Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.
A lot of people only associate him with his music. And, obviously, he's a great musician. But Rahman, above all else, is a living example of spiritual equilibrium and intrinsic human goodness. A fascinating excerpt from Krishna Trilok's Notes Of A Dream: The Authorized Biography Of A R Rahman.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal condemned the fatwa and directed police to provide security to the singer.
The time is nigh for India to ensure that investment by its former citizens is encouraged by protecting their rights, says C B Patel.
.jpg)
We have in UP today the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party representing the two extremes in a bid to capture power in this huge state that returns 80 members to Parliament, says Seema Mustafa.
'The timing is a little suspect.' 'Could it be, just be, a convenient tool to wield months ahead of a hyper-crucial state election, judge if its efficacy in sending out its subliminal message is intact, and accordingly decide the future course of action on the long but quick road to 2019?'
The Maoist-infested state needs a visionary leader and Hemant Soren is definitely not one, opines Aditi Phadnis
Political and communal divide in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed such proportions that even the horrifying rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl is not bringing society together, writes Athar Parvaiz.
'The original dream of people like Faiz was that Pakistan would be something different from the old India: Progressive, forward looking, democratic (if not socialist), tolerant, diverse and pluralistic.' 'I don't think anyone foresaw the catastrophe that Partition was to become.'
'Modi took to the dais and said he would like to step down as chief minister over the riots.' 'Immediately, people from several sides got up and said there was no need to do so.' 'Whether it was orchestrated or not, Shourie wasn't sure.' 'But, according to him, Vajpayee felt that it was a coup.'
Of late, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been concentrating on Uttar Pradesh, where he has held four rallies over a span of one month. Clearly, this was a departure from the routine as UP was not even among the states where assembly elections were being held currently.
Nine young men killed in police firing last August have become symbols of oppression of the tribals of Manipur.
'I assume Ramachandra Guha's neglect of this aspect of Gandhi grows out of the belief that Gandhi's life had no central text,' says Rudrangshu Mukherjee, professor of history, Ashoka University.
Shehla doesn't and has never shied away from talking the tough talk and walking the tough walk, says Gurmehar Kaur.
'A war is being fought in South Kashmir.' 'Do not underestimate your enemy, be sensible and cautious and be prepared for the worst if you choose to move in the region unprotected,' advises Sanjeev Nayyar.
'Mercifully, the Supreme Court is currently playing the role of the elderly wise to prevent wrong-doing,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'There are a lot of things to make the series The Night Of relevant.' 'The decision to make it -- not only South Asian, but Pakistani Muslim -- is intensively relevant with what's going on today.'
Calculated or otherwise, if Azhagiri's firing of the first salvo after Karunanidhi's death does not create some space for him to politico-electorally exploit at a later date, there may not be any space left for him at all, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
"In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
'...by stopping its promotion of turmoil, its aid and abetment to militancy.' 'Mr Vajpayee paved the road for peace by engaging Pakistan tirelessly while also reaching out to Kashmiri leaders and people at large.' 'Like so often in the past, this government does not have a policy. No consistency in approach.'
Narendra Modi speaks to CNN's Fareed Zakaria in his first interview after becoming prime minister. The excerpts
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS set up a stall to sell chicken meat as a symbolic protest, whereas Shiv Sena workers tore off the civic body notices.
Any city that imposes a ban on food of any kind to appease the sensibility of a particular religion has lost any right to be called cosmopolitan and progressive, feels Tanmaya Nanada
For the Congress, the Janata Dal-United has made up for the numbers in case the Samajwadi Party discontinues its support to the UPA government, reports Renu Mittal
The module was in touch with foreign handlers, whose identity is yet to be established, NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal told reporters.
.jpg)
Narendra Modi has expressed readiness for a probe by any government agency to be completed within 30 days into charges by Congress leaders that he had spent Rs 10,000 crore on poll publicity and offered to write to the Election Commission himself in this regard.
'Loss of faith in the fairness of the system and the perception that one cannot expect justice are the first few steps to the slippery slope of anarchy,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If Muslims who are 20 percent of UP's population feel the SP has no future they will go with the BSP. Even if 10 percent Muslim vote goes to the BSP every equation will change.'
'It's not only holy reverence that drives them to such vigilantism -- there is adventure too.' 'Some of the younger gau rakshaks enjoy the thrill of the chase: Stopping vehicles, wielding weapons, badgering passengers and then gloating.'
'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The monumental first Modi wrought in 2014, followed by the miracle in Uttar Pradesh, is not a matter for celebration, but an ominous warning of the perils ahead.' 'There are 5 areas which Modi has to address immediately and relentlessly if he has to live up to all that the people are taking him for,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Devanik Saha wonders if saffronisation of India is on the rise
Dana Majhi's walk home is a shrivelling indictment of our humanity and of our priorities.
Uproar was witnessed on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha as several parties got together to demand a resolution to condemn Israeli raids in Gaza Strip but the government did not oblige.
The real danger in India is not majoritarianism but minorityism, a bane we have already experienced. Majoritarianism in the India context means plurality and tolerance. No one needs to fear, says Vivek Gumaste
Why Dalit leaders cross over to the BJP
His recent walkout from Chief Justice Dipak Misra's court earned him critics in courts. 'Yet, even the senior-most judges give him the respect that he deserves.'
Criticising the decision, the party also said it was a fight between forces 'rejecting democracy' and voices 'rescuing democracy'.
'The challenges of the world are too great for any one religious tradition to address alone... The best way to learn about other religions is not from books, but from people... Go talk to someone from a different faith tradition. Get to know them. Build up some trust.' Dr Katharine Rhodes Henderson, who jointly won Hofstra University's Guru Nanak Prize for inter-faith champions in the United States, discusses religion and the challenges of extremism in this lively interview with Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
What happened when Indian-American cartoonist Vishavjit Singh stood outside Donald Trump's inauguration dressed as Captain America?
