News for 'Christian Dalits'

Have faith in me: PM assures Assam on citizenship bill

Have faith in me: PM assures Assam on citizenship bill

Rediff.com12 Dec 2019

PM Modi's assurance came against the backdrop of violent protests against the CAB.

'No one in the RSS questions the Constitution anymore'

'No one in the RSS questions the Constitution anymore'

Rediff.com28 Sep 2018

'There was a period when they questioned the flag and there were questions also against the Constitution.' 'That's long past.'

Modi's Parliament speech decoded

Modi's Parliament speech decoded

Rediff.com27 May 2019

'Seems more than half of the 'desh' remained untouched by his 'samajik ekta ka andolan',' points out Jyoti Punwani.

The greatest threat to our democracy post 1975

The greatest threat to our democracy post 1975

Rediff.com19 Feb 2020

'Refusing to implement the CAA-NRC, as some states have done via resolutions in state assemblies, is a violation of the Constitution; an attempt to alter the fundamental structure of our democracy and a recipe for anarchy,' argues Vivek Gumaste.

The world is waiting for Modi's secret prescription

The world is waiting for Modi's secret prescription

Rediff.com18 Jun 2018

'India, he announced, is a "free, open, inclusive region" committed to the "common pursuit of progress and prosperity".' 'Prosperity yes. But free? Open?' 'Ask the Dalit tanner, the Muslim butcher, the Christian priest who writes pastoral letters.' 'Ask cattle traders of any religion or a Delhiwallah who enjoys a juicy steak.' 'Ask a Muslim who falls in love with a Hindu or vice versa,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.

Protester: 'Modi not welcome in US'

Protester: 'Modi not welcome in US'

Rediff.com26 Sep 2019

The protest outside the NRG stadium against Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's visit at the NRG Stadium was seemingly irrepressible, displaying signs saying 'Free Kashmir', '8 million people caged', 'Go back Modi' -- and worse.

Why BJP can't turn India into a Hindu rashtra

Why BJP can't turn India into a Hindu rashtra

Rediff.com1 Oct 2018

'The problem of a Hindu rashtra is that it has no text which can be adapted to the modern world.' 'The most prominent element of the Hindu way of organising society and the State is through caste.' 'This is not acceptable to most Hindus.' 'Because a Hindu rashtra also erodes the power and the rights of the majority of Hindus, we can be assured that this is not something that the BJP, or any other force can do,' argues Aakar Patel.

US announces grant of $500k to NGO to promote religious freedom in India

US announces grant of $500k to NGO to promote religious freedom in India

Rediff.com8 Nov 2017

The funding comes after a 2016 report found an increase in violent incidents by cow vigilantes mostly against Muslims in India and authorities often 'failed' to prosecute them.

Beef ban and the challenges before Maharashtra govt

Beef ban and the challenges before Maharashtra govt

Rediff.com29 Mar 2015

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis faces the challenge of ensuring that Dalits and Muslims -- who are likely to be most affected by the beef ban -- do not drift away towards the opposition.

Don't underestimate the average Indian

Don't underestimate the average Indian

Rediff.com8 Jan 2020

'And don't underestimate the enabling power of bribery.' 'Hark back to demonetisation.' 'All of the cash did come back.' 'The same thing will happen with the alphabet soup of the NRC, NPR and CAA except that this exercise will deal in documents, not cash.' 'Bribes will be paid.' 'Documents will be magically generated,' points out Devangshu Datta.

US Congress to hold hearing on religious minorities in India

US Congress to hold hearing on religious minorities in India

Rediff.com29 May 2015

A key United States Congressional committee has called for a public hearing on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India to be held early next month.

'Supreme Court should have heard 300 mn SC/STs'

'Supreme Court should have heard 300 mn SC/STs'

Rediff.com10 Apr 2018

'The court came to a conclusion using one person's case... Based on that one case, the term "rampant misuse" was used as if it is a generalisation.' 'If one in 10 cases turns out to be false, is it possible to call the Act a charter for blackmail or charter for personal vengeance?' 'Is there any Act either in India or anywhere in the world where there are no false cases?'

What I find compelling about masala movies...

What I find compelling about masala movies...

Rediff.com1 Nov 2019

'...that it takes fantasy seriously as a part of real life'... A fascinating excerpt from Jonathan Gil Harris's book, Masala Shakespeare: How A Firangi Writer Became Indian.

Imran Khan, you are wrong on Kashmir

Imran Khan, you are wrong on Kashmir

Rediff.com10 Sep 2019

'The world is silent because your rhetoric is dishonest and rings hollow,' says former RAW officer Tilak Devasher.

Govt won't budge an inch on implementation of CAA: Shah

Govt won't budge an inch on implementation of CAA: Shah

Rediff.com3 Jan 2020

Shah accused the Congress and other opposition parties of running a misinformation campaign.

Akhilesh is oiling up the 'bicycle' to take on BJP in 2019

Akhilesh is oiling up the 'bicycle' to take on BJP in 2019

Rediff.com28 Aug 2018

Gleaning lessons from Amit Shah's compendium of Chanakya-isms, the Samajwadi Party is keeping its operations low-key and working on an inclusive strategy.

Modi@1: Ten things I learned this past year

Modi@1: Ten things I learned this past year

Rediff.com22 May 2015

For the past, blame the Congress. For the present, blame the Congress. For everything, blame the Congress. But for your future, vote BJP.

Why the idea of Hindu Rashtra has not caught on in India

Why the idea of Hindu Rashtra has not caught on in India

Rediff.com1 Oct 2015

'Till today, the RSS only speaks of Hindu Rashtra but never explains what it means. It cannot, because it would be unacceptable to even a majority of Hindus, forget the Indian Muslims and Christians,' says Aakar Patel.

ABVP's fight for the next generation

ABVP's fight for the next generation

Rediff.com7 Mar 2016

BJP-supported students' union, aided by a friendly government, is aggressively settling historical scores with Leftist students' organisations.

Will 'outsider' Raghubar Das be second-time lucky?

Will 'outsider' Raghubar Das be second-time lucky?

Rediff.com26 Nov 2019

By conventional yardsticks, Das was an audacious choice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah, like Devendra Fadnavis was in Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana. Will his choice pay off in the elections next month?

Government at Centre is run by the RSS: Teesta Setalvad

Government at Centre is run by the RSS: Teesta Setalvad

Rediff.com21 Mar 2015

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre as one being 'run' by RSS, social activist Teesta Setalvad on Saturday alleged that issues such as 'Sanskritisation' were part of a process to change India into a Hindu state.

Why BJP keeps harping on Periyar legacy in Dravidian TN

Why BJP keeps harping on Periyar legacy in Dravidian TN

Rediff.com17 Apr 2021

The contemporary problem with the BJP in Tamil Nadu is that it has been trying hard to package the DMK especially as anti-god and anti-Hinduism, and seeking it to link to Periyar and M Karunanidhi, and by extension to Stalin, the latter's son and successor to the party mantle. Their hope was to consolidate the perceived 'pro-god, pro-religion votes', which they saw returning to the fold post-MGR, post-Jayalalithaa. But no such substantial vote-bank existed even in Periyar's time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.

Modi becoming PM will spell doom for country: Mayawati

Modi becoming PM will spell doom for country: Mayawati

Rediff.com27 Mar 2014

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday launched a frontal attack on Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi saying the country will be "ruined" due to spike in communal riots if he is voted to power.

BJP, Congress gear up for 2018 poll battle

BJP, Congress gear up for 2018 poll battle

Rediff.com26 Dec 2017

Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are over. Another set of state elections is due in 2018. Here's an assessment of the next round of the electoral challenge and how it could change India's political equations.

'Even the RSS is following Modi's dictates'

'Even the RSS is following Modi's dictates'

Rediff.com14 Mar 2017

'The only narrative before India is what Modi and the BJP is presenting.' 'Nationalism has been taken as a serious plank by the BJP and RSS.' 'They want to keep the nationalism thing alive to make people forget the economic reality.'

'There was no Modi wave in Karnataka'

'There was no Modi wave in Karnataka'

Rediff.com22 May 2018

'The Congress-JD-S alliance will be intact for the next three years, for sure.'

'In 2019, RSS will declare India a Hindu Rashtra'

'In 2019, RSS will declare India a Hindu Rashtra'

Rediff.com17 Apr 2017

'Putting Yogi Adityanath in the CM's seat two years before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is something to be read carefully.' 'Opposition parties would be dishonest themselves and unfair to secular people if they failed to unite and work as a single force to defeat the BJP.'

Shaheen Bagh protest: A battle for the Idea of India

Shaheen Bagh protest: A battle for the Idea of India

Rediff.com1 Aug 2020

'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.

Sania Mirza and the story of Muslim discrimination

Sania Mirza and the story of Muslim discrimination

Rediff.com28 Jul 2014

The reality is that even successful Muslims are made to suffer because of their faith, and the opposition to Sania Mirza is part of the same story of discrimination, says Kashif-ul-Huda.

Time veggies joined the Indian non-veg mainstream!

Time veggies joined the Indian non-veg mainstream!

Rediff.com8 Apr 2015

'In a country like India, it is clear that respecting religions -- in politics or in the kitchen -- is disastrous,' says Amberish K Diwanji.

BJP trying to create two Indias for corporates and poor: Rahul

BJP trying to create two Indias for corporates and poor: Rahul

Rediff.com21 Apr 2014

In a frontal attack on BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the saffron party, which is leading the NDA, is trying to make "Hindus fight against Muslims" and also seeking to create two Indias with one for chosen business class and another for the poor.

Why the Parivar wants Dr Ambedkar

Why the Parivar wants Dr Ambedkar

Rediff.com30 Apr 2015

'The Parivar's ideology and politics was and remains the very opposite of what Dr Ambedkar stood for.'

At UN Human Rights Council, India says it's secular, has no State religion

At UN Human Rights Council, India says it's secular, has no State religion

Rediff.com5 May 2017

AG Mukul Rohatgi led the Indian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council.

Those who consider India their country, should treat cow as mother: Jharkhand CM

Those who consider India their country, should treat cow as mother: Jharkhand CM

Rediff.com20 Aug 2016

He said it was due to the degradation of moral values that social evils such as rapes, cow slaughter and other evils are happening in the society.

The tough road ahead for Sasikala

The tough road ahead for Sasikala

Rediff.com6 Feb 2017

Sasikala may be set to take over the reins of Tamil Nadu, yet she faces a period of immense turbulence.

Karpoori Thakur and the power of street politics

Karpoori Thakur and the power of street politics

Rediff.com23 Jan 2019

'Karpoori Thakur must be remembered by people today who are tired of witnessing fractious politics where corruption, bigotry, hatred and violence seems to have become distressingly recurrent,' says Mohammad Sajjad.

What Modi and his ministers must learn from Vajpayee

What Modi and his ministers must learn from Vajpayee

Rediff.com22 Feb 2016

'Think about how he would have handled Hyderabad, and JNU. He would have been very cross if he found two of his Cabinet ministers weighing in on the side of the ABVP.' 'And if Rohith Vemula still killed himself, he would have been the first to speak out in anguish and empathy rather than deny he was a Dalit.' 'And JNU, he would have simply said something like, 'let the boys speak, then they will grow up and join the IAS).' 'A good idea, when in crisis, is to apply the 'Vajpayee test' to your actions,' says Shekhar Gupta.

The Monk Who Lived India

The Monk Who Lived India

Rediff.com28 Feb 2018

'He will always live in the hearts of the millions of children who have studied in schools and colleges established by him and the faithful Hindus to whom he was a symbol of the invincible spirit of glorious Hindu Dharma,' says Tarun Vijay.

Why Chandrababu Naidu got it right this time

Why Chandrababu Naidu got it right this time

Rediff.com16 May 2014

Having been out of power for the last decade, not many gave Naidu a winning chance this time around. But the Telugu Desam Party chief proved his critics wrong on Friday.

How BJP plans to win Patnaik's Odisha

How BJP plans to win Patnaik's Odisha

Rediff.com15 Apr 2017

Beyond welfare politics, the BJP has assiduously worked to appropriate regional icons.