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.
'He should be made an example of so that others will follow the law.'
'We in Kashmir will ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again.'
'Salman's bad phase is going on for the last five-six years.'
'All senior Muslim leaders of the BJP are left behind.' 'Doodh mein se makhi jaisey nikaal dete hain.'
'...by saying since you have come say everything against your party.'
'Kerala will lose 6 seats, Tamil Nadu 9 seats, Telangana and Karnataka 2 seats each, Andhra Pradesh 5 seats.'
'...in the minds of the youth of Assam.' 'Now, no protests happen in Assam because of fear of police encounters.'
'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.'
'The flight did not land in Gujarat because the 'Gujarat model' would then get exposed.'
'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.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether Rhea is being made a scapegoat in a case which has clear political overtones.
'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.'
Shaheed Maqbool Sherwani changed the course of Indian history forever, but himself lies forgotten in the town he saved.
'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.'
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.
'I represented India across the world, but here, in my own country, I was treated in this bad manner.' 'Everyone in Prayagraj respects me a lot and it is in this same city that I became homeless.'
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
'The cost of flying to Prayagraj has gone up six times due to the Kumbh Mela.'
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
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.
'He didn't implement good policies for good politics.' 'He never worked on comprehensive policy-making.' 'In Kejriwal's own constituency youths are jobless.'
'During Eid Muslims get Eidi, but Opposition parties never gave that to them.' 'When PM Modi is giving Eidi to Muslims Opposition leaders are getting upset.'
'Mrs Gandhi had nothing to do in the day-to-day working of Dr Singh's government.' 'People say Mrs Gandhi's office used to give orders, which is nonsense.'
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
'These beach shacks were meant to protect the employment of local Goans who in turn would showcase Goan cuisine and culture on the beaches of Goa.'
'The irony of this country is that the party in Opposition and the party in power both depend on Muslims.'
'We do not want to fall into a trap of uncontrolled escalation or all out conflict.' 'When the need arises we will do that.'
'BSP will remain a player, but only a marginal player, as long as the BJP is extremely dominant in North India politics.'
'In Independent India's politics you will not find any leader of a political party who has not contested elections or not held a powerful post.' 'It was only Balasaheb who never contested elections or held a post.' On the occasion of Balasaheb Thackeray's 99th birth anniversary, close aide Subhash Desai recalls vignettes about the Shiv Sena founder.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
'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.
'Delhi's streets were not alleys but an artist's canvas,' the eminent poet Mir Taqi Mir noted more than 150 years ago. Syed Firdaus Ashraf savours the sights and cuisine of the national capital.
'Journalists must ask the Mumbai police why are they sending notices via X to cartoonists.' 'The Mumbai police must come clean. Who is giving them such orders?'
'Today, both in the hills and valley there is radicalised militant activity which poses a direct national security threat.' 'This kind of militancy in Manipur is unprecedented, I have never seen such largescale militancy in my life.'
'He had a knife in each hand.' 'And something just kind of took over and I just grabbed him.'
