No matter how much the likes of Modi brag about cleaning up politics, the goondas and the godfathers will flourish until India can deliver justice to its poor and the system can work to the benefit of ordinary Indians, says Vir Sanghvi.
'No religion sanctions what happened in that school in Peshawar. What happened there was a crime against humanity.'
As the island heads for elections, two major factors worry Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One is the division in the Sinhala vote and the other is the prospect of the Tamils and Muslims voting heavily against him.
'That will affect the economy, employment, agriculture, and ultimately, youngsters, the working class and job opportunities.'
'We could crack IM modules in the country because one arrested member would spill beans on the other.' 'With ISIS, every module is different and is possibly being handled by different operators abroad.'
The NHRC issued notice to the Union ministries of home and human resource development seeking a report over the reported ill-treatment of Kashmiri people in the aftermath of the attack.
Rashid was at the Press Club in Delhi on Monday afternoon, when three men set upon him and threw black ink on him.
'Nationalism has been defined for us. It is what the BJP and Modi bhakts decide, not me, you or Salman Khan. If you don't agree with their view, you are a Pakistani agent and an anti-national. Period. No more argument. The discussion ends there.'
The increase in violence along the Line of Control in the last few weeks indicates that despite the olive branch offered by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, hard-line elements in Islamabad are in no mood to become friendly with India.
Indian Members of Parliament have written to President Barack Obama, urging the US Administration to maintain the current policy of denying visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
BJP's best bet lies in the TDP and the TRS striking a deal with the Congress and framing the battle as a UPA versus NDA clash, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.' Former NSG chief Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kokrajhar, speaks to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about last week's carnage in Assam.
'Quiet back channel advice will probably be rendered by Saudi Arabia to India that international perception on both issues does not favour India and that it should be prudent to look inwards and introspect on where the failing has been,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.
'Let me narrate the background as to why Siddaramaiah was taken from my party to the Congress.' 'He belongs to a particular backward community. So by taking Siddaramaiah from my party, it was going to be more advantageous for the Congress.' 'Whatever may be the merits and demerits of the caste equation, it is a consideration for all the parties.' 'The BJP is also playing the caste guard.'
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.
It was the first reasonably free and fair national election held there since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgling National League for Democracy won a landslide victory.
'Nitish's claims of development are false. He has only helped corrupt officials.' 'I want to remind Lalu that this is not the 1990s. This is 2015.' 'I am a bahubali for those looting society.'
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.
He said it would have been impossible for parties with 'opposing political ideologies' to form a stable government.
'The HRD minister said AMU was not a minority institution. I told her the matter would be settled in court.' 'The prime minister did not say anything so categorical. He heard me out very sympathetically. His body language was very different.' 'AMU has ABVP. I did receive a letter from them asking why you are constantly brandishing your service to the country. My reply is: Why shouldn't I?' 'I served the country for 40 years and I am very proud of this service performed for my country.'
Home minister says anyone trying to disturb communal harmony will not be spared.
The past three weeks have demonstrated that the Congress is still to recover from the drubbing it received in Lok Sabha elections, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
'A fierce crusader against communalism, George joined hands with majoritarian forces, never to revisit or re-assess his saffron association.' 'He was a Union minister in 1998-2004, a time when people like Graham Staines were lynched in Orissa.' 'On the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, George went on to kind of justify the slashing of pregnant women, by saying in the Lok Sabha that this was nothing new for India.' 'Thus, he was in sharp contrast to what he had himself stood for in the heyday of his political career in the 1970s and 1980s, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Mounting pressure on embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, opposition leader Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to fight till death and asked Pakistanis to rebel against the illegal regime after two persons were killed and about 450 others injured in police crackdown on protesters.
Here's a look at some of the hashtags that trended during the first year of the Modi regime.
Authorities also released photographs of six suspects, including three women, wanted for their involvement in the attacks and sought information regarding them from the public.
By ending the Shiv Sena's political untouchability, the Congress is creating a level playing ground for itself in the political battle of Hindu identity, explains Sheela Bhatt.
The governor said he wanted polls to take place in the state and an elected government to function.
64 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed the notice for impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra under "five grounds of misbehaviour".
The Trinamool Congress sought complete withdrawal of the NRC, alleging that Indian citizens have also been left out of the final draft.
There are indications that the Modi dispensation was disinclined to bring the VHP into the temple-mosque frame.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Cabinet and inducted 21 new ministers. Of these, 4 - Manohar Parrikar, JP Nadda, Suresh Prabhu and Birender Singh were appointed as Cabinet ministers. Other than this, Modi has inducted 17 other ministers of state. Here's a quick look at them:
A Total 64,41,635 voters are expected to exercise their franchise in the first phase of polling to be held in five parliamentary constituencies Assam namely, Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur on April 7. The electorate comprise of 33, 21,567 male voters and 31, 20,067 female voters. Campaigning for the first phase has come to an end in the state on Saturday afternoon.
Dana Majhi's walk home is a shrivelling indictment of our humanity and of our priorities.
'Those who have followed politics even when there was no Twitter know what the word 'jumlebaaz' means,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
If we don't want a Hindu version of our neighbour, we must keep open minds -- even when what we hear or see is not what we like.
"What is the hurry," Modi said, while referring to Gandhi's hand gestures when he came across to PM's chair.
Given her penchant for obfuscating issues Mamata is encouraging the false perception, parroted by her political hangers-on, that all refugees from Bangladesh would face the brunt of deportation once the BJP came to power. In fact, Didi's theatrics and those of all her extras, in the last few days, have been based on propagating this falsehood, says Dr Anirban Ganguly.
'Unity in diversity is a dated notion as India, today, is more unified and cohesive and yet more pronouncedly diverse than ever in its history,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
