Syed Firdaus Ashraf explains how two cases separated by ideological motives were curiously similar on one account.
Khalid Saifullah created Missing Voters, an app which enables people to conveniently apply for voter cards.
'Banning conversion would harm Hinduism by taking away the need for reform.'
'It is entirely possible that there are many treasures of our history and our faith buried deep underground,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
How Lashkar-e-Tayiba's bomb maker Abdul Karim 'Tunda' was arrested after being on the run for 30 years.
According to reports from the states, several congregation participants are yet to show up before authorities.
In the dangal of UP politics, much as Muzaffarnagar wants to leave its past behind, the shadows are never be far behind.
'India is a strange place.' 'On the one hand we have the most advanced science working on our origins and our ancestry.' 'On the other we are at war with ourselves over a temple to a god whom our first ancestors knew nothing of,' says Aakar Patel.
As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.
'What kind of insensitivity does it take to get taxpayers to cough up for an aircraft costing a few billion for your personal use, at a time when the country you head is in so much trouble?' asks Sherna Gandhy.
'Like public smoking, like the decriminalisation of homosexuality, like the acceptance of medical marijuana, veganism awaits its generational change,' says Aakar Patel.
For two-and-half weeks, as Kanhaiya Kumar's Jan Gan Man Yatra opposing the CAA-NPR-NRC makes its way through Bihar, it has come under sustained violent attack. Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers that the yatris, who include teenagers wanting to save the Constitution and the Nation, are unfazed by the threats and loathing.
'Doesn't matter if two film olds are ungrateful to the industry that have given them all. Just wish they'd exit gracefully and keep their regressive views to themselves.'
We are spectators who have no voice and no power to influence the giant changes being imposed on all of us, says Aakar Patel.
What connection does Qaumi Tarana -- Pakistan's national anthem, which millions of Indians heard at the Eden Gardens on Saturday -- have to Bombay?
The election campaign finally ended on Friday, May 17. Arindam Majumder reveals what he discovered on the election front on a long rail journey.
'There is no remorse over the Dadri lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq or of Pehlu Khan by cow vigilante groups.' 'But should you not have remorse for those who came to kill them?' 'They were Hindus. Do you accept that?' 'That to kill one Pehlu, 20 Hindus have become murderers.' Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Ravish Kumar.
Little has changed in Digital India. The issue that rocked the nation 100 years ago still creates a furore in Indian society, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Two first information reports were registered by the police at Siyana police station in Bulandshahr -- one over cow slaughter and the other on the mob violence in which a village man was also killed.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com recalls his encounters with the late Gopinath Munde many years ago, when he was Maharashtra's home minister.
'The test of true secularism in India is when a girl in your family decides to marry someone from another religion. If you accept her decision happily, then you are truly secular. If you don't, it means your secularism is fake,' argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The Zakat Foundation of India runs welfare initiatives for the destitute and helps with the education of poor students. Upasna Pandey/ Rediff.com discover the origins of this organisation
Sheela Bhatt visits a large urban basti a mere 20-minute drive from the prime minister's home to discover a story of grim struggle in the time of lockdown.
Mira's films are alive, rocking and so true to the reality I know. They are gifts that I keep revisiting, and I cannot wait for what more she will share with us, notes Aseem Chhabra.
"Peace and harmony is the only way forward to ensure a prosperous future," Dr Singh said.
Twenty years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, India is in rebirth mode. Whether there is a Babri Masjid or a Ram temple or not in Ayodhya, India will go on. And it will see many tomorrows, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
As the year 2014 draws to an end, we at Rediff.com take to look at some of the ridiculous remarks made by some blundering politicos.
'If JNU students are anti-national, why do we send in the police? Why not send in intellectuals like M V Kamath to have a debate and discussion?'
Last year, Maryam Nawaz accompanied her father to Washington, but played a role beyond being the dutiful daughter. She was 'discovered' by the White House, and was hosted by Michelle Obama.
'Naik is an outcome of an image-centric Islam, which is linked to the technological changes introduced by new media.' 'English educated upper middle class Muslims embraced Naik's image-centric Islam in the 1990s.' 'Television converted him into a religious object.'
The Sindhis are a lesson in perseverance. Once uprooted, they've started all over, often reinventing themselves
'When a woman gets married, she leaves her village, her friends and family.' 'In her new home, she will make friends, but they can never replace those she left behind.'
'...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.
There are limitations to milking national security, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'As a member of Congress, it was important to meet with Prime Minister Modi. Promoting the India-US relationship is a priority. It is important to have a constructive dialogue with the biggest democracy in the world,' US Congressman Mike Honda tells Ritu Jha/Rediff.com
'For some South Asians, it may be tempting to think "I'm not Muslim, this doesn't really affect me".' 'But please know, it affects all of us,' says Arun Venugopal, a reporter at WNYC in New York.
'The lesson the BJP has to learn from the violence in Gujarat is that once you practise the politics of hate against any community, it will surely get back to you some day.'
'Few practitioners of yoga doing the Surya Namaskar, including lakhs of Americans and Europeans, see it as a form of worshipping the sun. They do it because it is good exercise.' 'In my view Muslim groups need to be more flexible on such things and not present their problem in terms that are confrontational.' 'Having said that, are they over-reacting? The history and the background of the government and its ministers would lead us to believe otherwise,' says Aakar Patel.
If only making it official was as easy as falling in love, says Sukanya Verma.
Dr Yusuf Merchant's book Happyness will tell you how to turn your life's negative situations into your strengths.
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