'We have 38 Dalits who are MLAs and ministers. But that does not mean the Dalits of Bihar are prospering.'
'As a defence lawyer I won't know if a policeman under cross questioning is being prompted to answer by someone behind his computer screen.'
'Trump had done a deal with the current regime minus Maduro. The current regime is giving Trump entry into Venezuelan oil. They are obeying him and doing whatever he says.' 'They are happy because they have saved their heads by sacrificing only two, Maduro and his wife. Thousands of Venezuelan military leaders would have been jailed or killed in American action had Maduro stayed in power.'
'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
'Anyone they don't like can be potentially arrested and thrown in jail for 30 days to induce regime change.'
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
'The natural barrier that is Aravalli, you are demolishing it, then who will stop the desert?' 'In future, I predict that people will roam around with oxygen cylinders in Delhi because they won't be able to breathe.'
'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.'
'I want to request the central government that they should not target someone just for the sake of targeting him if he has not done anything wrong.'
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
'The people who were protesting and getting violent were all in the age group of 14-25.'
'The Pakistan establishment keeps him well protected.'
'He decides who will be Pakistan's prime minister, president, even provincial chief ministers.'
'I believe Modiji hai toh mumkin hai.'
'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.'
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.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
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.
'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.
'We cannot enter any flat in Satguru building until the watchman gives us access.'
'Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now.' 'Everybody is traumatised but Vijay is not consoling them.'
'I hope we can move towards peace, stability, and national unity.' 'I believe most Kashmiris want that too.'
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
'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.'
Cirkus is not getting good reviews but its *huge* cast is quite excited to see it on big screen anyway.
'Shashi Tharoor is destroying the history of India.' 'He is distorting facts about the Congress party.'
Puzzled about the Waqf Bill? Syed Firdaus Ashraf explains how the amended Waqf law will plug loopholes in the existing legislation.
'This is just the beginning. You have to wait and watch to see things getting better.'
'Devendra Fadnavis is stating that Marathas must feel OBCs are not happy with reservations for the Marathas and therefore they are protesting.'
'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.'
'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.'
'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.'
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf marches through time to trace the bitter history between Russia and its West European neighbours.
'Afzal Guru became a victim of Pakistan's conspiracy. He was used as a means, just like all other innocent Kashmiris.'
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.
'Only a fool would put his life savings into a restaurant at 59... but I did'
