Drought or no drought... life goes in the water-starved Beed district in Maharashtra's Marathwada region
Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan welcomed the apex court's order and urged people to abide by the SC guidelines and 'give green Diwali and our environment a chance'
'Politics and religion can be a combustive combination, but this once I am pleased that Pinarayi Vijayan made an issue of a rather innocuous tweet by Amit Shah.' 'It provided the perfect excuse to seek respite from political pronouncements and take (temporary) refuge in the classics,' says T V R Shenoy.
The Marathi poem, Gandhi Mala Bhetala (Gandhi met me), is a satirical critique of those who falsely claim to follow the path of Mahatma Gandhi
Raja Chari is in training to go to space in 2019. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel presents the story of his journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to NASA. A Rediff.com Exclusive!
In October 2007 Raja Sen visited Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's village in Punjab to find out how its residents, and relatives, feel about their oddest export. His report was published in India Abroad, a weekly newspaper published in the US and owned by Rediff.com.
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'While India's 'secularism' is a matter of cultural values rooted in Hinduism, the Western concept became one of rights rooted in legal rights. India would be secular with or without Article 25 of the Constitution,' says T V R Shenoy.
Meaningful devolution of spending power to states could spread more confidence on the ground and stir precisely the sort of change Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised.
'Every Muslim is painted with the same brush. We are one day linked to SIMI, the next day to Al Qaeda, to Pakistan-based terrorists and now ISIS.'
It is ironic that Raja Mahendra Pratap's Jat connection is being used for vote bank politics. He could not have cared less for his caste.' 'He was aware of the hold caste had on people's lives, and always rose above this kind of narrow thinking.' 'He mentions that once when he landed at Dwarka the priests asked him about his caste. He replied that he was a sweeper. The priests denied him entry. "I did not care to visit it," he writes, "when it was surrounded by people who had no regard for humanity".'
'Modi, focused on youth and their aspirations, has articulated a truly disruptive change: One of hope, of duties rather than rights, of standing up to the world instead of being bullied by it,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'If Lalu puts the agenda of his son's career ahead of the coalition's interest, this coalition will fare very badly.' 'Lalu will ultimately want that his son becomes deputy chief minister but if he's prepared to wait for some time, nothing bad will happen for the coalition,' Professor Prabhat Ghosh, Director, Asian Development Research Institute, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com
A cow that speaks, a question on patriarchy and the story of a 17th-century poet - Sanskrit filmmakers are finding new ways to revive the 'dying' language.
'If Haider petitions the court and the government for legitimate rights it is called minority appeasement, but when Hardik orchestrates violence he is lionised, romanticised and given huge media space that ends up both legitimising and oxygenating his movement, no matter how contrary it is to the Rule of Law,' argues Shehzad Poonawalla.
Modi's tweets talk about the celebration of democracy and also puts emphasis on the education of girls, says Mayank Mishra
Bollywood has told many 'Brothers' tales over the years.
'We went around with the story, but no one came forward to finance it. They would say 'Who would want to watch this?' Or they would say 'Ek to ladka dal do is me.' We said no, we didn't want to compromise.'
'The dirt in the Indian Ocean must be less than the abuses Narendra Modi got from secular forces.' 'If you are going to put the blame on the central government and the RSS for every wrongdoing, then it is not going to serve any purpose, rather it will complicate the issue instead of resolving it.' 'There are fringe elements in every society, but for an ideal State it is important to finish off the fringe elements.'
'All that Maharashtra can give someone whose husband has died is a piece of cloth. That was extremely tragic for me.' 'If you go back historically there is no reference to Maharashtra whereas there is complete reference to Vidarbha.'
This is the first time that a Muslim lady has filed a nomination in a Presidential election.
'The only narrative before India is what Modi and the BJP is presenting.' 'Nationalism has been taken as a serious plank by the BJP and RSS.' 'They want to keep the nationalism thing alive to make people forget the economic reality.'
'I have never seen anybody disliked more as prime minister than Modi.' 'What is interesting is in his prime ministership, no matter whatever happens in any corner of India, Modi is blamed for it.' 'Modi has not suspended any Constitutional liberties. No Opposition leader has been put in jail... Modi is not Hitler.'
The families that were affected by the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar district have no hope of their homes being restored to them. Is the government really unable to reassure them of a safe return?
The RSS realises that with a majority BJP government at the Centre and in several states, now was the best time to undermine and perhaps outdo the Congress-Left 'stranglehold' over campuses and young minds.
'We still look at films with A-listers.' 'There is change, but it's minor.' 'We still haven't learnt how to invest in stories.'
Lalit Sathyarthi, an aspiring actor, left his home in Agra to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a Bollywood hero. He is still struggling to succeed but he's not giving up yet.
'Clearly, the Modi government is proving to be far more willing than any previous government in Delhi to hitch India's wagons with the US' regional strategies.'
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.
'There appears to be in the Indian polity a link between being Single and being of prime ministerial timber. It is a trend, a preponderance -- not a statistical verity,' says Dr Shashi K Pande.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh perceives the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to be a fight for its own existence and all that it stands for. Archis Mohan reports
Shubham Kumar Gautam, son of a farmer and a Super 30 student, recounts how, in a journey laced with perseverance, grit and determination, he achieved what seemed impossible.
On International Yoga Day, South Delhi-based yoga teacher Saudamini Chandra found herself shepherding the young girl students to their first taste of India's heritage that was being celebrated across the world. This is her experience.
To improve communication skills, you need to interact with as many people as possible, says Kamini Taneja, Senior Training Consultant at the British Council.
'When you go through the ups and downs of life you need someone who says that no matter what happens to you, whether you are successful or not, I am there with you.' 'In the absence of that person and that love, you have a society which is depressed.'
Youngistaan neither says something new nor does it reinforce time-tested wisdom in a way that you actually want to pay attention to it, feels Paloma Sharma.
Kainchi, near Nainital, attracts devotees from near and far, 42 years after the death of its spiritual leader, Neem Karoli Baba.
The facts remain cloaked in mystery, but the legend goes that Talpade had created a flying machine powered by mercury and solar energy, and based on ideas outlined in Vedic texts.
Pitching for larger opposition unity, six constituents of the erstwhile Janata Parivar on Monday shared dais at a mahadharna slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'divisive' politics and accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of telling lies and not fulfilling poll promises on black money.
'After the 2002 riots when the media and other political parties started blaming Modiji, thousands of people like us -- now, it must be crores of us -- started becoming staunch supporters of Modiji. The more you blamed him the more of our support he gained.' Pramod Singh of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh is one of Narendra Modi's biggest fans and a member of Modi's India272 Web initiative, spreading the leader's message on social media and the Internet.
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