The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. This plurality of our society has come through assimilation of ideas over centuries. Secularism and inclusion are a matter of faith for us. It is our composite culture which makes us into one nation.
'His contributions in setting up transparent precedents of governance are still basically intact despite the cynicism of several of his successors,' notes Jamini Bhagwati.
The failure to restructure our armed forces in line with contemporary needs 14 years after the Kargil war will impose strategic costs beyond just delays and scandals, says Nitin Pai
'With the country is a crisis that directly affects hundreds of millions, we will know if Modi has grip,' says Aakar Patel.
At least 35 people have been killed and dozens injured in Brussels after a series of terror attacks struck the city's airport and a metro station near the European Union headquarters.
'It is imperative to restore the dignity and authority of the services chiefs. Erosion of this has resulted in lowering of service efficiency. It is also time to end the practice of taking seniority as the sole criterion for appointing chiefs.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the seemingly impossible by finalising the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement ahead of his Bangladesh visit, writes Prakash Bhandari.
Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad tells Rediff.com that the government have decided to repeal 36 obsolete laws immediately, but many more will be added to this list in the coming months. The minister also informs that this exercise was undertaken on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had flagged the issue soon after he took charge. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
10 things you need to know about the life of Liliane Bettencourt.
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It's perverse to rationalise 'controlled' killings or torture -- without going down a slippery moral slope. Once the state stoops to torture, it's liable to sink into tyranny, says Praful Bidwai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit is an attempt to move the Indo-Singapore relationship to the 'next level'. Singapore has been one of the top investors in India. India-Singapore bilateral trade has already crossed the $15 billion mark. As per the official records, Singapore has emerged as the second largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in India, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
As the issue becomes increasingly politicised and accusations are traded on national television, the average Delhi resident suffers debilitating blows from viral fevers, writes Manavi Kapur.
Articulate segments of Muzaffarpur have been at the the forefront of all anti-establishment mobilisation, which makes their silence over the atrocities in a shelter home in the town puzzling. Could it be that if those accused of horrific crimes belong to dominant castes and if the victims belong to the vulnerable groups, then the middle classes become mute, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'There is no evidence that it was Nehru who ordered this surveillance (on Netaji's kin). It was a very low-level Bengal-based operation.' 'Netaji's grandnephew Sugata Bose has written in his book on the leader that the existing evidence that Subhas Bose died in that plane crash is overwhelming. No historian looking at that evidence can come to a different conclusion.' 'Contrary to popular belief, there were very little differences among the three (Netaji, Nehru and Gandhi). Netaji was of the opinion that some amount of violence was necessary to bring independence for India.' Historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee says that the controversy over the alleged spying on the kin of Netaji is a damp squib.
It is worrisome that salaries are consuming as much expenditure as equipment.
'We saw how vigorous democracy was when it dislodged authoritarianism under Indira Gandhi. We saw its vigour again when it voted Mr Modi out of humble origins as prime minister. It was Nehru who laid that foundation for India and what is worrying today is Modi's rather imperial style of functioning,' says writer Nayantara Sahgal.
'Patel was more in tune with the popular mood than Jawaharlal Nehru. While the principle that Hindus and Muslims should be able to live together remained central to Nehru's vision for India, the Sardar was less sentimental.' 'Nehru would angrily face down mobs himself, rushing from trouble spot to trouble spot. A veritable tent city, filled with Muslim refugees, sprouted on the lawns of his bungalow... Mountbatten feared Nehru's impulsiveness would get him killed, and assigned soldiers to watch over him.' Nisid Hajari's Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition casts fresh light on the events and personalities behind the horrific division of the subcontinent which haunts the India and Pakistan to this day.
'She was once asked what the secret to political leadership was and she said it was the ability to like all kinds of people.' 'I don't think Rahul fundamentally likes people -- that's probably why he can't deal with them and it shows.' 'Sonia is a more talented political mobiliser than her son, but I think the decline of the Congress set in in 1969...'
In Muthuvel Karunanidhi's passing, Tamil Nadu has lost the last of its Titans.
Over 20 political parties, except the Biju Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front, took part in the massive rally.
'These ISIS terrorists want to smash Western civilisation, smash India. For the time being though, their main target would be the US and Europe.'
The State is trying to curb the students movements, therefore, there are suspicions against some of the Subramanian report on education's recommendations, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'He was believed to finish his own work in an hour and spend the remainder of the time walking from one office to another, sitting down with the harried junior staff and helping them sort out the problems they were working on.'
