If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
On the night of July 5, the Tigers launched their first kamikaze operation. Miller took the wheels of the explosive-packed truck, smiled at everyone as he turned the ignition key and drove it slowly towards the Sri Lankan military camp. A few moments later all of Jaffna heard a thunderous explosion that brought the complex crashing down in clouds of dust. Miller had given birth to a deadly tactic that Prabhakaran would employ time and again with devastating consequences to Sri Lanka -- and India. A fascinating excerpt from M R Narayan Swamy's must read new book, The Rout Of Prabhakaran.
Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
'I came into politics to bring a smile on people's faces.'
'Fearlessness, courtesy, humour, wide interests and wisdom, deep commitment to science and technology, passion for the environment, objectivity and the ability to see many things through not only a national but also an international prism.'
Could this reluctance be tied to the family's projection of themselves as the last bastion of the aam-aadmi's interests? Do they fear that a full disclosure of their not-inconsiderable assets would go against their carefully-cultivated pro-poor image, wonders Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
On the 25th anniversary of the battle that made his war cry 'Dil Maange More' part of national lore, we republish that feature to salute Captain Batra's ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
The President in his book,The Turbulent Years:1980-9, has written about the conversation he had with Rajiv Gandhi in a bathroom about prime ministership.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
She charged that a high drama of sacrifice had been enacted, knowing that an Ordinance merely to protect her position would draw severe flak and not pass muster.
"Congress is the biggest party in the UPA. There is no question of NCP, Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam or Rashtriya Janata Dal or any other party coming close to their numbers and if tomorrow Congress decides to nominate Mrs Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, it's not a question for NCP to decide," NCP General Secretary Praful Patel said.
"I am sure Mrs Gandhi will get a very warm reception in Pakistan," Kasuri said when asked about President Pervez Musharraf's invitation to Sonia to visit Pakistan.
For reluctant optimists like me, there are still some inconvenient truths. I believe that the time has come for India to follow the example of China who, in Sonia Gandhi's words, has 'shown the world how much could be achieved with pragmatism, clarity of vision.'
Joginder Tuteja lists April's theatre releases.
After covering the biggest wedding of the year, Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani was invited to the reception specially held for the media.
'When I was working on this story, Vicky was not really in my mind because we had to show the journey from 20 years to 60 years.'
'My statements are on record. There is no change in my stand,' the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief told Karan Thapar's 'Hardtalk' programme on BBC.
Sonia Gandhi is the most reserved leader in Indian politics and it was delightful to see Rahul get all affectionate with her, provoking his mother to mildly tick him off.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has directed his cabinet secretary to establish the facts behind claims that Margaret Thatcher's government may have helped Indira Gandhi plan Operation Bluestar in 1984.
Bollywood loves number games. And not just the rat race kind. There's a slew of movies with numbers in their title.
Agricultural exports to date have to be undertaken under a quota system. Thus the government till recently was the final and only authority on what the farmer could get for his labours.
'Tributes to India's former Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi Ji on her birth anniversary,' Modi tweeted.
'Actually, the RSS is deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable with Gandhi as well as also Ambedkar, but it is not politically wise to oppose these two.' 'So Nehru is the main and only target.'
Deluded by their visions of a grand future, Delhi's rulers seem incapable of bridging the gap between illusion and ground reality
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
'Being authoritative is one thing -- Nehru was that -- but being authoritarian is quite another -- the current prime minister is clearly one.'
'Khalistanis can be divided into three categories: Firstly, hardcore ideological people. They are microscopic, not even 1%.' 'Secondly, those who consider Khalistan a business.' 'The third category that has built the narrative of Khalistan are those who gain from polarisation.'
B D Pande was Punjab's governor during Operation Bluestar. In this excerpt from his memoir, In the Service of Free India: Memoir of a Civil Servant, Pande reveals what really went on behind the scenes during those dark days in India's history.
The original Mrs Gandhi -- Indira -- had delivered a second successive election victory for the Congress in 1971 but before that she had to win a war. The reigning Mrs Gandhi -- Sonia -- has also led the Congress to consecutive poll successes (in 2004 and 2009) but she hasn't had to go so far as to fight an external war, though there have been many domestic battles, writes Kidwai, whose second book on Sonia Gandhi, 24 Akbar Road, is soon to be released by Hachette Books
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
Michel, who was extradited from Dubai recently, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 and sent to a seven-day custody of the agency over money-laundering charges in the scam by a court.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
She had to cut short her roadshow in Varanasi after she was taken ill. She had fractured her left shoulder during the roadshow.
