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.
As the country readies to go to polls on July 25, one can't deny the role of the military, but there are other factors too.
'Though the river is cleaner than what it was five years ago, a lot more needs to be done.'
Raj Thackeray and the MNS protested against tolls in Maharashtra to demonstrate that it still has political clout, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
As of now, just about 10 lakh people, out of the total 40 lakh, who were excluded in the draft of the NRC have submitted applications for inclusion of their names in the list of Assam's citizens.
After going through more than 78,000 photographs from over 4,700 photographers, the expert judges of the World Press Photo contest have announced the finalists of the 2019 competition. The panelists have selected 43 photographers from 23 countries to represent the best in photojournalism.
'This is obvious to everyone except those in denial; it is a national shame.' 'To that extent, blaming any particular government is an insufficient response,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
India improved its rank on six out of the 10 parameters relating to starting and doing business in a country.
Rediff.com does a quick checklist on what the two manifestos have to say on hot-button issues of the day.
Reflecting the woes of transgenders who have remained social 'untouchables' with restricted access to education and jobs, only a minuscule 2,996 transgenders in Tamil Nadu enrolled themselves in the 5.3 crore strong voters list.
The Trinamool Congress sought complete withdrawal of the NRC, alleging that Indian citizens have also been left out of the final draft.
A large number of people took out a 'solidarity march' in South Delhi on Sunday in support of Jamia Millia Islamia students and those facing police action during protests against the contentious law.
The illegal immigrants were detained in 2012 and since then they were lodged in Cachar Central Jail in Assam's Silchar.
'The BJP is taking a risk in Assam, but it may face a tough time in coming times,' says Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty.
This whirlwind of activity only confirms that rushing around creating an impression of pompous busy-ness is not the same thing as solving problems, argues Mitali Saran.
'Wayanad has become famous because of Rahul Gandhi.'
The issue at the core of it is the perceived fear among the locals of getting outnumbered and uprooted by 'others' and eventually losing their identity
Kovind may bag over 62 per cent votes but fall short of the 69 per cent votes polled by incumbent Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.
'Villages are much better prepared than towns as far as COVID-19 is concerned.'
The National Investigation Agency carried out searches at the premises of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, his NGO and a few associates for the third consecutive day on Monday, even as it blocked the website of outlawed Islamic Research Foundation founded by him.
'Given the disdain Trump has shown for our community's values and experiences, it is disappointing that a handful of wealthy, conservative donors invited him to address their friends last weekend,' say Mira Patel and Gautam Raghavan.
In his reply to the debate over the bill, the home minister rejected the charge that it is 'unconstitutional', 'divisive' or 'anti-Muslim'.
India's service sector proportionately much larger than China's, while its investment and industrial-production shares are much lower
'If the Amendment Bill 2016 becomes law, the indigenous people of Assam will become a minority and the language, literature and culture of Assam will be lost.'
Venu Muruvelil reports on the Outrage over thriving child marriages in Kerala as the state government looks the other way.
In the first part of an exclusive interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com on the eve of the first year of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, BJP President Amit Shah talks about the government's achievements and the controversy over the land ordinance.
The publishing of the NRC will not rid India from illegal immigrants who are already here. But even if it manages to withhold their political and voting rights, it will be a significant achievement, says Anand Kumar.
'The prime minister did not think that COVID-19 was a serious challenge as late as March 20.'
'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
A Delhi Police head constable, Ratan Lal, was among the nine killed in the violence that erupted on Monday over the amended citizenship law.
After a 6.5-hour debate, the upper house clears the bill. Amit Shah said the bill is not anti-Muslim and Indian minorities have nothing to fear from its passage.
'You can't take jobs to people, you have to take people to jobs.'
'EVMs are absolutely credible, they are robust.' 'It's only a calculator with certain instructions. And the sim card inside an EVM is burnt and cannot be reprogrammed.' 'Besides, the machines are circulated among various states. No machine is allowed to remain in one state after an election.' 'By far, it is one of the finest innovations India should be proud of.'
Decision will be taken in second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year chequered history.
US India Business Council has urged New Delhi and America to take steps to strengthen bilateral trade relationship to realise their 'true business potential'.
India's network has expanded at a compound annual rate of around 4% which has added more than 4.8 km of additional roads since 1951, but even so the network remains badly underdeveloped
The Nitish Kumar government has worked hard to help change the perception about Bihar by improving law and order situation and usher in development on several fronts, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat told reporters.
With many exemptions and caveats, the road-rationing system may be another disappointment in reducing Delhi's pollution woes.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'Generations pass by, but those fighting for justice are still not seeing the end to so many cases.'
