Like millions of people across the world, the year 2020 had dealt me irreplaceable losses and the lowest of blows. Like I have always done at such junctures, I had sought the refuge of the mountains. I wanted to end the year on a high, to show the finger to life, says Sumit Bhattacharya after a memorable journey to North Sikkim.
'Urbanisation results in heavy rainfall events.'
'In India a strong leader with a majority has never yet been defeated by a challenger.' 'He (or she, as with Indira Gandhi in 1977) must defeat himself,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'This is the only place on earth where Elephas maximus climbs to these heights.'
Norma Godinho/Rediff.com reports on the pre-season NBA match played between Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings on Friday night.
Seeking to assuage the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu opposed to India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting meet in Sri Lanka, Centre on Tuesday detailed its relief and rehabilitation efforts for minority Tamils in the war-torn island nation.
Pak seeks US help to ease tensions with India.
'Some Indians take the extreme view that everything was known to our ancients, but others go to the opposite extreme and consider everything Indian was superstition and rubbish.' 'Indian science was perhaps more rational than the European science of the time.'
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries
'Post Independence, it is for the first time that people have Rs 500 in their pocket, but the family is sleeping without food.'
A look at the current contenders International Bank Note Society's Banknote of the Year
The BJP wants to win a state where it has been out of power for 15 years. The Congress wants to make its mark in a state where it has been a bit player for nearly 30 years. And the BSP wants to recapture power it lost 5 years ago.
Modi isn't going to voters on his track record but on the fear of the terrorist across the border and the Muslims within. It's a battle on his terms, says Shekhar Gupta.
As German makes provisions to accept 800,000 refugees this year, the nation is split vertically on the crisis with refugee shelters attacked with Molotov cocktails and swastika signs painted outside many refugee homes.
The Art of Living Foundation chose to hold the World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplains in spite of being aware of the environmental, legal consequences, letters exchanged between it and the Delhi Development Authority show.
India's majoritarian regime is now making a dangerously fast-paced move towards theocracy, like its western counterpart did a few decades ago, warns Mohammad Sajjad.
'There's nothing in the 2019 campaign air, the chunavi hawa that tells you it's a wave election, for anyone,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
The 2.3 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest, adopts a more aggressive posture with massive structural revamp.
'There is tension between the zones all the time.'
Let us hope that what happened in 1962 will never happened again, prays Claude Arpi
Corruption in the scheme may have nothing to do with fake children being shown to siphon out money, says Somasekhar Sundaresan.
Had it not been for the intellectual dominance and political legitimacy of the Leftist philosophy since 1970, would EPW have become what it did? After all, there were other more established journals around then, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The world wants India to succeed. It also worries now that India over-promises and under-delivers,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Is Ansari flagging a genuine concern? Is a rectification called for?' 'And finally: Do minorities matter?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
Aseem Chhabra looks at the year's best Non-Hindi Indian movies.
When Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam took an epic car journey from Coimbatore to London, they encountered a world that was more good than bad. In the cry for freedom in a dark corner of the globe, they discovered that The Mahatma remained India's greatest icon.
The murders of journalists in 2015 underscore the rising power of regional language media, especially local-language newspapers, says Nilanjana S Roy
Here's a fresh collection of the truly weird, true and funny news from around the world.
The India card is now almost obsolete. There are more pressing challenges. People of Pakistan are fed up with years of bad governance, corruption and broken promises of successive governments. However, the politicians and former generals are still provoking sentiments on what is happening on the Line of Control for petty political gains, says Shahzad Raza.
'We are against Alibaba investing in Paytm.' 'We are against the concessions given to Paytm.' 'In fact, we want Paytm to close down because of its alliance with Alibaba.'
BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi left no stone unturned to make frontal attacks on Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, repeatedly blaming them for Amethi's neglect. Sharat Pradhan reports
The world must hang its head in shame for being a mute spectator to the 'cultural holocaust' in Tibet, says Major General Mrinal Suman (retd).
'Dalvi, you are saying you asked a question, but don't remember the answer?' asks Pasbola incredulously. 'Yes.' 'You are lying.'
Practo is an online health service platform which assists patients to meet the best doctors and keeps digital records.
A 25-year quest by nearly 1,000 scholars to document and present one of the world's oldest living traditions came to fruition when the 'Encyclopedia of Hinduism' was unveiled in Columbia.
The Zandu business grew rapidly, and we became debt-free within two years of the deal.
Now that an elected chief minister is at the helm, it is high time the Centre initiate discussions to appoint a full-time governor at the earliest, given that the state is set to face some challenging times, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Greenpeace has been brutal in targeting both India and the Manmohan Singh government. The push to go after Indian coal is driven by its long-term agenda. What is surprising is that China has not been meted out the same treatment, despite the fact that the rise of China as an economic power has been built around generating power from coal. 'Being richer and more affluent, yet far less democratic, there is less room for an NGO such as Greenpeace to drive home a complicated global agenda, so there is more of a tendency to go along with anything the Chinese offer despite China being the biggest by far with regard to coal use. But for India, it reserves tougher prescriptions, notably for its middle class, says Srinivas Bharadwaj.
