In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
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.
'Banning the film is an unfortunate response and does great injustice to Nirbhaya's parents, who have supported the film and to the brave young men and women who forced the government to set up the Justice Verma Commission.' Bollywood gets their voice across.
Do Modi's foreign visits actually serve India or they nothing more than expensive tools for domestic positioning and image-building, asks Shehzad Poonawalla.
'Would not proudly showing President Xi Jinping that people from India's North-East are as much a part of India as those from anywhere else be like a slap on the face of Chinese aggression?' asks Chitra Ahanthem.
Identifying Islamic State terrorists as uniquely brutal, United States President Barack Obama has announced that the country will lead a broad coalition to roll back the threat posed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his militia.
Despite the BJP's displeasure over Sasikala's elevation as AIADMK general secretary, the Dravidian party has sent a message to the Modi government that it will not be cowed down, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The crisis-hit brand needs to react, and react without sounding outraged or angry. '
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to deliver his third Independence Day speech on August 15, he is inviting ideas from citizens on issues he should speak on
'The consolation is that in recent years, the focus at the time of the anniversary has been increasingly shifting from Indira Gandhi's assassination to the plight of the thousands of innocent Sikhs who had been killed in retaliation,' Manoj Mitta, co-author of When a Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 Carnage and its Aftermath, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.
Successor Anandiben Patel isn't having an easy time, with a protest movement by her own community and new challenges in keeping the mandate
Dr Raghuram Rajan's departure holds lessons for all, be it sections of the media, politicians or the people themselves. We need to learn how to value and retain talent. At the same time the talented must realise that talent alone does not ensure the top job, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'Secularism is associated either with corruption, malgovernance or minority votes.' 'That allows the BJP to construct its own majority vote.' 'It will remain a feature of electoral contests, but it is not the only reason for the BJP's success.'
Muzzling NGOs is unbecoming of a democracy. Self-confident democracies encourage, indeed applaud, the involvement of citizens' associations, including NGOs, in social and political decision-making and development planning. Instead, our paranoid government bullies and terrorises them, says Praful Bidwai.
With the state going to polls soon, Akhilesh Yadav needs to step out of his father's shadow and come into his own as the state's CM.
'In Vishal Bhardwaj's now fully set world of manufactured poetry, characters wear their emotions at their most prescribed anatomical positions -- courage on their chins, pride over their chests, and innocence in their faces,' observes Sreehari Nair.
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his trips to Russia and China, notes that Moscow and New Delhi work together professionally and via a shared common approach on crucial issues.
Aseem Chhabra's recommendations for the Mumbai film festival.
What was the need for Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman, Central Military Commission, to don the new role of Commander in-Chief? Does this mean that the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao faces numerous threats from within the Communist Party?
'China's excessive military aid to Pakistan is the real elephant in the room as far as Sino-Indian relations are concerned. India should be confident enough to accept a degree of closeness between China and Pakistan, since China may wish to use this link for its foray into the Muslim world.' 'But the Chinese must be realistic enough to know that as time passes, the tactic of using Pakistan as a proxy to check India will yield diminishing returns. The US tried it for 60 years but failed, so will China,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Science in India has developed a great deal since C V Raman, particularly after the country gained Independence but we are yet to win a Nobel prize in physics, chemistry or medicine. Is it a reflection on the quality of Indian science? Or it has to do with the politics of Nobel prizes, as is often believed, asks Dinesh C Sharma.
'Not allowing people to speak or listen is the biggest act of anti-nationalism,' says Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India's finest poets.
There is no alternative for the party and the state to wait for CM Jaya to return home as CM Jaya, and make her call, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The rankings were prepared after examining the volume of terrorist and rebel alerts, messaging traffic, videos, photos, incidents and the number of killed and injured in a country over the past 30 days.
A private entity using our data for commercial benefits is infinitely more dangerous than a government entity overseeing operations with a defined purpose of internal security oversight, says Sriram Balasubramanian
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is one of the petitioners in the black money case, makes a case for the revelation of all the names of account holders that the government has submitted to the Supreme Court.
For the first time ever, the BJP's headquarters for a Lok Sabha election is outside New Delhi. Meet the folks behind Narendra Modi's campaign for prime minister.
Five inspiring women who travelled thousands of miles to Hyderabad recently to grow their business and skills share their tales of global entrepreneurship. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel listened in.
Desis at Madison Square Garden welcomed Narendra Modi with the kind of gusto and reverence unprecedented for any Indian leader visiting the United States.
'The chair is a referee in a match, whether this side is playing better or that side is playing worse is no concern of the chair.'
'I don't practise yoga. How am I less of a nationalist than the person who practises it? Is it a crime if I don't practice it?'
'If the State does want to come after you, in India, it can do pretty much anything. And often it isn't as though the orders are coming from the President or prime minister, no, the systems have been built in a way -- or we have allowed them to be built in a way -- that almost encourages crushing of liberties.'
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
We reproduce Aditya's letter to Rajdeep Sardesai in its entirety:
Everyone, it seems, has a question to ask the BJP's prime ministerial candidate these days. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt asked some well-known Indians what they would like to ask Narendra Modi, to gauge what emotions he evokes in them.
'I don't come to the film with an agenda. I come to a film with a story. When the story excites me, I go bonkers.'
In a candid conversation Indrani Mitra, educationist Sunanda Sanyal explains why many intellectuals like him are disillusioned with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
'We should not flatter ourselves that China is fixated on encircling India. She has greater goals, becoming the pre-eminent power in the world, and India as a major power is dealt with as part of that strategy.'
'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances