'One after the other, they have committed four murders (Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh)...' 'They feel they will not have to face the consequences of their actions as it is a favourable time for them.'
'Panipat has all the meat for a political drama meets war movie. But in Ashutosh Gowariker's failure to process its complexity, the material never rises beyond a mediocre hurray to the Maratha manoos,' says Sukanya Verma.
While acknowledging Shivaji's naval contributions, questions are being raised about the inadequate acknowledgement of Chola sea-power in southern Tamil Nadu, which dates back by a few centuries, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Not unlike politicians who gravitate towards whoever is in power, mafia dons too have a great survival streak, switching loyalty to the party in power,' observes Virendra Kapoor a week after gangster Vikas Dubey was slain in an alleged encounter.
'To essay Chhatrapati Shivaji is a huge responsibility. I can't tell you how great and proud I feel.'
'We are ready to surrender,' Lieutenant General A A K Niazi said over the phone from Dhaka.
Supreme Court judge Justice Hemant Gupta, who is set to retire on October 16, said on Friday that a judge cannot make people happy as "that's not the role assigned to him".
By clinging to the past misdeeds of some Islamic rulers, present day Muslims are making reconciliation of communities an impossibility, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Bajirao, an unorthodox leader, faced much opposition during his lifetime from the Brahmins of Pune. In the last hundred years or so, he has been ignored due to caste politics in Maharashtra where he has become a 'non person' for having been born a Brahmin, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Justice Bhushan, who was elevated as an apex court judge on May 13, 2016, was part of several landmark judgements including the November 2019 verdict by a five-judge Constitution bench which cleared the way for construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
'This Ram Navami -- the birth anniversary of Lord Ram -- presents the majority community an opportunity to shed its minority complex and offer an olive branch and discrimination- free society to the minority,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Facebook and Google no longer need to have infantry regiments and cavalry like the East India Company because they are inside everyone's phones listening to our conversations.'
'The most important priority for the next 25 years should be to strengthen our democracy so that it is supportive of social harmony, and to not just respect but to take pride in the diversity of Indian society in terms of the variety of languages, religion and religious practices and social norms,' explains Nitin Desai.
A controversy has erupted over the portrayal of the Jat king of Bharatpur in the movie.
'Why were they silent when over 128 temples and shrines including Shivlings were broken down at the time of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor?' a Varanasi resident asks Rashme Sehgal.
The victim, who belonged to the Maratha community, was found murdered after being raped on July 13, 2016 at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district.
'Shivaji was among a handful of Indian rulers to realise the importance of sea power... Not much attention is paid to his remarkable achievement: Building a modern navy and the revival of Indian maritime power.'
'The way discrimination against Muslims has become almost normalised is very upsetting.'
'Tanhaji has so much fun recreating a bygone legend and fictionalising history, authenticity and spellings, it gets infectious,' feels Sukanya Verma.
The police were aware of the bandh since the gram panchayats had informed them about it. Yet, they did nothing to prevent it.
The Supreme Court found enough grounds to order a CBI probe into 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur between 2000 and 2012.
Gentle, fiery, magnanimous or disadvantaged, there are many faces of the Bhansali heroine. Sukanya Verma looks at every single one.
'It was unfair to expect him to continue to keep on supplying vaccines without being given a firm commitment or a financial grant of any sort.'
There is growing talk of a realignment of forces in Maharashtra after May 2 when the results of West Bengal and other four states would be in, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Savarkar believed Swarajya is more than the mere geographical independence of a stretch of earth called India. There was no point in fighting and sacrificing one's life for a Swarajya (mere territorial independence) at the cost of our Svatva (self-existence) or Hindutva itself! A revealing excerpt from Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit's Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition.
'Fixing accountability in the Congress must be addressed on a war footing.' 'It is impossible for Sonia Gandhi to know each and every party worker, so she has to rely on advisors.' 'If they guide or misguide, the blame should go to them.'
'Isn't it tragic, comic as well as ironic that the people who owe their allegiance to the Constitution of India are declared deshdrohis without an iota of evidence?' 'But this mistake has to be corrected and those who actually and directly fomented the Bhima Koregaon riots and the masterminds behind these people will have to be exposed now.'
'Rahul Bhai was well known for speaking the truth.' 'He did not accept anything he considered wrong.'
'We are talking about history, about things that transpired.' 'If we don't know our history, we will never be able to evolve as individuals.'
Where paneer came to India from... How sambar got its name... Gulab jamun does not have Indian roots...
A section of others raised objections as the news spread, leading to tension in the area. Those objecting, largely Marathi speaking, are opposed to the location where they want to install a statue of Maratha ruler Shivaji, after whom the circle is named.
'Even if the BJP wins Maharashtra because of a division of votes, I want to be counted as one of those who voted against Modi.'
Virender Sehwag on Thursday backed the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games and felt the T10 format will be ideal to be drafted into the quadrennial sports extravaganza.
Ajit Pawar's decision to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party in an act of overnight rebellion bears a striking resemblance to his uncle Sharad Pawar's coup against a government formed by two Congress factions to become the state's youngest chief minister 41 years ago.
'In Pakistan there has been no problem about the installation of the statues of these men, unlike the Jinnah portrait or other controversies that seem to be present in India these days quite regularly,' says Aakar Patel.
Raut said it looks like some "bootlickers" have published the book to appease the prime minister.
'Gujaratis need not be ashamed of the lack of martial tradition.' 'They contribute to their country in other ways.' 'And, of course, they can also claim that while they may not have produced many martyrs, they produced the greatest one: Gandhi.'
There is a deep-seated sense of rejection that the new generation Tamil youth have felt for a decade and more now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Ashok the Great did not slaughter foreigners or Muslims when he conquered Kalinga. It was Oriya- speaking Hindus whom he butchered by the tens of thousands. But Ashok is called Great, and his lion emblem is the official symbol of the Republic of India.' 'Why do we honour Ashoka and not Tipu, when both men are accused of the same crime?' asks Aakar Patel.
'No country can ever be free to make its choices and remain independent if it continues to wear borrowed plumes,' warn Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
