'Public spirited individuals and organisations should commemorate May 10 as Kashmir Solidarity Day by taking out candlelight marches and gathering at war memorials all over the country.'
'The occasion is not just to remember Lieutenant Fayaz, but also all those who have lost their lives in Kashmir defending the Republic,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If JNU students are anti-national, why do we send in the police? Why not send in intellectuals like M V Kamath to have a debate and discussion?'
The government imposed restrictions under Section 144 CrPC in Srinagar district.
Hundreds of people trapped in floods-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir with some left marooned on rooftops and others clinging to trees are in dire need of water and food.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
She lived for two-thirds of her life in India, adopted its national cause and customs, and took an Indian passport. She served a prison sentence in Lahore as part of Gandhi's protests against an Imperial power which happened to be her motherland. Freda Bedi delighted in confounding accepted definitions of identity.
US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Pakistan addressed the issue of terrorism and also called on both - India and Pakistan to find a diplomatic solution to the violence at the border issue.
Possibly for the first time since Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called upon the nation to donate/sacrifice for the 'Bangladesh war' efforts, and also suffer blackout at nights with patience and pride, has the nation reacted so very positively to the government's diktat, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In Uttar Pradesh, believe it or not, the BJP will not be helped in the long run if the Congress collapses completely. The more regional parties are strengthened due to the decimation of the Congress, tougher will be the challenge facing both the grand old party and the BJP. Rediff.com's incomparable Sheela Bhatt continues her new election column where she reveals the ground realities in the Battle for India, as only she can. Don't miss it!
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.
"If slogans are raised on reputed campuses for fragmenting India, resolutions are made to destroy it, and if Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is hailed as a martyr, it is shameful and disconcerting," an appeal which has the consent of 33 individuals, including intellectuals and artistes, says.
The Finance Minister and senior party leader Arun Jaitley said the Congress does not deserve "even a single vote" for its promises, such as doing away with sedition law.
Ayesha Aziz has always aimed for the sky.
Mohammad Sajjad profiles Professor Riazur Rahman Sherwani, 94, versatile mind, intrepid intellectual.
'There's zero emotion and logic in anything about Baaghi 2,' says Sukanya Verma.
Local people in Bijbehara defied curfew orders and rushed out to help a group of Amarnath pilgrims whose bus collided with a truck.
'Mr Modi's next challenger/s will need to invent a new politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Rajnath Singh led the delegation of 26 MPs from 20 parties which stayed overnight in Srinagar before stopping over in Jammu this afternoon.
Rediff.com brings you glimpses of how Muslims across the globe are observing the month of fasting and the holiest period for the Islamic faith.
Kashmir was indeed in need of a messiah that summer; 70 per cent of its population aged below 31 were up in arms against the Indian State. Every nook and corner of the land brought forth stories of youngsters with crushed bodies and an unfaltering spirit.
Using phones and computers to spread rumours, jihadis are waging a new, unconventional war.
'The fabric of democracy is fraying,' says T V R Shenoy. 'It is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the North-East, but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland.'
'Local support is very important, without it the terror attack couldn't have taken place.' 'Explosives were secured, the IED was manufactured, the boy was brainwashed and converted into a suicide bomber... it takes a lot of planning and hard work.'
'In today's India very few would, of course, stand Basavanna's test. This led Professor Kalburgi to not only take on casteist and conservative forces in general, but also some powerful conservatives among Lingayats.' 'Conservatives found him polarising and some researchers disagreed with his speculations while admiring his scholarship, but he posited that culture studies and historians have to perforce join the dots, speculate, interpret, interpolate, extrapolate and take leaps to make progress even if some of them later turn out to be wrong.' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Professor M M Kalburgi, the scholar who was assassinated in Dharwad on Sunday, August 30.
'The new generation of teenagers which has taken the forefront is largely an amorphous, leaderless mass.' 'It is extremely difficult to find a representative with whom to negotiate now, unless one turns to a militant leader.'
'The Pakistani military has encouraged and supported terrorist organisations, especially in Kashmir, as a means of waging proxy war against the Indian military and the country's superior economic resources.' 'The evidence is irrefutable with the recent killing of 46 paramilitary troops being just the latest example.'
The earthquake epicentred in the Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan struck at around 2.40 pm, sending ripples across several states like Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi- National Capital Region, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
'The problem here is not that one community's deity has suddenly become another community's meal.' 'Hindus and Muslims have been peacefully coexisting with their cows for centuries now.' 'The problem here is that a section of Indians has been suddenly made to realise that it makes great political sense to degrade each one of the 170 million Muslims to a potential cow-killer, lynch a few of them to keep the heat on, polarise and win elections.'
My travels made me realise how different the ground situation and people's mindsets in the two states are. People seemed happy and secure in Tripura whilst there was only complaining and suspicion in J&K, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'She's a young, fragile, innocent girl who is put through a tumultuous journey.' 'Her fragility remains intact, and she does not metamorphose into a superwoman.' 'Alia has that vulnerability and fragility in her.'
When minnows Jammu and Kashmir defeated 40-times Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on Wednesday, it was perhaps the biggest-ever shock victory in domestic Indian cricket. Rediff.com's Vaihayasi P Daniel and Sonil Dedhia spent time with the J&K team after their stunning triumph to discover the inspiring story of how these fine cricketers turned adversity into advantage.
'People in Pakistan opened their homes and hearts to me because I was an Indian. I didn't feel alien at all and I felt as if I was in my own country.' 'I believe that there is a strong chance that the Taliban can win over Pakistan. In an era of ideological confusion these people (Taliban) thrive.' 'The Pakistani State is an enemy state not just for India but for Pakistan itself. By funding non-state actors, the Pakistani government is destroying itself.' Film-maker Hemal Trevedi speaks on her experiences when filming a documentary on Pakistani madrasas
'Zahida Amin and her group of village women have gained a better understanding of India.'
Ace cinematographer and filmmaker Santosh Sivan is delighted by the government's decision to honour him with Padma Shri.
Speaking at the inauguration and laying of foundation schemes of various schemes, Modi said, Leh and Ladakh will also be benefited by this.
When powers vested by the Finance Bill 2017 begin to get mildly used, fellow Indians living in the corporate bubble will get a faint whiff of what life can be like when you run a grocery store in the streets of Kashmir or the North East.
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.
Curfew has been lifted from Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal districts of the Valley but restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC continue in these districts
Haider is a remarkable achievement and one of the most powerful political films we've ever made, a bonafide masterpiece that throbs with intensity and purpose.
The chief minister said there is a need to take "bold measures to address the issue as the people of Jammu and Kashmir were our own".
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