'His success confirms that the infirm 132-year-old party can still get to its feet if it allows regional leaders to come to the fore,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
He's promoting khadi through his swadesi clothing brand.
The BJP's defeat in Delhi could turn into a larger national swing, but Prime Minister Modi and his party have enough time to tweak the party's policy agenda and project a more humble, secular, and inclusive image, say Ravi Agrawal and Harmeet Shah Singh
'Today you have 30 to 40 per cent of bureaucrats who are not parrots of the government, but what happens if you change the system?' 'If implemented, this can disrupt the system, which will have more adverse consequences than demonetisation.'
There's more to the cuisine than just vada pav and kanda poha.
Aditya Bhushan Dwivedi profiles Amitava Ghosh the chief technology officer at TaxiForSure.
With DMK's M K Stalin coming into his own, and the rival AIADMK too leaving no space for third parties, Tamil Nadu will remain a Dravidian stronghold for a long time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
By addressing the Indo-American audience with such visionary jargons, Modi has created an inclusive environment for people who are living outside India to contribute back home, says Sriram Balasubramanian
Intel's Young Scientist Karan Jerath talks about inventing, innovating and life.
Mumbai-origin Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon, who migrated to Britain with little funds and went on to found several Indian food companies that made him known as Britain's first 'Curry King', died on Tuesday at the age of 79 after he surrendered in his battle against liver cancer.
The BJP sees investments, both foreign and domestic, as their pathways to political power and not the construction of the Ram temple or a nationwide ban on beef. It will have no option but to let commerce prevail over religious sentiments, says Amulya Ganguli.
How did Mansoor Peerbhoy, an academically bright, suave and soft-spoken young man, who never exhibited any jihadist tendencies, go on to head the Indian Mujahideen's media cell?
'The project of a united Europe has constantly been made and remade.' 'The national borders have changed many, many times and so have the languages.' 'Britain's exit is only the latest episode in this long history,' says Aakar Patel.
'Goa is about community living, but blending in takes time.'
GIFT is a financial centre almost entirely devoid of bankers and, indeed, of people.
'The biggest success of Andhadhun is that viewers are thinking and debating about it. I didn't expect it,' Sriram Raghavan tells Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff.com.
'This is India, bhai. This kind of country does not exist anywhere in the world.'
We have let a woman of Italian origin rule us through a clever divide of administrative power centres, but far too many of us have not accepted her Indianness. We have every right to reject her politics and her corrupt government, but shouldn't her living most of her life here make her Indian enough?
Ahmedabad's cultural scene would not have gone beyond the garba, but for Mrinalini Sarabhai's pioneering efforts.
At Sabarmati Ashram that very hot summer evening, some had come to see and feel the place where Bapu lived. Some had come to be alone on the lawns after a disappointing Class 12 result...
'I was emotionally disturbed after hearing about foeticides and later Nirbhaya and felt that as successful women, we must raise our voice against these issues.' '#SheIsMe, an inspirational fashion showcase, was a personal tribute that proclaimed that despite their flaws and limitations, women are beautiful, magical and strong.'
Muslim voters in the Old City in Lucknow know the decisive value of their votes, but are wary that their votes are divided, and that, they fear, will only help Narendra Modi. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com speaks to Muslim voters in the land of tehzeeb and gauges their apprehensions about a Modi sarkar.
The change of government in Goa changed THiNK's character. Literary or intellectual luminaries were replaced by big-ticket celebrities, says Sunil Sethi
'Alia is brighter than me. I am extremely happy and proud that without her father's help, she has had a successful journey. People didn't think that a girl who was danced to Radha (a hit song in Student Of The Year) could do such serious acting as well.' Mahesh Bhatt, in a candid chat.
Faces are important in India, because people connect with people, not concepts.
U R Ananthamurthy on the importance of keeping alive our regional languages.
Banning beef (and not cow) slaughter, not renewing education quota for Muslims. What next from the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra, a ban on azaan, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Will anything change for you after the election?' And the man said 'Kuch nahin badlega.' And he had a smile on his face. He knew nothing was going to change.
'If Haider petitions the court and the government for legitimate rights it is called minority appeasement, but when Hardik orchestrates violence he is lionised, romanticised and given huge media space that ends up both legitimising and oxygenating his movement, no matter how contrary it is to the Rule of Law,' argues Shehzad Poonawalla.
'It is a great misfortune that the Nehruvian Stalinists of India have colluded with the grand project of demeaning and destroying Sanskrit. Today, the number of Sanskritists in India is low, and falling,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
This is one bill that will ensure that no politician, official or person can play politics with the lives of any other person and if they do, they will be arrested. It is time for such a bill to protect the minorities, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
They are shaken by the mass molestation in the city on New Year's Eve. But they are not waiting to be rescued. Nikita Puri reports.
Manavi Kapur and Avantika Bhuyan speak with leading designers about trends that will sparkle in the new year.
The Congress has kept quiet on the way the Union home ministry has handled innumerable blast cases under its rule. It has not openly condemned the bias that pervades within its government and the security agencies, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'The Pakistan government, we were told, has a plan to renovate several Hindu temples and Buddhist sites, which over the years have fallen into disrepair. The aim is to create a pilgrimage circuit to attract visitors from all over the subcontinent.'
Indonesia, Turkey and Afghanistan also see important polls in the seven short weeks between end-March and mid-May, says Shankar Acharya
We have failed to acknowledge the volatile events that have changed Mumbai.
'Today, where are singers like Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Abhijit Bhattacharya? They didn't sing anything apart from Bollywood. When there is a change in trend, you are gone. But I will remain for another 50 years. I will sing for films and do other stuff too.' The Rathods discuss their music.
The old Hyderabadi-ness would not resurface. Nor can be recreated. For like in other cities, others too have a right to live and prosper and regardless of what states it gets, the city will not be what it was. Only people, romantic fools at that, look back. Cities don't; they look to the future, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
An analysis of the National Housing Bank's Residex shows from 2007 to now, almost all tier-II cities have seen their residential property prices appreciate by 45-120 per cent.
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