News for 'Intellectual Room'

Can Rita Bahuguna succeed where her father failed?

Can Rita Bahuguna succeed where her father failed?

Rediff.com10 Apr 2019

Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.

How Sangh plans to 'decolonise' education

How Sangh plans to 'decolonise' education

Rediff.com19 Apr 2017

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.

How the 'mother of all tax reforms' actually evolved

How the 'mother of all tax reforms' actually evolved

Rediff.com20 Jul 2017

In its essence, GST is a national level system of value added taxation of goods and services, says Shankar Acharya.

Shah Rukh Khan: The King's Speech

Shah Rukh Khan: The King's Speech

Rediff.com16 May 2017

Satyajit Ray's fabulous use of fantasy to condemn fascism and Shah Rukh Khan's gift of enthralling oratory, Sukanya Verma's fantastic filmi week.

Travel: A Parisian rendezvous

Travel: A Parisian rendezvous

Rediff.com6 Mar 2015

Paris is a place brimming with history, irony and a bit of discontent.

PM Modi cautions against unilateral steps in combating climate change

PM Modi cautions against unilateral steps in combating climate change

Rediff.com1 Dec 2015

PM Modi cautioned against any unilateral steps that will lead to an economic barrier in the battle against climate change as he hoped that the developed countries would mobilise aid.

Amit Shah's ship is sinking. Here's why...

Amit Shah's ship is sinking. Here's why...

Rediff.com12 Nov 2015

Amit Shah's formal leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party might have its days numbered, given the range of resentment now coming forth against him.

State of the Union: Trump announces meet with Kim; vows to build border wall

State of the Union: Trump announces meet with Kim; vows to build border wall

Rediff.com6 Feb 2019

'If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,' Trump said.

It's time for Rahul to step aside

It's time for Rahul to step aside

Rediff.com6 Apr 2017

'He should bring in a working president from outside the family.'

On 'Mission 272', BJP reaches out to Dalits, Muslims

On 'Mission 272', BJP reaches out to Dalits, Muslims

Rediff.com26 Feb 2014

In a season of political deal-making, it would seem the BJP is not only keener to win new friends but is ahead of rival Congress in the game. Its only competition, if at all, has come from regional satraps and the Left parties, which on Tuesday resolved to fight the elections together against both the Congress and BJP.

Shashi Tharoor: The Sangh does not speak for Hindus like me

Shashi Tharoor: The Sangh does not speak for Hindus like me

Rediff.com13 Jul 2018

'Must every believing Hindu automatically be assumed to subscribe to the Hindutva project?' asks Shashi Tharoor.

'Indian IT industry has to de-risk itself'

'Indian IT industry has to de-risk itself'

Rediff.com28 Apr 2017

"Protectionism is not new. The attention that is given is because there is a political and emotional element to it." TCS COO N G Subramaniam on why his company is optimistic despite global headwinds.

India's first 'books village'

India's first 'books village'

Rediff.com24 Dec 2017

Bhilar, a strawberry farming hub in Maharashtra, has been transformed into India's first 'books village'.

'Hindutva has nothing to do with Hinduism'

'Hindutva has nothing to do with Hinduism'

Rediff.com17 Nov 2018

'No civilised nation can thrive if it is possessed with the spirit of Hindutva.'

Viral Acharya needs a 'Bharat Darshan'

Viral Acharya needs a 'Bharat Darshan'

Rediff.com2 Nov 2018

'Tilting at the Government in English in front of India may make him feel like Joan of Arc, but without a feel for Bharat he will merely be Don Quixote,' says S Muraleedharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.

'They will kill her if it's a girl'

'They will kill her if it's a girl'

Rediff.com31 Jul 2017

'So they are extracting a price from me for letting me marry their son, is it? Manas, I cannot believe that you subscribe to this view of theirs. This is our child growing in me. It is part of me - girl or boy. Can I just throw it away if it is not a boy?'

Modi-Trump meet: Why I have low expectations

Modi-Trump meet: Why I have low expectations

Rediff.com24 Jun 2017

Here's why Rajeev Srinivasan believes there will be nothing particularly positive about the prime minister's US visit.

Why I think Sunny Paaji should retire as commentator

Why I think Sunny Paaji should retire as commentator

Rediff.com5 Jun 2017

'Ramchandra Guha has sent down an express delivery at Sunil Gavaskar, the great batsman who seldom wore a helmet while facing the fastest of fast bowlers.' 'Gavaskar may have easily ducked the delivery and Guha would have receded in solitude.' 'But by hitting back at Guha, Gavaskar may have started a barrage of unplayable deliveries,' says Sudhir Bisht about his cricketing hero.

The game corporate India plays

The game corporate India plays

Rediff.com15 Sep 2016

How bridge keeps corporate India sharp and quick-witted.

The house where Nehru lived

The house where Nehru lived

Rediff.com14 Nov 2014

On the occasion of the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 125th birth anniversary, Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com visits his residence of 16 years, and comes away marvelling at his enduring legacy.

Why did G K Pillai not object then?

Why did G K Pillai not object then?

Rediff.com3 Mar 2016

'Even though he knew full well that the manipulation went against the facts as he knew them, Pillai nonchalantly contented himself with stating that since the file came from the minister himself, he just passed it on as it was,' says B S Raghavan.

What The World Needs: A Fellowship of Minds

What The World Needs: A Fellowship of Minds

Rediff.com11 Nov 2015

'They don't always agree with our governments, their teachers or their parents, but it is the conviction of their ideas, and their determination to share them with the world that, I believe, is one of the greatest sources of hope for our planet.' 'The colonisation of space, understanding the very building blocks of matter and the universe, utilising our understanding of the human genome to conquer disease -- these are the tasks waiting for a fellowship of minds to realise new triumphs in our collective destiny.'

How to choose the best universities in the US

How to choose the best universities in the US

Rediff.com16 May 2015

In an online chat with readers, overseas consultant NNS Chandra shares career advice.

The shamefully archaic conversation on rape

The shamefully archaic conversation on rape

Rediff.com30 Nov 2013

Beware the 'educated' man who thinks he is on women's side, says Vikram Johri

How Trump will 'deal' with the world :)

How Trump will 'deal' with the world :)

Rediff.com14 Nov 2016

'Europe can be discussed on a golf course...' 'North Korea? What do I care what the man with the bad haircut does?'

Dancer, actress, Stanford grad: Lavanya Ashok shares her life lessons

Dancer, actress, Stanford grad: Lavanya Ashok shares her life lessons

Rediff.com9 Sep 2014

Find out how Lavanya Ashok, vice president and executive director private equity at Goldman Sachs is inspiring other women to follow their dreams too.

Bangladesh Jamaat chief gets death sentence for war crimes

Bangladesh Jamaat chief gets death sentence for war crimes

Rediff.com29 Oct 2014

Bangladesh's fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami was on Wednesday sentenced to death by a special tribunal for his role in the killing of thousands of people during the nation's independence war against Pakistan in 1971.

Ekta Kapoor: The drama queen

Ekta Kapoor: The drama queen

Rediff.com25 Mar 2016

Harvard, age and experience have changed Ekta Kapoor in ways that will stand her in good stead as she attempts the biggest transformation Balaji Telefilms has seen.

'My destiny was to write about the game'

'My destiny was to write about the game'

Rediff.com16 Aug 2017

'That has always been my ambition -- to take the reader behind the scenes, to the places he was not allowed to visit, but which I had the privilege of entering.' Haresh Pandya remembers Ted Corbett, sports journalist extraordinaire, who passed into the ages on August 9.

What connects Nehru, Modi and Kanhaiya Kumar?

What connects Nehru, Modi and Kanhaiya Kumar?

Rediff.com8 Jul 2016

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poems speak to every Indian, uniting them across political, social, religious and caste divides. They elevate; they inspire; they stir the soul and goose-bump the flesh.

What connects Nehru, Modi, Kanhaiya Kumar?

What connects Nehru, Modi, Kanhaiya Kumar?

Rediff.com8 Jul 2016

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poems speak to every Indian, uniting them across political, social, religious and caste divides. They elevate; they inspire; they stir the soul and goose-bump the flesh.

Confronting a new world order

Confronting a new world order

Rediff.com19 May 2014

India has some ability to influence what the world order will look like, but it needs to make structural changes to the ministries of external affairs and commerce, and evolve formal coordination mechanisms with the ministries of finance and home, says Nitin Pai

How the RSS plans to win Assam for the BJP

How the RSS plans to win Assam for the BJP

Rediff.com11 Apr 2016

The real brilliance of this RSS campaign, therefore, lies in building a dominant power base with, and for, a mostly non-RSS leadership. That is why the rise of the BJP in Assam is their stand-out victory, says Shekhar Gupta.

'Modi government is on its way to greatness'

'Modi government is on its way to greatness'

Rediff.com26 May 2017

'Let us not say that Modi has not delivered on anything; he has delivered something and in parts substantially, but he has to also deliver on a large number of his electoral promises.'

For Ram Madhav and RSS-BJP, Muslims will always be 'Yavana snakes'

For Ram Madhav and RSS-BJP, Muslims will always be 'Yavana snakes'

Rediff.com23 Jun 2015

BJP leader Ram Madhav's rant about Vice President Hamid Ansari's absence at the International Yoga Day celebrations goes deeper, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf, deep into their brain.

'Pakistani army officers don't want to join the ISI'

'Pakistani army officers don't want to join the ISI'

Rediff.com31 Aug 2017

'The military in Pakistan is capable and self critical, but intelligence is stuffed full of lifers who resist change, which is why career soldiers in Pakistan try with all their might not to be transferred into the ISI.'

Modi should address teachers not students

Modi should address teachers not students

Rediff.com4 Sep 2014

Why does Modi want to speak to the students while his audience should be teachers and parents, not necessarily in that order. And September 5 is not Children's Day but Teachers' Day, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.

How to stay disciplined while working from home

How to stay disciplined while working from home

Rediff.com17 Nov 2015

Do not let the advantage of flexible work hours impact your sanity.

This prize-return tamasha!

This prize-return tamasha!

Rediff.com16 Oct 2015

'This has absolutely nothing to do with Kalburgi or anybody else, it only has to do with two words: Bihar elections. It's electioneering by other means, let's save the fig leaf of morality,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.

Nobody killed Rohith Vemula

Nobody killed Rohith Vemula

Rediff.com19 Jan 2016

We need to question ourselves if we are to be implicated as well in the institutional murder of Rohith and many other Rohiths, if not bodily but in spirit, because of our complicity in naturalising this elitist, exclusionary, discriminatory-to-the-core conception of education, says Kishalaya Mukhopadhyay.