'It is never a good idea to let the broad population determine policy that is the domain of experts and specialists,' notes Aakar Patel.
15 iconic Jimmy Choo designs that tell us exactly why the American fashion company decided to scoop up the upscale British shoe brand.
'Jinnah developed a belief that Gandhi had stolen the tag of the leader of the Indian people from him and that he later used religion to reduce Gandhi's idea of a united India to naught was his revenge.'
In a new series, Bollywood's towering talents, who themselves made brilliant works this year, pick their favourite show of 2021, and tell us just why they loved it.
This extract from The $10 Trillion Prize demonstrates how property developers have profited from the rising affluence in India and China.
'One cannot avoid speculating whether there was something else at play that led to the uncovering of this saga.'
Ever pragmatic, the Americans are convinced that the future is in the Indo-Pacific.
There is a new Indo-Pacific century, and India has to decide whether it has its eyes on the prize, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Modi's advent has made the mass of Indians realise that there was absolutely nothing wrong or objectionable in proclaiming nationalism as the masthead of the polity and Hinduism as its centerpiece,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'Sanction serves the salutary object of providing safeguard to the accused from unwarranted prosecution and the agony and trauma of trial, and in the context of the stringent provisions of the UAPA, is an integral facet of due process of law.' If the report to the sanctioning officer for the first five accused in the case lacked the qualities required under the law, then for Professor Saibaba, the sanction came much after his trial had started!
'A 2018 murder may lead to shifts in the geopolitical order and impact at least one monarchy,' says Devangshu Datta.
British police should launch a probe into claims by News International Chairman James Murdoch's two former employees that he gave "mistaken" testimony before a Parliamentary committee on the phone-hacking scandal, opposition Labour MP Tom Watson said on Friday.
With its political colour dominated by less than democratic trends, BRICS currently leaves some of us wondering -- where in this grouping is there an assurance that human freedom will be respected unconditionally? It would be nice to see the new members of BRICS drawn from the ranks of countries wedded to preserving and guarding human freedom, observes Shyam G Menon.
Heading G20 will give India a foreign affairs year like it has never had in history. You can trust Narendra Modi to exploit this to India's benefit. And, of course, to his own in his election year, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Where paneer came to India from... How sambar got its name... Gulab jamun does not have Indian roots...
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The city, buried under sands near the modern-day city of Luxor for three millennia, was uncovered in September 2020 by a team led by Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass and has now been revealed to the world.
Rupert Murdoch's media empire sank into deeper controversy with former British prime minister Gordon Brown accusing newspapers from the group of using 'known criminals' to hack into his personal information.
As far as Hindus are concerned, the eclipse of Wokeism cannot come any sooner, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Does a thousand-year-old sculpture worshipped in a thriving religion belong to a foreign museum or the temple from which it was extracted?' Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asked angrily. 'They legitimately belonged to India and people of past, present and future generations are interested in re-possessing them,' a central information commissioner declared last month.
'My entire house turn their backs on me when a cricket match is happening.' 'The minute I look at the TV screen, an Indian player gets out.' 'So if I do enter the room, I have to sit with my back to the TV.'
'Aurangzeb, who had destroyed the Hindu temples of Mathura and Kashi and many others in the north, was a very different ruler when he came to Maharashtra.' 'He did not touch a single temple in Maharashtra.' 'It was possibly the greatest triumph of Shivaji's statesmanship,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), the well known military historian.
Gilgit Baltistan's large frontage with Kashmir and Ladakh across Kargil and the Siachen Glacier gives Pakistan and China the perceived scope for conduct of collusive operations against India and wrest control of the major course of the Indus and Shyok, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Twenty two years before Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army streams on Amazon Prime on January 24, 2020, his documentary of the same name was telecast on Doordarshan. On that occasion, Kabir Khan spoke to Amberish K Diwanji/Rediff.com about Netaji's Azad Hind Fauj and its many battles for India's freedom.
According to sources the proposal has been scuppered by the British commerce ministry, which was not consulted, and which is the sectoral ministry for trade and investment.
These hardworking heiresses are being groomed to run their family empires.
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
An underworld don, who is languishing in a maximum-security British jail, has been using Facebook to run his drugs and organised crime empire and intimidate his enemies. Colin Gunn, one of the Britain's most dangerous gangsters, has been able to correspond freely with up to 565 'friends' on the social networking site for the past two months.Gunn, who is serving a 35-year sentence for conspiracy to murder, is said to be still running his drugs and organised crime cartel.
'The politics of Goa is moving around a sole entity, which is land.'
'I suggest Rahul Bajaj come out in the open and give us his own white paper on the perceived sense of fear that he thinks haunts corporate India,' says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
There is a section in the Muslim community in West Bengal that believes that the ruling TMC has not quite delivered on the promises it made.
'Ajay Devgn is perfect to slip into Idris Elba's shoes.' 'Taapsee can play any role under the sun.'
The Indian Air Force on Thursday celebrated its 77th anniversary with a breathtaking display of air power by its frontline fighter aircrafts, followed by a thrilling aerobatics performance by its Surya Kiran and Sarang teams.
The nine meetings offer an interesting window into Shafi Armar's efforts to try and group together what after all were excitable keyboard warriors into an actual terror group, capable of handling weapons, organising recruits, cooking homegrown explosives, selecting safe training areas, safe houses and finally, committing strikes against Indian targets.
'The question now is how long the exercise in perfection he created will last once his influence isn't there any longer,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'Hinduism is the mother of all religions; communal hatred should not be spread in its name.'
Buried in a Kolkata cemetery is an Englishman who served India well during her struggle for freedom. Charles Freer Andrews was a benevolent force that neither the Indians, nor the British could ignore.
Jaswant speak of his new book India At Risk, Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy and explains to Sheela Bhatt why India is at risk.
The 83-year-old owner of US best-selling men's glossy magazine could sell the company he founded more than 56years ago for some $300 million, after its profits slump in the face of free pornography on the Internet. Though the company's market capitalisation has sunk to about $100 million, Hefner is asking for three times that price in order to maintain his lavish lifestyle, according to the reports.
'It is a travesty that I have to prove my commitment to Gandhi and to this country.'
Bhide gave various references from the Ramayana and Mahabharata and attacked the current political and social system.
