"For the next 25 years we need to focus on the five resolves - developed India, removing every trace of bondage from our mind, taking pride in our glorious heritage, unity, and fulfilling our duties," he said.
Amid a raging debate over intolerance, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday deplored "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought by "some violent extremist groups" and shared the view that it was an "assault on the nation".
'It is from her that present-day political stalwarts continue to draw lessons on testing the limits of Constitutional democracy, and whose slogans even her party's staunchest opponents imitate even after over 30 years of her death,' says Veenu Sandhu.
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.
Trump can afford to say that COVID-19 is a 'China virus', but we can't expect Modi to say that aloud while his actions may speak louder, says Rup Narayan Das.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the grandson of the late Vijaya Raje Scindia, quit the Congress on Tuesday along with 22 MLAs, putting the 14-month-old Kamal Nath-led government in deep crisis. "His grandmother Vijaya Raje, once a close confidant of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the great grandfather of Rahul Gandhi, had started her political innings in 1957 from the Congress. However, she left the party in 1967.
The statement comes in wake of the new testimony of student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, in which he said that he was beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers' robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on February 17.
We bring to you some of the best pictures from across the nation in the last one week.
Members from Opposition and treasury benches had a heated exchange of words in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on foreign soil that he wanted to clean the dirt of 60 years forcing three adjournments in the pre-lunch session.
When elected on July 18 -- which is almost a certainty, given the NDA's numbers in the electoral college -- Droupadi Murmu will be the first President born after Independence.
'The Panchsheel Agreement is unique in the annals of international relations as it stands out as a bizarre illustration of a prime minister trading his country's crucial national interests solely to buffer his personal international image,' feels R N Ravi.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah said Pakistan would not have been holding a part of Kashmir and Article 370 would not have existed had Sardar Vallabhai Patel handled the Kashmir issue.
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
The White House said that the US-India partnership has come a long way in the past eight years, but the best is yet to come.
'He has sacrificed a lot. Always done something for others. But never asked for anything in return.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com recounts the history of the Indian flag and how it has evolved over the years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month will be undertaking one of the longest ever abroad visits by an Indian head of government in recent times. He is scheduled to be on a nine-day, three-nation visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji from November 11 to 19. Later in the month, he will be in Nepal to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit on November 26-27.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's worldview sets him apart
Removal of this status means India can now enhance customs duties to any level on goods coming from Pakistan.
In the event of a Chinese attack on Arunachal, troops and equipment from mainland India will travel on the existing south bank railway till Bogibeel, cross the Brahmaputra on the new bridge and then head further east on the Strategic Rail-Road Link, once it is ready.
'He was always opposed to a form of nationalism that was narrow, selfish and arrogant.' 'He will always remain a beacon of inspiration for freedom-loving people across the world and for movements of resistance against oppressive State power.'
8 instances when Indian movies and Web shows were neck deep in trouble!
'India, he announced, is a "free, open, inclusive region" committed to the "common pursuit of progress and prosperity".' 'Prosperity yes. But free? Open?' 'Ask the Dalit tanner, the Muslim butcher, the Christian priest who writes pastoral letters.' 'Ask cattle traders of any religion or a Delhiwallah who enjoys a juicy steak.' 'Ask a Muslim who falls in love with a Hindu or vice versa,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Here are a few interesting facts about the 152-year-old cemetery in whose 624 acres the dead of the nation's conflicts are buried.
In his reply to the debate over the bill, the home minister rejected the charge that it is 'unconstitutional', 'divisive' or 'anti-Muslim'.
'Hope is about being more accepting of each other, the kind of solidarity and friendship that even our families may not be able to give.'
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Germany on Monday to demand declassification of files relating to the freedom fighter's mysterious disappearance in 1945.
The Congress president said that if he was allowed to speak for 15 minutes on a host of issues, including the Nirav Modi scam, PM Modi would "run away".
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
'Given his stint in Beijing, as India's longest serving ambassador there and that too through some challenging and interesting times, Jaishankar ought to have been appointed as foreign secretary in 2013 itself,' says Sanjaya Baru.
Accusing the erstwhile Congress governments of pursuing "vote bank politics", PM Modi reached out to the numerically significant Nishad community in Uttar Pradesh
'Hum karan poochtey rahe avishvas ka, karan nahi bata payey to gale pad gaye'
Calling for attention to cases of sexual violence against women and girls in India, UN Resident Coordinator in India Renata Dessallien said the alleged rape and murder in Hathras and Balrampur are a reminder that those from disadvantaged social groups are at greater risk of gender-based violence.
'What will be achieved by the prime minister's condemnation of each and every unfortunate incident? Will just the PM's condemnation bring about closure to these cases,' asks Sudhir Bisht.
If he doesn't win next year, it will set back the party's prospects in 2024. If he wins, it will be seen as his win as much as the BJP high command's, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The president made a special mention of the threat to the environment and asked all citizens to take care of it for future generations.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley leaves for Tokyo on Sunday evening for a security dialogue with Japan, a visit that acquires huge significance after North Korea's hydrogen bomb test on Sunday morning.
The Wednesday talks took place amid a war of words between the two sides on perception of the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border spanning a length of nearly 3,500 km.
As the longest serving woman chief minister who ruled the city state for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, Dikshit ushered in an era of all-round development that transformed Delhi into a world class capital.
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