News for 'Hindu American'

Bharat Ratna to Prof CNR Rao comes as icing on the cake

Research and teaching have remained Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao's first priority and first love, and that is what sets him apart, says Dinesh C Sharma

We want to make Uber the safest place in the city: Travis Kalanick

'Competition makes us better. I lose a little bit of sleep because I have competition.'

'In India, there is no value for human beings'

'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....' 'Have you heard of such nonsense anywhere else in the world? And we claim we are civilised!' 'One or two or a few people becoming President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Speaker etc from the downtrodden do not mean that the untouchables are uplifted and caste-based slavery is over.'

Saif Ali Khan: Islam is unpopular today

'If you go up to an average American or British citizen, and tell them you are a Muslim, they look at you suspiciously. It's not a good feeling,' Saif Ali Khan tells Sonil Dedhia.

A remarkable Indian you never heard of

ACN Nambiar's life was extraordinary and intricately linked to momentous turns in history. Having lived in Europe for five decades, he was witness to and entangled with what we today -- with the benefit of hindsight -- call recent history.

'At the UN, there were times I wished India had a stronger government'

'Under Narendra Modi's leadership, we will be able to regain our rightful place in the community of nations,' veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the BJP on January 2, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

'At the UN, there were times I wished India had a stronger government'

Commercial MNCs are checked, so why not religious MNCs?

Anti-conversion laws are needed since thrusting the idea of a competitive battlefield of religion onto India's pluralistic traditions can only lead to greater communal conflict, says Sankrant Sanu

Pakistan and its seven states of delusion

'Pakistan is full of 'religious entrepreneurs' like Hafeez Saeed who poison the minds of the young so that they can be motivated to become terrorists. They work in concert with the rulers of Pakistan. It is a private-public partnership.'

Reading this book is a little like eating at Barbeque Nation

Shekhar Gupta's anthology is a valuable addition to our understanding of the seeming muddle that is India... The experience of reading his columns is more like a chat with a friend in the afterglow of an enjoyable drink, but never frivolous, says Shreekant Sambrani.

'Sooner or later, we will hear news about Dawood's end'

'After Rajan is back in India, our resident dons are almost down. I won't say that they are out. So, now the obvious question is about Dawood, and the present government, I think, is more than willing to address that issue.' 'I think the political system made this kind of people; the corporate world made this kind of people. I have mentioned in my book that even the banks were using these outlaws to get their money back.'

'Wonder what they are trying to hide'

'The Indian government has accepted and is a party to international agreements, standards and conventions on religious freedom.' 'We did not force it on them. We are not trying to impose something on them that they haven't already agreed to...' 'India has never allowed us to visit, which is very disappointing for such a wonderful country with such a rich democratic tradition. They seem to be afraid to let us in.'

Serving the living through the dead

Ashraf Palarakunnummal has one mission in life -- to ensure the dignity of the dead. This he does by seeing to it that expats who die in the Gulf are transported back to their home countries without too many hassles for the bereaved families. Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com talks to the Good Samaritan who was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman recently.

When the nation stood as one: Pages from a Indo-Pak war journal

Fifty years ago, India and Pakistan fought a short but bloody war. The author finds out how Sainik Samachar, the defence ministry's journal, reported it.

'Islamism, a Phoenix waiting to arise from the ashes'

'Small bands of terrorists believe they can destabilise superpowers if they are ready to become martyrs.' 'Since the road to paradise is under the shade of swords, it is a win-win situation for those ready to die for the cause of Allah.'

India, 2020: A cautionary tale

'If Modi arrived like a juggernaut, he left like a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces were being dismantled bit by bit. It was as if India had seceded quietly from him.' Shiv Viswanathan's social science fiction about what India would be like in 2020.

The uncommon creator of that Common Man

Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.

'Modi is never ever prepared to consider failure as an option'

'He is an extraordinarily focused, determined, full-time politician, who from the moment he wakes up to the moment that he goes to sleep is looking at the job in hand.'

Bharat Ratna C N R Rao: I expect great things to happen under Modi

'No PM has said no to anything we have proposed. I am not a politician and I cannot give speeches about things, but a lot of good things have been done in science by previous governments.' 'Under Dr Manmohan Singh, we could do a few important things. I used to meet him once in 6, 8 weeks. He often said, 'Professor Rao, you assume that you have my approval and carry on.' He was shy and decent. He is a real gentleman.' 'Science keeps me going at 80. I feel young.' Professor C N R Rao, the eminent scientist who was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, on the state of science in India.

'India cannot be governed through macho men'

'There was an overt campaign and there was a covert campaign. The overt campaign may be development, government, and all this nonsense. But the covert campaign, which Mr Amit Shah was doing, was far more important with the help of RSS cadres. This has been an RSS election. From day one I have been saying, this is not Congress versus the BJP, this is Congress versus the RSS,' says Jairam Ramesh, one of the key strategists of the Congress party.