Agniveers will be granted reservation in government jobs in Uttarakhand upon their return after serving in the armed forces, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Friday, as the nation observed the 25th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas.
Archana Masih recalls that December evening 22 years ago when Atal Bihari Vajpayee logged into the Rediff Chat.
Known to be close and loyal to Bharatiya Janata Party veteran and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior BJP leader and four time MP Lal Muni Choubey on Monday announced that he would contest as an independent from Buxar.
The twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft, carrying 102 people, had gone missing on February 7, 1968 while flying from Chandigarh to Leh.
'Have you ever seen or heard of a college, where both father and son studied together, and that too even in the same class,' Vajpayee wrote in the article.
'My heart weeps for Vajpayee, the prince among poets, the king among politicians and the emperor among statesmen,' says Sudhir Bisht.
India-Turkiye ties are strained over Ankara's Islamabad tilt, its arms links with Pakistan, and fallout from the Pahalgam terror attack.
'"When I was in China, a song by your father was being played," Modi told Ranbir.'
Chef par excellence Satish Arora recalls his days working as a chef to prime ministers to Chandrima Pal.
Former prime minister and BJP veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malaviya will be conferred with the country's highest civilian award the "Bharat Ratna" after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his consent in his regard on Wednesday.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The 17th Lok Sabha had 272 sittings altogether over its five-year tenure from 2019-2024.
'The sorry image of a wailing leader visiting relief camps for riot victims was completely incoherent with what he did next, blaming the minority community for the disturbance.' Utkarsh Mishra pens a tribute from the heart.
Uddhav said Modi lacks the self-confidence of 2014 and 2019.
The record lies with first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who did the honours 17 times from 1947 to 1964.
'According to JP, Indira Gandhi was not much of a danger to democracy. He said, it was Sanjay Gandhi and his gang.'
Four-time Odisha MP Pinaki Misra's wedding to firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a quiet, intimate ceremony that chose privacy and tradition over fanfare, was a reflection of his personal style.
In the latest medical bulletin issued by AIIMS, the hospital said that he 'continues to respond well to treatment'.
At the mega auction, Mumbai Indians made some strategic buys, in a bid to build a strong team around their solid Indian core consisting of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jaspreet Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma.
China and Pakistan are in a tight strategic alliance. India must deal with them one at a time, but be prepared in case they decide to collude, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'As events at Kargil and Pakistan's continued support to terror activities in India prove, Pakistan has always felt that the break-up/destruction of India was within its capability,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Modi government had touched the maximum strength of 78 in 2021 after expansion, but the outgoing council of ministers had 72 members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With over 50,000 ardent fans proudly sporting their Team India jerseys, the atmosphere was electric as they rallied behind skipper Rohit Sharma and his team
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
Never before has the need for creating an ambience for economic policy reforms been as critical as it is now, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, BJP patriarch L K Advani tells CNN-IBN why he thinks former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should be awarded a Bharat Ratna
The RSS chief recalled how Vajpayee "had almost solved the Kashmir issue but later governments did not follow up on Vajpayee's efforts".
'The prime minister has not yet expressed anything regarding Manipur. Is Manipur a part of India or not? If it is, why hasn't the Prime Minister of India spoken about it'
A foreign ministry spokesman familiar with the process said Bangladesh will hand over Vajpayee's "Friends of Bangladesh Liberation War Award" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to the country from June 6.
Rediff.com reader Sathyhadeep shares his story of meeting former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
'Another term for the government under the prime minister would likely be a step forward on the path to Hindu Rashtra.' 'No question of going back or any slowing down.'
'Despite the subsequent events at Kargil and the October 12, 1999 military coup in Pakistan, the Lahore initiative firmly established Vajpayee's credentials as a crusader of peace,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Vajpayee had always felt that India must act with conviction and panache. He decided that, irrespective of the attendant risks, he would undertake what many felt was a precarious course. A fascinating excerpt from N K Singh's Portraits Of Power: Half A Century Of Being At Ringside on Atalji's 96th birthday, December 25.
Delhi Capitals have never won the IPL despite featuring top talent over the years. Under Axar Patel's leadership, they will hope IPL 2025 finally ends their title drought.
'The incident has underlined that you can't leave anything to chance or take anything for granted.' 'You have to ensure that your family is taken care of 24x7.'
Former RA&W chief A S Dulat, who served as Atalji's adviser on Kashmir, gives us an insider's glimpse of a prime minister he has hailed as the 'greatest after Nehru'.
