'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
What differentiates one person from another is how well they can effectively utilise their skill and knowledge.
'Narendra Modi has had very good luck. Firstly, the fall of oil prices. You don't get that very often in your life and you certainly don't get that often when you are in government.' 'Secondly, the fantasy of Indian reforms has led to very strong capital inflows to have made his job much, much easier.' 'You ride the winds in times of fortune and he hasn't done that. At least, not yet.' 'Those winds of fortune which are blowing your way can certainly turn around easily. There are quite a few headwinds coming up. He may well, history will show, have missed the opportunities that existed.'
ITC is one of those few enterprises in the world that has traversed a 100 year journey and has yet managed to remain contemporary, relevant and competitive.
'The Indian Army served with honour and distinction in France and Flanders, East Africa, Gallipoli, Aden, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Transcaspia, Persia and even China.' 'The sacrifice of India's soldiers was consigned to the dustbin of history in the post-colonial world.'
Unless the judges factor in the ungovernability of technologies and their beneficial owners, present and future Presidents, prime ministers, judges, legislators and officials handling sensitive assignments may become redundant with reference to their age-old roles for securing 'national resources and assets', warns Dr Gopal Krishna.
Shalini Krishnan discovers the amazing talent and creativity of tribal children in Odisha.
Its new industrial policy appears to benefit industrial houses
It will be difficult for the Indian equity to outperform overall growth to the extent bullish observers expect.
During last week's Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama asked the media to leave and then screened videos depicting plausible scenarios pertaining to nuclear terrorism.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
Though Muslims have been trusted allies of Jats since the days of former Prime Minister Charan Singh, experts feel the alliance has had its share of strains following his death in 1987
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
A number of studies and statistics prove that marital rape is a reality in India. But laws that do not acknowledge this are another reality that a large number of married women are forced to live with.
If your child is spending too much time online, an Internet de-addiction clinic can help him or her use technology in a healthy manner, reports Indulekha Aravind.
'I have been offered the main lead many times now, including romantic and action hero roles. But they're not interesting. I want to do films like Aandhi, Angoor, Ram Aur Shyam, Mela, Deewar, Zanjeer and Sholay but I don't have a plan.' Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub gets ready for the next level.
'The question remains: Was the Obama visit truly a success? Only the future will tell us if the "breakthrough" in the nuclear liability issue will concretise into electricity.' 'As importantly, it will be interesting to watch how India's relations with China will evolve in the months to come.'
With big dreams and high hopes of earning lakhs or even crores, more and more youngsters are getting into software development for smartphones.
High fiscal deficits raise inflation which hits the lowest income and salaried classes.
Rahul Gandhi has taken the fight to the Modi government, feels Milan Vaishnav. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
'If 17-year-old Modi wanted to get out of the marriage, which was imposed on him by a socially backward society and his family, it's not only ethical but his right to walk out of the forced marriage...' 'Jashodaben, a highly conservative woman who understandably, by the social standards of India of the 1960s, opted to remain confined to the marriage instead of kicking Modi out from her life for not starting the marriage in the real sense...''In spite of media pressure, if she does not speak against Modi, it suggests that Modi has not ill-treated her or exploited her after parting ways.' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt speaks to people in the know about the controversy over Narendra Modi's marriage.
The president outlined the government's agenda in the coming financial year in his customary address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament.
From Narendra Modi's victory in 2014 to the Nitish-Lalu triumph in 2015 and delivering Assam to the BJP in 2016, young and very professional strategists have startled politicians and the media.
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Can the leaky public distribution system, or PDS, deliver the subsidised grain to two-thirds of the population?
'J&K continues to have the highest concentration of military personnel anywhere in the world and the alienation of the Kashmiri has increased in the last ten years than ever before.'
The third and final part of BJP president Amit Shah's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
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 name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'By extending its support to the LeT, China is not helping the cause of containment and eventual destruction of radicalism and terror.'
'If the US-Pakistan relationship continues to suffer, Pakistan may feel it has less to lose and decide that it need not keep a leash on LeT in order to appease America.' 'A tougher US policy toward Pakistan could lead to an emboldened and strengthened LeT and JeM, resulting in more terrorist attacks in India.'
The people who know Tibet will continue to fight the good fight. Long, hard, less than hopeful, but always peaceful.
Indian economy about to take-off
Leading think tank discusses a likely Narendra Modi government and America's engagement with the man US once scorned. Aziz Haniffa reports
The founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition first attracted attention in the US as the "Punjabi tycoon" who was a huge supporter of Narendra Modi in the US. 'He will be best for India. There is no better ally for the US than India in the region,' Shalabh Kumar tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'They must take the bull of conservatism within their own ranks by its horns as much as they need to speak out against the fallacies of the non-Hindutva (or 'Muslim-friendly') political forces as well,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
Shuvajit was confident of making a huge difference in the lives of people in rural India.
'Let me talk about young Indian startups with their hearts in the right place and how they are proving that innovations that represent 'affordable excellence' -- breaking the myth that 'affordability' and 'excellence' cannot go together -- is indeed possible!' says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, in this fascinating feature.
The growth story of India depends on its achievements in the S&T sector. There is a need to revolutionise the landscape of Indian science and technology and this is only possible if the scientific community is allowed to work 'professionally and scientifically' without burdening them with the baggage of the past, says Ajey Lele.
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
With nearly a million identified slums, UP urgently requires housing for the poor
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