'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'
'Every strongman leader is faced with the same opportunity: Harness the increased societal panic to amass more power,' warns Mihir S Sharma.
To outgoing Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao, negotiating big deals was an art form, as an international report pointed out after the $130-billion sale of Vodafone's 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless, says Nivedita Mookerji.
Undergraduate courses indicatively cost S$23,000 to S$38,000, while postgraduate courses approximately cost S$15,000 to S$40,000.
"On July 4th, 1776, a small band of patriots declared that we were a people created equal -- free to think and worship and live as we please. It was a declaration heard around the world -- that we were no longer colonists, we were Americans, and our destiny would not be determined for us; it would be determined by us," Obama said in his address to the nation on occasion of America's independence day.
The officials said the freed Taliban leaders include Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid, who had served as the insurgent group's governors of Kunar and Nimroz provinces respectively during the Taliban administration before it was deposed by the US-led forces in 2001.
'This includes increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights activists and journalists'
Declining urgent hearing, the top court observed that judges have more cases 'than they can handle'.
With the BJP continuing to be the constant combatant, centrifugal pressures will rise. Fractured relations between the Centre and the states as between BJP and non-BJP ruled states is a sizeable risk owing ahead, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Jaishankar noted that it would be difficult to say what will happen in the future as there are a lot of "contradictions and frictions" out there today.
Gupta has expressed an intent to buy Port Talbot, Britain's biggest steelworks
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'Where have we failed, as parents, teachers and leaders, that our children have forgotten all tenets of decent behaviour and respect for women?' President Pranab Mukherjee asks the nation on the eve of Republic Day.
The 12th seeded Rojer and Tecau, who rallied from a set down to upset top seeded Henri Kontinen and John Peers in the semi-finals, needed just 86 minutes on a sunny Arthur Ashe Stadium court to add the US Open championship to the Wimbledon title they won in 2015.
Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kumar Tripathi granted liberty to Pachauri to withdraw his plea and move a fresh application before the metropolitan magistrate having territorial jurisdiction of the case.
'But one of the important things to remember is that what we are seeing today in India -- the destruction of the forests, the opening up of the forests to mining companies.' 'It's a horrifying thing that's going on.' 'Yet, if you look at who owns the mining companies, you will see that almost always they are vegetarians!' 'They are people, who in their own lives would probably not even hurt an insect, but yet have no qualms about destroying an entire ecosystem.'
Mani Ratnam is experimenting with a real-life historical in Ponniyin Selvan, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi. She was currently in police custody.
Formula One has put almost half its staff on furlough until the end of May due to the novel coronavirus with chairman Chase Carey and senior management also taking a pay cut, an F1 spokesman said on Tuesday. Sources said those on furlough were mainly employees whose work was focused on race weekend activities and who could not carry out duties remotely. The Liberty Media-owned company employs in excess of 500 people.
Democracies avoid serious political turbulence only so long as they ensure that the relative level of inequality between the rich and the poor does not become excessively large, says Vice President M Hamid Ansari.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India alleged in the Supreme Court that the Justice Rajendra-Mal Lodha committee is trying to "run cricket" in the country by giving directions regarding match schedule, including the cash-rich Indian Premier League, which is beyond its jurisdiction.
It doesn't make sense to view the womb through the prism of religion, community and tradition, warns Shyam G Menon.
The new year will see a line of hatchbacks (including compact SUVs) hit the Indian roads. Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com offers a peek.
'Even if Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech were successful in ramping up production overnight, what happens to the capacity after the demand from India is met?' asks Sanjeev Nayyar.
India has moved down from 32nd place last year and remains classified among 'flawed democracies'.
The Indian Institute of Human Rights announces admissions to its 2-year Post Graduate Programme in Human Rights to be conducted through correspondence.
The PM said Japan and the Indian diaspora has a big role to play in India's growth story.
The people in both places have lived in a state of denial, refusing to accept the bald fact that resorting to violence against an infinitely superior force is suicidal, observes T N Ninan.
Business is down to such an extent that last year these firms could not even meet RBI's capital norm of Rs 50 million for partnerships and Rs 100 million for public and private firms in this line of business.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday invoked her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi to send a message that but for the former prime minister's 'much reviled' bank nationalisation four decades back the country's financial institutions would have been hit by the current global economic crisis. "Every passing day bears out the wisdom of that decision (bank nationalisation in 1969)," Gandhi said in her address at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
Credit rating agency Moody's changed Formula One's outlook to negative from positive on Thursday to reflect the impact of the coronavirus crisis on a global sport that has yet to race in 2020.
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of the Republic Day 2022.
Asked about the report, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "The political judgements of Freedom House are as inaccurate and distorted as their maps."
'These naval sailors should have been given due respect as freedom fighters.' 'February 18, 1946 should be as important as January 26 because that date changed everything.'
The final policy may be out only after formation of the new government, according to sources
Formula One plans to start its coronavirus-ravaged season in May after cancelling this weekend's opener in Australia on Friday and postponing the next three races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China. Confusingly, while Formula One said in a statement it expected to begin the championship in Europe at the end of May, the governing FIA's statement referred to May 1. Both may prove optimistic as the virus spreads across the continent.
'By leveraging the immense talent, passion and drive for innovation held by all members of the F1 community, we hope to make a significant positive impact on the environment and communities in which we operate'
Former president Dr Abdul Kalam has accepted an invitation of the Canada-India Foundation (CIF) to be the chief guest at their gala dinner on April 18 at Toronto's 'Liberty Grand' when this newly minted advocacy group will award Sam Pitroda their 'Chanchlani Global Indian Award'. The award will be in the form of a unique trophy accompanied with $50,000 that will go to the charity of the award recipient's choice, said CIF Convener Ajit Someswar.
This year's Padma awards took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on Monday. Mohanlal Viswanathan, Prabhu Deva and Shankar Mahadevan have been conferred with honours. Take a look.
'It is especially discouraging for young people in the development sector. I've noticed that many of them are actively considering other career options to escape this atmosphere.' Geetanjali Krishna reports.
