man to keep all his papers in orders,' says actor Sushant Singh who was removed as host of the daily crime drama Savdhaan India a day after he was seen in a rally against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.
'I want to know, how can any God become impure if woman enters the temple?'
This operation was conducted to teach a lesson to the blasphemers of this land whose poisonous tongues are constantly abusing Allah...the religion of Islam and the Messenger...under the pretext of so-called 'freedom of speech', Mufti Abdullah Ashraf, a spokesman for Ansar al-Islam, said in the statement according to SITE Intelligence Group.
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