'India must close the missile technology gap with both China and Pakistan as early as possible, or else the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence will remain suspect,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Patel, who headed the RBI from September 2016 till his sudden resignation in December 2018, says in his book thta the government seemed to lose enthusiasm for the new bankruptcy law in the middle of the year he left the central bank. Though Patel does not name anybody in the book, the mid-2018 period he refers to is the time when Piyush Goyal held temporary charge of the finance ministry between May and August.
The star was chosen to deliver the Penguin Annual Lecture.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'All selectors must be sufficiently thick-skinned and prepared to take criticism.' T C A Srinivasa Raghavan checks out Ravi Shastri's first book.
'I wasn't getting the roles I wanted to play and the respect I thought I deserved as a senior actor, so I cut myself off from the industry for a while and moved to the US.'
In The Coward And The Sword, Prince Kadis of Kofu is scared of everything... of stepping out of his castle, of meeting people, of falling sick, of training in warfare and almost everything else imaginable.
'So much resources go into guarding this territory. So much goes into policing the Line of Control. So many mouths can get fed, so many minds can be nourished, if India and Pakistan resolve the Kashmir issue through a Kashmiri-owned, Kashmiri-led peace process'
Bhubaneswar-based Akshaya Rautaray and Satabdi Mishra are on a mission to promote reading.
"... The conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi was not the handiwork of a lone wolf or a few fanatic members of the Hindu Mahasabha. Most importantly, it was not conceived just a few weeks before 30 January 1948," reveals The Murderer, the Monarch and the Fakir: A New Investigation of Mahatma Gandhi's Assassination, authored by Appu Suresh Esthose and Priyanka Kotamraju.
Gianiji had crafted his moves with the meticulous planning of a chess grandmaster. He did not know whether a checkmate was feasible, as his time was running out, but he wanted Rajiv Gandhi to smell the fear of loss. A fascinating excerpt from K C Singh's The Indian President: An Insider's Account of the Zail Singh Years.
The Emergency came as a surprise to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who saw an atmosphere of fear in the country during which there were many "arbitrary arrests and detentions", says a new book on him by his daughter.
'Kashmir is the main issue between the two countries.' 'We have not been able to resolve it bilaterally.' 'As the two major countries in South Asia, we have to go back to the drawing board and start engaging.'
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
'Unquestionably, the spirit behind the Panchsheel agreement and the 'Hindi Chini bhai bhai' slogan were thrown overboard by the Chinese, and a trust deficit was injected between the two nations.' A revealing excerpt from General J J Singh's The McMahon Line: A Century Of Discord.
'The ladies, Maya Govind and Rani Malik, were criticised for writing sexist, crass or vulgar songs.'
Few debut novels in recent times have been received with such critical applause as Akil Kumarasamy's Half Gods. 'The prose itself is a marvel,' declared The New York Times Book Review. A glimpse of Akil Kumaraswamy's ability to 'distill the mysteries of the human soul', revealed in this excerpt from her story The Office of Missing Persons.
The only way for Dravid to sort out the mess was by forcing a showdown and getting Chappell removed as coach. That possibility was remote as Dravid neither had the ears of the BCCI nor was he the sort to confront knotty issues head on. A fascinating excerpt from Pradeep Magazine's Not Just Cricket: A Reporter's Journey through Modern India.
In his afterword to the book, Pink: The Inside Story, Pink's writer-producer Shoojit Sircar explains why the movie was a turning point in his personal and professional life
Jugal Hansraj on his children's novel The Coward and the Sword.
Aarti Kelshikar tells you just how to navigate your way safely through the Indian workplace.
'Mary just stopped talking to me. Maybe she did not like the fact that she was the gold medallist, but it was me (Sarita), not her, who was getting all the attention.'
Simran Dhir's very readable debut novel Best Intentions portrays the colours as well as the privilege and politics of Delhi life.
Devdutt Pattanaik, who has simplified the ancient Indian scriptures for millions of readers, highlights what our scriptures have to say about homosexuals and transgenders.
We pay homage to Bhanu Athaiya by celebrating her best creations.
Who better than India's beloved storyteller to teach you how to spin a yarn?
Former Miss India International Sveta Jaishankar's new cookbook has recipes from India's top models and actors.
'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
The Tablighi Jamaat avoided confrontation, stayed clear of conversion of non-Muslims, abjured politics and focused only on religious attainment. >A fascinating excerpt from Ziya Us Salam's Inside The Tablighi Jamaat.
Nervous about your first kiss? Keep these pointers in mind.
Satyajit Ray would have been 97 today, May 2. Soumendu Roy, who worked with the legendary director for many years, looks back on the Genius that was Manikda, as the Master was known to family, friends and admirers.
'Never before in Bengal had a single party been re-elected with two-thirds of the assembly,' notes Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien.
'Allah is there above and, with him as witness, I am giving you this money. If my Mariam's letter arrives, you must deliver it.' The clerk stood still in astonishment. 'Where must it be delivered?' 'Upon my grave!'
'ISI's leverage on the Kashmir insurgency turned out less than successful...'
Manmohan Singh had joined a pre-medical course as his father wanted him to become a doctor but pulled out after a couple of months, losing interest in the subject, according to a book on the former prime minister by his daughter.
An illuminating excerpt from T C A Raghavan's History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh And Their Quest For India's Past.
Follow a balanced diet with a mixture of whole grains, suggests Jeeva Anna George.
'Oscar has been given to A R Rahman.' Ringa Ringa Ringa, Choli ki peeche kya hai -- What's the difference? Exactly the same. Also, Jai ho.' 'I did Ramba ho in 1985.' 'Rahman combined three of my songs and got Best Original Score.' 'The Ho came from me.' 'Bappi Lahiri brought the Ho to Bollywood.'
The Quantico star reveals it all.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances