'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
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Climate change and US-India collaborations in renewable energy resources will be up for discussion at the US-India energy summit coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, DC, later this month, reports Aziz Haniffa.
The people who know Tibet will continue to fight the good fight. Long, hard, less than hopeful, but always peaceful.
On the second leg of his trip to Central Asia, Narendra Modi makes quite an impression in Astana, as he talks about terror and trade, films and the future
We asked readers if they were ever discriminated against because of their dark skin. Here are their responses.
'Many sepoys fought with distinction, winning some of the first Victoria Crosses to be awarded to Indians; and indeed, as in any army fighting under such inhumane conditions -- standing in the freezing sludge, with shrapnel tearing through bodies and being subjected to gas attacks -- some buckled under pressure.'
He said it was not only a tax reform but 'is a measure that lends strength to the new culture of honesty'.
Specially abled Sai Kaustuv Dasgupta talks about how he wants to make his life a message to all the 'wheelchair warriors'.
'Rajan brought in a healthy air of competition in the banking sector.'
Satyarup Siddhanta has just one mountain to go before he completes the Seven Summits, the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.
'So a number of people are drawn in along with members of their friends' circle or their relatives.' 'A number of individuals find that they have more in common with the 'imagined community' that they discover online as opposed to their own physical community and indeed, even the majority Muslim community elsewhere.'
'A plausible American tactic,' Rajeev Srinivasan suspects, 'would be to try and prevent the BJP and Modi from coming to power by splitting the anti-Congress vote using the AAP, and in case that fails, to follow up with a Plan B to make India ungovernable, to create mass conflict through their agents.'
'I've seen the craze for English education even among the poorest. But that is only for their sons. Parents feel thrilled when they see their sons going to school wearing a tie. They don't mind paying for their sons' private tuitions too.' 'But daughters are sent to municipal schools, madarsas, small schools where teachers with no teaching skills are paid Rs 2,000 or Rs 4,000. That's why more girls come to my class.' Syed Feroze Ashraf, who has sent 500-odd girls (and a few boys) -- all first generation learners, children of grave-diggers, hawkers, rickshaw-drivers, tailors and watchmen -- to college, speaks to Jyoti Punwani. A Rediff.com Special.
An active politician for over four decades, Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday completed one year in office as a copybook President, a period that was marked by proactive steps within and outside Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Today, it is modish to be part of a yoga class, to post stories on Instagram while striking an impressively complex asana in a bralette and crop-top paired with neon yoga pants, to bond over green tea and yoga bars after a strenuous session at the studio and have subscriptions to yoga studios, not ashrams, says Manavi Kapur.
'Muslims, like people of all other faiths, are quite comfortable with the idea of nationalism and democracy today. But are they following Islam in its spirit? That is a different question.'
"We should make it clear to Pakistan that any LeT attack upon our homeland, they will bear responsibility for that because of their close relationship between ISI and LeT," Congressman Peter King said during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Moved by three-year-old Aylan Kurdi's death, Vidhya Ramalingam has kick-started a crowd-funding campaign to buy a rescue ship for immediate action in the Mediterranean.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan came down heavily on Congress leaders for "persistently and willfully obstructing the House" and suspended them for 5 days. The members who have been punished include a president's son, ex-chief ministers' sons and an ex-CM's grandson. Rediff.com brings you the complete list.
Humanitarian intervention has little meaning unless the international community is willing to engage in the aftermath, says Shyam Saran.
How can 'first food' meet the challenge posed by factory-made 'fast foods' which are backed by marketing money and often come with 'traditional taste' tags attached to them? The first step would be to preserve knowledge about first foods, says Dinesh C Sharma.
'Amitabh Bachchan told me, "I don't appreciate other people doing my voice".'
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
In most cases, the payback on energy saving projects offered by GIBSS are between one and three years.
There are lessons to be learnt from the Uttarakhand tragedy. Topping the list is the need to immediately stop mindless construction activity in the Himalayan hills, says Nitish Priyadarshi
South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit to India will enhance economic and military ties between the two countries and give the relationship a strategic dimension, says Jiye Kim.
Aseem Chhabra is heartbroken that India overlooked the acclaimed film, The Lunchbox, as its Oscar nominee.
'Consider this image of today's youth in Bihar -- armed with a bike, a smartphone and possibly some illegal arms too, imbibing incessant stream of images from the Internet and television.' 'Some of them would turn into gau bhakts, some would listen with interest the exploits of Salafism, dig deep into the Internet to come out with images which cry vociferously that their respective religions are in danger.'
'A participant in many rounds of the border talks with China once told me that China seemed not interested in resolving the border issue as it wanted to keep it as a ready excuse to intervene in the sub-continent,' says Colonel (retd) Anil A Athale.
India's commitment to an open and plural security architecture attests to the fact that Asia's transition is a dynamic of both power & identity, says Zorawar Daulet Singh
Bollywood's Badshah turns 50 on November 2, and it's time to celebrate his life and movies.
'Your constant reiteration on the lack of religious freedom in India has sown doubts about the kind of information that you are being fed and based on which you seem to be making adverse references to India and its tradition of religious tolerance.'
We take a look at Time magazines top world leaders.
'As Rai spoke, in an unbelievably dead pan, almost off-the-cuff tone, about helping plan the murder of two youngsters, drugging them with vodka and whiskey spiked with dava (medicine), smothering one, dragging a body in rigor mortis out of a car, burning a corpse, destroying evidence, and so on, it felt like he was discussing nothing more surprising than the intricacies of the weather.'
'It is a pattern of behaviour of the Chinese that whenever a Chinese leader visits India or an Indian leader visits China, some incidents take place.' 'When Modi visits China, we should look out for some similar demonstration by the Chinese.'
Attacking the note ban move, Yechury said the PM's assertion that it will impact terror funding has not yielded any result.
In a candid conversation Indrani Mitra, educationist Sunanda Sanyal explains why many intellectuals like him are disillusioned with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The chief of America's Federal Communications Commission is not a fan of net neutrality. So what's his vision of communications and digital policy in these times?
'If, as appears to be the case, India is on way to 'mending fences' with China, and China is equally desirous to 'reset' the relationship, this could be a self-reflexive moment in India's positioning vis-a-vis not just the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan issue and China as a whole,' points out China expert Alka Acharya.
My goal is to implement the Sevak project all over India and make the villages true Gandhian villages -- self sustainable in every way, including health, says Dr Thakor Patel, head of the American Association of Physician of Indian Origin's Public Health Committee. Aziz Haniffa reports
