'When I applied for the job of santhi, I applied as a person who was eligible.' 'When I joined the temple at the age of 21, it was because I got the 4th rank in the list.' 'Now, everybody is talking only about my caste. I am above all that; it doesn't matter to me and to the people with whom I am associated with.'
With the Bharatiya Janata Party waiting to pull down the Congress-led state government, the new chief minister's duration of service will all depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, says Anita Katyal.
The desecration of Vidyasagar's statue during Amit Anilchandra Shah's rally, which the TMC projected to be a 'Bhojpuri' and 'Dhokla' invasion on West Bengal's culture, may help her gain some favour with middle-class and erudite Bengalis in the last phase of the polls.
'My association with Justice Krishna Iyer was special,' the prime minister said, mourning the judge's death. 'My mind goes back to our conversations and the insightful letters he would write to me.'
Bajirao, an unorthodox leader, faced much opposition during his lifetime from the Brahmins of Pune. In the last hundred years or so, he has been ignored due to caste politics in Maharashtra where he has become a 'non person' for having been born a Brahmin, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The proposed reservation will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, taking the total reservation to 60 per cent.
'Its three primary effects are to send the alcohol economy underground (depriving the state of revenue), to criminalise the casual drinker and to criminalise the police,' says Aakar Patel.
Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Monday joined the party men who have offered to contest against Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
'We fear worse things to happen. We feel this is just a teaser.' 'I wonder whether later, the Christian community will be targeted.'
The Union home ministry has received a factual report from the Maharashtra government on the prevailing situation in the state in the wake of caste-based violence there, a ministry spokesperson said.
From the Yadav-dominated Madhepura to the Brahmin-dominated Darbhanga and Bhumihar-dominated Begusarai -- three of the seven parliamentary constituencies in Bihar -- that go to vote on April 30 are crucial for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as it will be a test of his 'development model'.
Aggressive campaigning and the existing 'Modi wave' and a lack of will on part of the Congress has put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan far ahead of others. The party is comfortably placed in 21 out of the 25 seats, and they have been able to do this because of maintaining the same tempo that enabled them to defeat the Congress badly in December's assembly elections. P B Chandra reports
A 60-year-old Dalit man and his physically challenged daughter were burnt alive by members of the Jat community in Mirchpur village in Haryana's Hisar district in April 2010.
'If any party talks too much about Muslims, it will lose.'
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah are being showered with accolades for securing a historic victory in the Uttar Pradesh elections, the milestone's scriptwriter, Sunil Bansal is glad his hard work has finally paid off.
Social Justice Minister Thaavarchand Gehlot sought to allay doubts raised by several opposition members about the legislation's fate if challenged in the Supreme Court, saying he can say with confidence that the apex court will accept it.
The attacks, which disrupted normal life, marked return of political violence on large-scale after a gap of over a year in Kannur.
By ending the Shiv Sena's political untouchability, the Congress is creating a level playing ground for itself in the political battle of Hindu identity, explains Sheela Bhatt.
'There is a remarkable link between the eating of beef (or at the very least, tolerating the eating of beef) and India being a superpower.' 'In India, whenever an empire was strong, religion took a back seat.' 'Alternatively, whenever religion asserted itself, the main empire of India crumbled...'
Former Miss India Niharika Singh alleged Nawaz grabbed her and told her it was his dream to have a Miss India or an actress wife.
'Haven't you heard of the magical EVM machines? They can negate all our votes.' 'There is no hope. Modi is India's Putin.'
'When films resonate with the audience, it gives you the confidence to take more risks.'
For the new millennium generation, slowly and at an accelerating pace, it is attractive to harbour a start-up ambition, says R Gopalakrishnan.
Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, who had crossed 75 years, resigned on Tuesday from the Union Cabinet along with Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddeshwara.
'...incarcerated in jails, ruining their entire families.' 'You would see that Dalits who displayed so much agitation over the Bhima-Koregaon issue are effectively silenced by the arrests of their activists by the police.' 'What can be a more pitiable state than this for a people who had just seen a ray of hope after darkness of millennia?'
After a series of defeats since 2012, the results of the recent panchayat polls are being seen by her as a tide changer for the upcoming UP assembly elections
It is unusual to see Narendra Modi highlight his OBC status -- something he has never done in his long political career. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com examines Modi's compulsions for bringing his caste to the foreground
Seshadri Viswanathan tells us how he fell for Sunita.
If the Congress lost in Tamil Nadu in 1967, never to return, or the DMK and the AIADMK have kept their place in power and electoral politics since then, it owes not to their love or hatred for gods or for one religion over another. Instead, they had always been linked to performance and incumbency/anti-incumbency factors. There may be something in such constructs for Rajini's strategic team to consider, especially if the superstar is to enter direct politics by around this time next year. But then, they would need to brush up their homework more than at present, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Sangh Parivar forgets that not only is there no scriptural prohibition, venerable authorities in India held beef as both a desirable and an essential food, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray
'At a time when the news channels are screaming louder than the worst crowd, you can't be subtle if you really want to say something important,' Anubhav Sinha tells Bedika/PTI.
Addressing his fans on the opening day of a six-day-long photo session with followers, the actor said he was hesitant to enter politics since he knew its dynamics.
Shobha Warrier reports from Thiruvananthapuram where a former UN diplomat is battling a former governor for the Lok Sabha seat.
Although the Opposition has been making a hue and cry over demonetisation, the BJP's programmes have been attracting crowds.
The Congress on Sunday said it will give a "good fight" to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi on Varanasi seat and did not rule out fielding an outsider.
Inclusion has never been a straight road and stories from ancient cultures show it has always been a struggle to accord equal status to all genders and species, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
'Modi is the first BJP leader to try to include Dalits in its fold.' 'But the rank and file of his party is backward and want to bash up Muslims and Dalits whenever they have a chance.'
Fadnavis, BJP's state unit chief and MLA from Nagpur Southwest constituency, was unanimously chosen at the legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.
'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.
Mourners in large numbers on Saturday paid their last respects to Jnanpith award winner and Kannada literary giant U R Ananthamurthy who was cremated with full state honours in Bangalore.
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