'The people who were protesting and getting violent were all in the age group of 14-25.'
'The Pakistan establishment keeps him well protected.'
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
'If the INDIA bloc ever forms the government, they will be more than tempted to use such provisions to bring about regime change in BJP-ruled states.'
'He decides who will be Pakistan's prime minister, president, even provincial chief ministers.'
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
'I believe Modiji hai toh mumkin hai.'
'Pakistan is uncomfortable with the Indian presence in Afghanistan. They want the Taliban to ensure that there is no Indian presence in Afghanistan.'
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
'Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now.' 'Everybody is traumatised but Vijay is not consoling them.'
All the 12 cabin crew members, including two pilots, on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight were killed in the Ahmedabad air crash on Thursday.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf offers a ready reckoner on Javed Akhtar's great great grandfather Fazl e Haq Khairabadi who fought the British empire during the 1857 Mutiny and was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
'I hope we can move towards peace, stability, and national unity.' 'I believe most Kashmiris want that too.'
'The government only wakes up after devastation.' 'The government does not understand the gravity of the situation nor they do not want to understand the gravity of the situation.'
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
'Shashi Tharoor is destroying the history of India.' 'He is distorting facts about the Congress party.'
'We cannot enter any flat in Satguru building until the watchman gives us access.'
'This is just the beginning. You have to wait and watch to see things getting better.'
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
'Devendra Fadnavis is stating that Marathas must feel OBCs are not happy with reservations for the Marathas and therefore they are protesting.'
Puzzled about the Waqf Bill? Syed Firdaus Ashraf explains how the amended Waqf law will plug loopholes in the existing legislation.
'Techies who did a master's there and moved to US companies look down on Indian companies who they consider as just doing body shopping.'
'China reduced its exports of urea to India gradually.' 'In 2020-2021 we imported 28 lakh tonnes of urea which reduced to 16 lakh tonnes in 2022-2023 and that has now reduced to 1 lakh tonnes in 2024-2025.'
Cirkus is not getting good reviews but its *huge* cast is quite excited to see it on big screen anyway.
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
'Only a fool would put his life savings into a restaurant at 59... but I did'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf marches through time to trace the bitter history between Russia and its West European neighbours.
'I feel the murderers had done a recce of this place before murdering Raja.' 'It is isolated, there are no CCTV cameras.' 'It was a fit place to commit the crime.'
'Gen Z was devoid of love stories with sad endings like Heer Ranjha, Laila Majnu or Romeo Juliet; they have never seen something like this in their lifetime.' 'Saiyaara is a rooted love story.'
'40 percent of voters in Bihar will be excluded.'
'The long term strategy is that this government wants to create a second class citizen list.'
'Afzal Guru became a victim of Pakistan's conspiracy. He was used as a means, just like all other innocent Kashmiris.'
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
'The Indian Army won't induct anyone who has killed Indian soldiers.' 'That's why the army respects these reformed men so much -- they're on the frontline now, protecting India.'
At Srinagar's famed Lal Chowk, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf meets a computer engineer who drives an auto for a living and discovers that Kashmiris are more interested in finding jobs than discussing the assembly election.
'Don was declared a flop because not many people turned up.' 'Luckily, Khaike Paan Banaraswala became a big hit.' 'Word of mouth publicity led to the film becoming a big hit from the second week on.'
'Maharashtra election result is a chamatkar of EVM.' 'There has been a sudden one percent rise in the voting percentage after the counting day.' 'This is what made the difference to the election results.' 'How did this vote percentage increase after counting day?
'The background for the Saudi-Pakistan agreement is the fact that the regional security order has collapsed due to the Israeli attack on Doha.' 'The Americans have largely abandoned their security guarantee for West Asia and the region has no choice but to look at alternatives.'
