'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.
India's military prowess and multi-hued images of the country's rich cultural diversity and achievements in various fields were on display at the majestic Rajpath on Tuesday during 67th Republic Day parade which was graced by French President Francois Hollande as the chief guest.
'All enemy positions lay exposed, providing immense information to the Indian Army and IAF to conduct successful flushing out operations.'
The Jammu and Kashmir Police recently arrested five suspected "white-collar jihadis" who were behind a campaign to spread falsehood about the sovereignty of the country.
No nation is fully sovereign to do what it wants to do in the face of opposition from others, points out Aakar Patel.
Rocket Boys offer an overwhelming experience to me and many others who saw Homi Bhabha in action at Trombay, observes Dr K S Parthasarathy, former Secretary, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
The former president will have two funerals -- a state funeral at the National Cathedral and a local funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston.
'Often reviled, mostly ignored, sometimes venerated, he has taken it all in his stride.' 'He has stood by the nation through thick and thin,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The lessons learnt from the triple disaster have put Japan's energy future On the right path,' notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
As the China factor enters the body politic of India with greater potency, its consequences will certainly be far-reaching, note Harsh V Pant and Vinay Kaura.
Major Bikramjeet Kanwarpal succumbed to COVID-19 on May 1. After retiring from the Indian Army, the major became a successful actor in films and television. An old friend salutes a wonderful human being.
'Was he afraid that his answers during cross-examination would land him in trouble under the new ruling dispensation?'
Air Commodore Nitin Sathe discovers how the IAF trained Pakistani air force pilots, during the 1971 War, which led to the birth of the Bangladesh air force.
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
Twenty two years before Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army streams on Amazon Prime on January 24, 2020, his documentary of the same name was telecast on Doordarshan. On that occasion, Kabir Khan spoke to Amberish K Diwanji/Rediff.com about Netaji's Azad Hind Fauj and its many battles for India's freedom.
'My mother is a lady with a lot of emotional stability and strength. And wisdom.' 'When I was younger, she would tell me that if I ever refused water to anyone, I would have to drink gutter water.' 'When I grew up, she would say, "Be liberal when you know what you are talking about, and be conservative when you don't".'
Stalin, like his father M Karunanidhi did in 2004, may play the king-maker in a way -- not the king, unless the 2024 post-poll circumstances throws up a situation where he alone becomes acceptable to the rest, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Opposition to tri-service structures comes not just from bureaucrats and politicians as the generals like to lament, but equally from within the military. Neither the army, navy or air force chiefs want to relinquish control over their theatre commands, with these cutting edge units placed under some commander who reports elsewhere, says Ajai Shukla.
The Japanese prime minister's visit to the memorial in Hawaii, the spot that was bombed 75 years ago, shows that it is possible for two powerful former enemies to transcend recriminatory impulses, observes Rajaram Panda.
An insecure political class, with little knowledge of the military, has unquestioningly internalised the fear that a powerful tri-service chief would threaten democracy, says Ajai Shukla.
A photo symbolising "love and compassion" of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent "hug curtain" has been named the World Press Photo of the Year. This year, according to organisers, 74,470 images were submitted for judging, made by 4,315 photographers from 130 different countries. World Press Photo has been kind enough to allow to share some of this year's winning photos here with you.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and his party feel that they have a fighting chance in Bangalore. The crowd that gathered for his road show comprised both supporters and curious onlookers.
'We need to retell this history from many different perspectives.'
'Child rape and sexual abuse have become a moral epidemic that haunts our nation and we can no longer remain silent spectators.'
I tried to reason in my mind that wouldn't beating Pakistan again and again -- in the league matches and in the knockouts if they made it -- be a better tribute to our martyred soldiers? A revealing excerpt from Vinod Rai's Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings In The BCCI.
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
The OTT scene is buzzing with hot new shows for your viewing. Sukanya Verma offers a list of everything you shouldn't miss.
'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Ahead of his two-day maiden visit to Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was looking forward to it with a great sense of "enthusiasm and delight" as the two sides readied a host of pacts to be signed including one on enhancing connectivity.
;The world paid a heavy price for the megalomania of the Third Reich's fuehrer.' 'Will it pay a similar price for the ambitions of China's leader-for-life?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
Kapil Dev's historic World Cup win wasn't the only highlight of 1983. Sukanya Verma looks back how the year treated Bollywood.
'Magnanimity and appeasement have no place in the world of realpolitik as India has learned the hard way,' notes Vivek Gumaste in the first of a two-part column.
'The awareness of how big my father's sacrifice came to me when we went for the Republic Day parade and my mother received the Ashok Chakra,' Rukmini Vasanth, whose father Colonel Vasanth Venugopal was killed in action fighting terrorists, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
When the prime minister was offering floral tributes to Patel, flower petals were also showered on the world's tallest statue by an Indian Air Force helicopter.
Here are highlights of the 68th Republic Day parade.
'Somehow the Flying Sikh has endured in people's memory.'
United States President Barack Obama led the nation in remembering the victims of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks as well as all American soldiers who laid down their lives in subsequent wars in the 12 years since the tragedy.
'If you destroy the assets in Pathankot, you degrade the combat potential of India; you degrade the war potential of India.'
'The fatal mistake for the USSR was the invasion of Afghanistan.' 'Quite possibly the fatal mistake for the Chinese empire is the assault on Ladakh,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
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