Thakur comes from middle-class family and his parents, who are from Sitmani in Bihar, own a shop in Noida.
Faruqui and four others were arrested on January 1 following a complaint by a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA's son that alleged objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were passed by him during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore on New Year's day. One more person was arrested subsequently.
Sub Lieutenant Shivangi, the daughter of a village headmaster in Bihar, will conduct maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue missions.
'I realised that if we don't get relief from the government, I'll be faced with the prospect of either starving in Delhi, or starving in my village.'
The dichotomy between richer and poorer states is largely in consonance with the diversity in state level disease burden in the country.
In its supplementary charge sheet, the police said 'serious riots had broken out in consequence to the protest march organised by Jamia students' against the amended citizenship law on December 15 last year.
Left high and dry, the BJP has had no option but to go for the overkill with 800 rallies, including 20 by the prime minister. In the process, it may be overplaying its card, observes Amulya Ganguli.
As Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 30 on Thursday, Rajneesh Gupta jots down some facts and figures that have made the India captain a success story.
Failure and rejection are part of life. But they can be surmounted by perseverance and pursuit. 33-year-old scientist-turned-equity analyst-turned-author-turned Bihari bureaucrat Yateen Kumar Suman's life best exemplifies how to handle and overcome rejection.
'We have tried to get in touch with the embassy as well as the Ministry of External Affairs. We have not heard from them yet but I am confident that the government must be putting efforts for our safe and quick evacuationfrom Kabul'
The statements made by the opposition parties after the preemptive air strike on terror camps have made only people of Pakistan happy, he claimed.
As of now, political advertisements are barred in electronic media, including TV, radio and social media platforms.
Due to his determination and his brother's efforts Basant Kumar Pandit is one step closer to attaining his dream.
After the National Democratic Alliance swept the assembly polls in Bihar, rediff.com's N Ganesh spoke to Biharis in Mumbai to gauge their reactions to Nitish Kumar's impressive performance.
A controversy erupted on Monday after several opposition parties demanded that migrant workers should not be charged for the train tickets. While the Congress offered to pay for them, the Bharatiya Janata Party said the railways was already providing subsidised tickets bearing 85 percent of the travel costs.
Earlier, the guidelines for reopening activities issued on September 30 were to be in force till October 31.
The Election Commission on Saturday asked political parties in Bihar not to publish advertisements that have the potential to create mutual hatred and ill-will among different social and religious communities so that the peaceful atmosphere is not vitiated.
From mid-December, about 100,000 Class IX students in 1,000 government schools across 10 districts of Bihar will spend two hours on Saturdays reading a glossy storybook, probably the best designed ones that they have ever read.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O' Brien met the agitating farmers at the Singhu border in the afternoon.
One of the best stories coming out of Bihar is about a place where Chandragupta Maurya, Buddha, Ashoka, Sher Shah Suri and India's Mona Lisa meet.
For two-and-half weeks, as Kanhaiya Kumar's Jan Gan Man Yatra opposing the CAA-NPR-NRC makes its way through Bihar, it has come under sustained violent attack. Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers that the yatris, who include teenagers wanting to save the Constitution and the Nation, are unfazed by the threats and loathing.
In a significant directive, the home ministry said that state governments shall not impose any local lockdown outside the containment zones without prior consultation with the central government.
'The people of Uttar Pradesh have already made up their mind to puncture the Samajwadi Party's cycle, kick away the Bahujan Samaj Party's elephant, and remove shadows of the already-vanished hand of the Congress.'
The Indian Cricket Board's main emphasis this year is to ease the North Eastern teams into mainstream.
Taking a cue from the massive victory of the Grand Alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said such a tie-up was possible in the state where assembly elections are due in early 2017.
A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
About 35 per cent rural households in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Assam still lacked access to power supply
Imam has been booked under Section 13 (unlawful activities) of the Act in the case, said his counsel advocate Mishika Singh. The police had earlier charged Imam with sedition, alleging his speech promoted enmity between people that led to riots.
'With over 50 per cent of medical seats reserved for those who have the ability to pay a fee ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a five-year MBBS course and quotas in accordance with affirmative policies in government colleges, the band of seats available for the not-so-rich and non-OBCs is very narrow.'
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The events that unfolded after Advani's arrest not only benefited the BJP, whose political clout grew exponentially, but also catapulted Lalu to the forefront of the anti-saffron camp.
Modi seems to have an innate faith in his capabilities to handle the myriad challenges confronting the nation and would rather manage the affairs of the nation as a CEO would of a large industrial-business empire, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Rediff readers share their most fascinating memories of wearing khadi.
'No matter how many government schemes there are for the poor, the system works more for the privileged, less for the little guy,' notes T N Ninan.
Lalu's word is final in the RJD when even when he is serving a long jail sentence after being convicted in fodder scam cases.
'...to come back to power because it was not doing well.'
Ram Madhav has also been assigned the task of coordination with Jammu and Kashmir government, where BJP shares power with PDP.
'Like in cricket, M S Dhoni was the captain and Virat Kohli played under him.' 'Then Dhoni played under Kohli.' 'Now imagine, having a second switch.' 'That is the analogy here, and I find no other example in Indian politics, or even world politics.'
The Bihar government's much-hyped bicycle scheme meant for students of class 9 and 10 in government schools has gone off track with a slew of irregularities coming out in the open.
The Shiv Sena has welcomed Rashtriya Swayamswevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's call for a review of reservation policy.
