It was the year 'anti-national' became the 'it' gaali, and our humble haldi-doodh became the toast of the West's wellness brigade as 'Tumeric Latte.' It was the year 'cash' became unholy and 'fake news' became real. Shuma Raha looks back.
'You can't go on creating division and rhetoric of hate.' 'It comes to roost. We are seeing the first glimpses of that in the state elections.'
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to deliver his third Independence Day speech on August 15, he is inviting ideas from citizens on issues he should speak on
In the documentary The World Before Her, a young girl has to submit to the will of her father for a most gut-wrenching reason: 'He let me live... I am a girl... but he let me live.' Is that reason enough, asks Suparn Verma.
A Ganesh Nadar visits the village in Tamil Nadu that shot into national prominence in 1981 when half the Dalits there converted to Islam. He spoke to the Hindus and Muslims and came back with two very different stories.
'Deep down, it betrays a transactional view of politics. That, to get, the voter must give,' argues Krishna Prasad.
This piece is a tribute to that corner of film criticism that they call subtextual film criticism.
Jamida K is the first Indian Muslim woman to lead the Friday prayer.
'Male domination is not coming down but women have started standing up and questioning the authority of men.' 'I was attacked in such a crude manner only because I am a woman. Had this been written by a man, he would not have been attacked like this.' 'If at all the fascists are using this as a stick to attack Islam, it is not because of my post but because of the intolerance of those who abused me in foul language.' V P Rajeena, who created an online stir by claiming that a madrassa teacher had sexually abused her, says what she wrote on her Facebook page is just a sample, more will follow.
Who do you think nailed the bridal look better than anyone else this wedding season?
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
Asserting that it would decide on the right of women to enter the historic Sabarimala shrine on the basis of constitutional principles.
How much do you know about Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal and the Taj Mahal?
'Reflex responses to Dalit student Rohith Vemula's suicide are band aids that stem the current hemorrhage but do precious little to the festering wound beneath,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Voicing concern over the Muzaffarnagar violence, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader and Union Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday said it may spread to other states and become unmanageable" if not controlled by "strict action".
'This is obvious to everyone except those in denial; it is a national shame.' 'To that extent, blaming any particular government is an insufficient response,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
'These guys did not even issue an apology to me and were taken back into the party.' 'They were reinstated on the grounds that they will contribute to the Congress campaign.'
'If we refused, the teachers threatened to beat us.'
'What of Modi? They are willing to take their chances. Maharashtra's Muslims recall how the Congress scared them with the Bal Thackeray bogey for decades, yet, when it came to using all the might of the State to protect them from Shiv Sena goons, be it in 1970, 1984 or 1992-1993, it did nothing. For them, the Congress's secularism is a cruel joke.' 'This argument that we ('seculars') must vote for the 'winning secular candidate' has one more implication: Those who are against Hindutva must forever be stuck with the same corrupt, cynical and tired old parties, who are not even secular,' says Jyoti Punwani.
These photographs show India in various colours and moods in 2015.
''Dear men, don't expect your wives to naturally play the role of maid, cleaner, babysitter, a working professional and be nice to your parents.' 'It's her choice, and if she chooses not to, she may have her reasons too; that doesn't make her bad or less 'pious' as the Supreme Court pointed.' 'If you are looking for a full-time, unpaid maid or caretaker in your life partner, you do not understand marriage at all,' says Divya Nair.
The argument that there is nothing wrong in barring illiterates from contesting elections is extremely flawed, when by the same yardstick many sitting MLAs and MPs would not be eligible to contest even panchayat polls, says Devanik Saha.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
He asserted his force was as competent as the CBI to probe the Kathua rape and murder case.
Following the Centre's tough stand on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's controversial comments on terrorism, nine teams from the National Intelligence Agency, the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies are scanning the former's activities, while special teams are scanning every footage of his speeches.
'The Sabarimala issue is no longer in splendid isolation.'
The 'Shatrughan Sinha of the South' plunges into politics.
'Politics is about caste in Eastern UP and religion in Western UP.' Rediff.com's Archana Masih gets a sense of the fault lines in this election's most volatile region -- that can make or break the future of political parties in UP.
With the Bahujan Samaj Party keeping out and the Congress being in the fray only for namesake, Saturday's bye-election for 11 state assembly constituencies and for one Lok Sabha seat will determine the supremacy between Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
If doing business in India is a problem for even the richest, most educated scion of a business house, it is unlikely to be a breeze for the average rural Indian woman.
If November 9 ushers in a Hillary Clinton presidency, you can bet your last dollar that Huma Abedin will be back at POTUS' side.
The interesting bit about the Azamgarh poll finding on India TV was the whopping percentage of Muslims backing the SP-BSP alliance, which sort of negates Mayawati's appeal to the community to not split their vote with the Congress, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The supermodel is a multi-tasker at many levels.
The latest Bollywood updates!
A lot of the terrorism that is affecting Pakistan is really a blowback of the Pakistani state's policy of using jihadist groups as instruments of state policy. And unlike some other countries with similar policies, Pakistan doesn't have the benefit of the political and social space for pulling back from the disastrous course, says Sushant Sareen.
Sreehari Nair presents his Top 20 movies of the decade.
India's Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 on Wednesday, sharing it with Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel laureate, for their work on promoting child rights in the troubled sub-continent, where millions are deprived of their childhood and education.
In the heat and dust of a Baramati rally with Supriya Sule.
Robbed of prey as people fled, Omar Perez came marching back and shot bullet after bullet into Prudhvi Raj Kandepi's head, thus ensuring that a man he had never met before, known nothing of, would never get up again.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances