We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
'I want them to stand up against abuse, inequality and create a safe, equal world where men and women respect and value each other beyond caste and gender.'
Then prime minister Manmohan Singh's brief to his new information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on what should be the government's approach to the media was simple -- it should be an essay in persuasion, not coercion.
The Delhi high court has directed the family members and relatives of a 22-year-old lesbian not to threaten or put pressure on her or her partner, saying they are at liberty to live their lives according to their own style.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would like to examine the plea of the Maharashtra government, challenging the remission granted to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli who is serving a life sentence in a murder case.
Enumerated here are some of the differences between the old and the new byelaws.
Businesses have resumed but it's not business as usual in the capital city of Bangladesh.
Over three hundred people from across Israel rolled out yoga mats and performed asanas as they participated in International Yoga Day celebrations at the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation in Tel Aviv.
'Gogoi will be remembered as someone who recovered Assam as a state, as a people and society from the fear of insurgency that had struck the state from the 1980s till 2000.'
'...but subjecting our heritage to rigorous evidence-based understanding.'
The country's largest lender SBI will levy charges for cash withdrawal beyond four free transactions in a month from customers holding the basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) accounts. These customers will also be levied charges for cheque book beyond 10 leaves in a year. As per the revision in service charges for BSBD accounts, State Bank of India (SBI) will levy charges ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 75 for the "additional value added services" with effect from July 1, 2021.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 mark a significant step towards empowering Indian citizens and aim to create a more accessible, supportive and efficient justice system for everyone, official sources said.
"Under Mahalakshmi, Rs 2,500 per month financial assistance will be given to women in Telangana, gas cylinders at Rs 500, and free travel for women in buses across the state," she said explaining some of the guarantees.
Justice Krishna S Dixit, presiding over a single judge bench, issued notice to the parties concerned and paused the ongoing investigation.
'There is no immediate threat to the government, and they would prefer the growth agenda.'
The attack on Rushdie sent shock waves around the world, with world leaders and literary stalwarts saying they were appalled at the attack on the author who championed free speech and lived under the threat of assassination for nearly half his life.
The incident took place around 8.30 am at the under-construction site of Amrapali Dream Valley Society, the police said, adding that the long-stalled project is being completed by the state-run NBCC.
The Congress in Kerala on Friday approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the decision of Doordarshan to telecast the controversial movie The Kerala Story, saying it was a 'tacit effort' to divide society on religious grounds to further the electoral prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The other members of the interim government will be finalised after consultations with various political parties, the press secretary added.
We need not spend much time going over what this government has done and is doing to the Opposition, by misusing the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. There is a daily update on that, notes Aakar Patel.
rediffGURU Mohit Arora offers advice on how you can manage your emotions and improve your personality to be more confident and positive.
On the night of July 5, the Tigers launched their first kamikaze operation. Miller took the wheels of the explosive-packed truck, smiled at everyone as he turned the ignition key and drove it slowly towards the Sri Lankan military camp. A few moments later all of Jaffna heard a thunderous explosion that brought the complex crashing down in clouds of dust. Miller had given birth to a deadly tactic that Prabhakaran would employ time and again with devastating consequences to Sri Lanka -- and India. A fascinating excerpt from M R Narayan Swamy's must read new book, The Rout Of Prabhakaran.
Addressing the sixth convocation at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, the chief minister said the heinous act of the perpetrators "has shocked us as a society" and showed that the value system was facing a crisis.
'If one looks at it closely, this reflects the BJP's frustration and its fear of defeat'
Despite declining by three percentage points in 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY19, Odisha's unemployment rate remains higher than the average in India.
The government is planning new regulations that may impose penalties on both the creator and the platform hosting deepfakes, as it looks to clamp down on what IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishaw described as "a threat to democracy".
The Bombay high court on Friday queried if it amounted to confinement when the juvenile accused in the Pune Porsche case was granted bail but was taken back in custody and kept in an observation home.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
"Everything may look normal in Kashmir. Everything may look normal here. We may be celebrating the victory, although of course some people believe that that victory or that success of 2024 was perhaps only marginal, perhaps a lot more needs to be done," he said.
In violence-hit Manipur, the general buzz associated with elections and the related paraphernalia of posters, banners and rallies are missing but it is the presence of these brown boxes with pictures of guns that is symbolic of the strife-ridden society struggling to return to normalcy.
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
The 'Pesta Demokrasi' is a cause for celebration not only for Indonesia but also for democracy and forces for peace all over the globe, notes Sandeep Chakravorty, India's Ambassador to Indonesia.
Justice N Seshasayee said in his order on September 15 that the court is conscious of 'the very vociferous, and at time noisy debates on pro and anti Sanatan Dharma' and the court could not help pondering over with genuine concern for what is going around.
The Kerala Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution demanding that the Centre provide COVID-19 vaccines free of cost to all states, even as the ruling and opposition members clashed over the COVID-19 fatality numbers in the state.
'There might be some internal tussles that can be expected between any two persons in any party.' 'But I do not see any tussle which might weaken the possibility of dictatorship.'
Former US House Speaker Nancy Peolsi, who is part of a US bipartisan delegation which met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, launched a broadside against Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever, Xi will be gone in a few years.
'Arithmetic could decide the Haryana election given the presence of multi-cornered contests.'
'Those giving voice to the voiceless should be welcomed, not punished.' 'Yes, I paid a price -- 10 years in jail -- but it wasn't only me who did so. There are many paying the price.'
