'Nehru knew he could not become the ruler of India unless he had Gandhi's blessing. Gandhi declared that Nehru was his political successor. He said, after his death, Nehru would speak his language. That was a kind of manipulation Gandhi did.' 'If Modi gets the whole authority in his hands, he will be able to consolidate and become a confident ruler, like the leaders of Venezuela and Cuba. But what is his vision of India? I don't think he has a clear vision.' Professor N A Karim does not hold back the punches in a no-holds-barred interview with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
Indian elections are won and lost on 'negative' imageries and campaigns - but not certainly on 'negativity' as a political trait and electoral creed, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
To mark his 50th death anniversary, rediff.com has launched a special series to evaluate Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy.
Asked about the reason behind the appointments, Sinha said they will help meet the goal to develop NMML into a centre of research as envisioned by the present government.
Remarks by Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar about how the British dealt with icons of Indian freedom struggle on Tuesday touched off a controversy, forcing him to issue a clarification.
The Congress president has resigned from more than 10 posts she has been holding.
Hegde stoked a controversy after he had attacked Mahatma Gandhi by calling the freedom struggle led by him a "drama" and also questioned as to how "such people" come to be called 'Mahatma' in India.
Chauhan, a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, said political parties governed by dynasty, family and caste politics were defeated everywhere including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the general elections.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The EAM when asked about his view of the world at present, said it would be "very grim forecast, for the next five years".
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
It is in power on its own only in three states -- Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana -- with a big question mark on whether it can even stake claim to be head of the INDIA bloc.
It seems that the West is sending a signal to India that it can return to old hostilities unless India toes their line on Russia. It is no surprise that India is being compared with Putin's Russia in terms of targeting 'dissidents' as the West calls these Khalistani terrorists, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
With the kind of money and talent that has gone into making this movie, a really good biopic of a personality like Savarkar could be made. But this film is lost in polemics, as is the case with almost every biopic and period drama today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
The Samajwadi Party is unwilling to cede ground to the BJP, especially in Amethi, since the Congress is too weak to counter the BJP's well-oiled election machinery.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday conferred Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, on former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and two-time former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, posthumously at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Exasperated over naming of popular projects after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the BJP on Tuesday asked the ruling party whether the country was devoid of any other great leader. "All new institutions and programmes are named after Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. All limits of sycophancy have been crossed by this government," BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V K Malhotra said.
The visit comes amid the campaign for the November 25 assembly polls in Rajasthan, where the Congress hopes to return to power.
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
Sidhu had promised that he would quit politics if his party president lost from Amethi, where he was contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party's Smriti Irani.
'If you post on social media on an issue like power cuts in Tral, the police will come to your home and tell you to remove your social media post.' 'If you don't, then the local police threaten you that they will book you under PSA.' 'This is happening all the time in Kashmir.'
Immediately following its ban being lifted on July 11, 1949, the RSS began debating entering politics in the pages of its house organ, The Organiser. Thus was born the Jana Sangh/BJP, points out Aakar Patel.Thus Was Born Jana Sangh/BJP, asserts Aakar Patel.
Congress had last month issued a show-cause notice to the magazine's editor Nirupam.
Indira Gandhi valued Rahul Gandhi's 'grit and determination' and often considered him mature enough to be taken into confidence on subjects she avoided discussing even with his parents when he was barely 14, according to a new book.
Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.
Congress president warns against the divisive agenda of the NDA at the Aligarh Muslim University
Accusing Bharatiya Janata Party of fanning communal flames, Rahul Gandhi, while addressing rallies in poll-bound Rajasthan on Wednesday, said the party's "politics of hatred" was damaging the country's fabric and apprehended he may also be assassinated like his grandmother and father, who had fallen victims to it.
The BJP hit back accusing the Congress of drawing the issue into political arena.
'Modiji and the BJP have hoodwinked the nation by their machinations.' 'We have not been able to convince the electorate about Modiji's deceit.'
Wouldn't it be better to join the celebrations with the vast Hindu majority while at the same time criticising Mr Modi/BJP/RSS for politicising it? notes Shekhar Gupta.
Rahul Gandhi will receivethe award for Nehru and Megawati Sukarnoputri for Sukarno.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who was clearly the party's best bet, was all set to evoke the memory of his great grandfather and former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the latter's own soil in Allahabad on Monday.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
Despite best efforts to protect Rahul Gandhi, doubts will persist about his ability to take charge. It has been privately acknowledged for some time now by Congress insiders that Rahul Gandhi just does not have what it takes to lead the party. 'The Nehru-Gandhi family is the only brand we have today. And till we can find an alternative, we will not abandon the family,' a senior Congress leader tells Rediff.com
He said the answer to the Congress' current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organisational reforms.
