Before the violence and rioting that erupted in Nagpur on Monday, March 17, over Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb came provocative statements from various political leaders.
'It will be an explosion of zoonotic diseases from these places.' 'People will not be able to live or work for kilometres around these places where thousands of street dogs are kept.'
'The Congress submitted four names to the government as the people who should accompany the delegation.' 'I don't know what happened to those names.' 'When I was approached, I told them to speak to my party.' 'I have no further involvement with this delegation.'
'They thought nobody would hit Bahawalpur and Muridke because they have nuclear weapons.' 'They used to think India cannot touch our military targets because we are a nuclear weapons country.' 'After Operation Sindoor we have called their bluff.'
The western media is going all out to prove that India suffered a major setback in Operation Sindoor and how China helped shoot down Indian fighter jets. One of the articles published in British newspaper Telegraph stated Operation Sindoor shattered the myth of India's air dominance over Pakistan. "The Pakistani Air Force, aided by Chinese targeting satellites and AWACS executed a sensor-fusion kill. The Rafales never got a lock, never even saw their adversary. When the missiles hit, it was already over," wrote the British Newspaper, The Telegraph.
'Five hours of bombardment by the Pakistanis should not have happened.' 'India should have sent the air force to bomb the Pakistanis where they were raining fire on us.'
'There were deep discussions within the Sangh Parivar before this decision was made.' 'They were convinced, and only then did the Modi government proceed with the caste census.'
'If inner line permit was in place in Meghalaya, the details of the three people who allegedly murdered Raja would have been on record.'
'The Pakistanis called the US state department and said we agree with India on peace.' 'It was then that US President Donald Trump jumped in and took credit for the ceasefire.'
'The LTTE were the pioneers of that.'
'Even known names and social media handles went berserk by stating that Karachi has been attacked and an F-16 was shot down.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether Rhea is being made a scapegoat in a case which has clear political overtones.
'Sushant Singh Rajput threw Rhea Chakraborty out of his house six days before he died.'
Ranveer Allahbadia found an easy way of asking questions which made sense to him and his team. No counter-questions or finding out the 'Why?' from the celebrity he was speaking to. The 'Why?' was buried and forgotten in Ranveer's shows, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
'He should be made an example of so that others will follow the law.'
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
'All senior Muslim leaders of the BJP are left behind.' 'Doodh mein se makhi jaisey nikaal dete hain.'
'We in Kashmir will ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again.'
'Kerala will lose 6 seats, Tamil Nadu 9 seats, Telangana and Karnataka 2 seats each, Andhra Pradesh 5 seats.'
'Salman's bad phase is going on for the last five-six years.'
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
Shaheed Maqbool Sherwani changed the course of Indian history forever, but himself lies forgotten in the town he saved.
'The flight did not land in Gujarat because the 'Gujarat model' would then get exposed.'
'...by saying since you have come say everything against your party.'
It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
'When Sikhs were killed in the Afghan-Sikh war in 1837, the Afridis used to bury their heads like flowerpots in the ground,' writer and popular historian William Dalrymple tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'When Sikhs were killed in the Afghan-Sikh war in 1837, the Afridis used to bury their heads like flowerpots in the ground,' writer-historian William Dalrymple, whose latest book Return of a King is a historical work based on the First Afghan War, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'...in the minds of the youth of Assam.' 'Now, no protests happen in Assam because of fear of police encounters.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
'It could be the Pakistan army's commercial interest, tactical or strategic interest or one of their leaders.' 'Even if you send a message that we have attempted to kill one of the Pakistani generals, that itself will serve the purpose.'
'Pakistan cannot sustain a war with India for more than four days. They are in such dire straits. At best they can sustain war for one week.'
'During his stint as prime minister, he got 270 million people out of poverty.' 'This, according to the World Bank, is the fastest compression of poverty anywhere in the world.' Arvind Mayaram, the former finance secretary, recalls his encounters with Dr Manmohan Singh.
'He used to do his homework before singing a song.' 'He used to find out who the hero of the movie would be or the situation in which the song would play in the film.' 'Accordingly, he moulded his voice.' 'For example, he sang Tel Maalish and Main Bambai Ka Babu for Johnny Walker in Johnny Walker style.' 'He would sing in different tones for Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Guru Dutt.'
'I am simply highlighting a wrongdoing. This is why my complaint has merit, and the chief minister has ordered an inquiry.'
'The people of Gujarat are more religious than people of other states, this gives the BJP an advantage.'
Congress leaders are a jubilant lot after the results.
'The cost of flying to Prayagraj has gone up six times due to the Kumbh Mela.'
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf's excitement knew no bounds when he laid his hands on the 'poor man's iPad'. But the supposedly 'revolutionary' and 'game-changing' piece of technology that sells at Rs 2,500 a piece went kaput in 30 minutes flat. Yes, we are talking about the Aakash Tablet PC. Firdaus pours his heart out.
