Historian Romila Thapar says you can't bring history into faith.
"Take something more, no harm," this was the remark by President Pranab Mukherjee to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the customary tea party at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the civil investiture ceremony on Wednesday where 50 eminent persons were conferred Padma awards.
R K Laxman immortalised the passive, hapless common man with an uncanny perception
Exactly 50 years ago, the first Indian team, led by Manmohan Singh Kohli, reached the summit of Mount Everest. As Kohli and his team are felicitated to mark the anniversary, he reminisces on the event that continues to inspire generations of Indian mountaineers. Payal Mohanka reports
The last rites will be conducted in Mandala in Madhya Pradesh, according to his wishes.
The job placement rate for students trained by NIIT in China is over 90 per cent.' A revealing excerpt from Saibal Dasgupta's Running With The Dragon: How India Should Do Business With China.
Bajrang Punia stopped using his social media handles and asked fans to keep showing him support as he gets battled ready for the Games
The banyan tree and the green chilli; the crow and the beetle; the rose and the mango; the informality and good humour of its people... Beloved author Ruskin Bond continues Rediff.com's special series on India's treasures, and tells Archana Masih that India's wealth lies in its simple splendours.
Ram V Sutar, 89, has already created more than 200 distinct statues, many of them massive. Now, he is a leading contender for the commission to produce the world's largest statue: A 597-foot tall rendering of Sardar Patel, an independence leader who played a crucial role in uniting India's fractious states.
5 things you must know about this scientific trailblazer.
The incomparable Mohammed Rafi would have turned 93 today, December 24. Raju Bharatan salutes the legend.
Chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, who guided Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu to Olympic medals in the successive Games, says he was lucky that he wasn't good in studies and it was a flunked IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) exam that paved his way to be a successful sportsperson.
Dr Kalam, the scientist with the poet's heart, started the journey of his life from a small town in Tamil Nadu.
'By the time he gets done, he'll not only be the best player of his generation, but the best ever.' 'It'll take another 100 years for someone to break his records.'
"I am an academic and I have always made it clear that my ultimate home is in the realm of ideas," Rajan said in a letter to staff.
Sukanya Verma salutes the legend and celebrates some of the finest soundtracks of his career.
'Oscar has been given to A R Rahman.' Ringa Ringa Ringa, Choli ki peeche kya hai -- What's the difference? Exactly the same. Also, Jai ho.' 'I did Ramba ho in 1985.' 'Rahman combined three of my songs and got Best Original Score.' 'The Ho came from me.' 'Bappi Lahiri brought the Ho to Bollywood.'
How Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar find themselves in a huge controversy.
'His simple lifestyle, his optimism, his hard work and his genuine humility made him an authentic role model to millions of children, many of them growing up in challenging circumstances.'
As the legendary actor turns 60 today, we look at his finest performances in the last six decades.
R K Narayan's house has been preserved as a simple museum with his memorabilia, thanks to the imagination of a commissioner of Mysore, who stopped its sale by RKN's successors to a property developer and purchased it for the government.
'If the government has not listened to scientists, it must.' 'It's obvious that this is a science-driven campaign (fight), a science-driven situation.' 'We cannot afford to ignore the science.'
'How do you expect me to tone down my anger when the most prominent culture in India today is the culture of corruption, in every sphere of life?'
For developing technology that is at the heart of high speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems Arogyaswami Paulraj receives one of science's highest honours, the Marconi Prize 2014.
'Wherever the Delta variant is spreading, and the population is not vaccinated, there is death and devastation.'
Anupam Kher on why he thinks the prime minister is a genuine person.
'Of all the PMs of India, I had the closest relationships with Morarji and Rajiv.' Mark Tully, the most famous foreign correspondent in India, remembers some encounters with prime ministers, dictators and militants.
The retreating Pakistani troops were heading towards Dacca and they had to be stopped at all costs. The Eastern Army Commander, in his orders to General Sagat Singh, had reiterated that he did not want the troops of 4 Corps to cross the Meghna river. But General Sagat had other plans to threaten Dacca and ensure that the pressure would make the Pakistani commanders capitulate. This is where the IAF helicopters came in.
Combining affordable IT with native Indian ingenuity and entrepreneurship F C Kohli believed would enable Indian small businesses match anyone and thrive.
'Some Indians take the extreme view that everything was known to our ancients, but others go to the opposite extreme and consider everything Indian was superstition and rubbish.' 'Indian science was perhaps more rational than the European science of the time.'
Dr P K Menon, Chief Scientist and CEO, Optimal Synthesis Inc, who worked with Dr A P J Abdul Kalam early on in his career, recalls what it was like working for his first boss.
Indian scientists who wrote to the PM last week are not entirely rejecting GMOs but instead asking for caution and further testing to establish their safety.
'It's a joy working there.' 'It's good work and when you come back it gives you pleasure.' 'On returning you take a shower and look at the day and say, "Ah! Nice scenes we did!"' 'Here sometimes you are doing nothing in the day, but you are there for the shoot.' 'You come home and it can be very frustrating, with that frustration the tiredness does not go, you know.' 'Good work gives you that strength and kick.'
After a 25-year stint at ICICI Bank, Mor suddenly quit as he wanted to add more value in the bigger areas of health care and financial inclusion.
Her great grandfather began sugar co-operatives in Maharashtra. Her grandfather was an eight time MP. Her uncle is currently leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Her cousin joined the BJP on Tuesday, March 12. Nila Vikhe Patil, who could one day become prime minister of Sweden, unravels her India connections in an e-mail interaction with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Mark Tully on the India he loves.
'There could be some aberrations here and there. This has nothing to do with the government or the ruling party. The government machinery is put in action when atrocities take place. They are not sitting silent.' 'Beyond making sensational news, what purpose does returning the awards serve?'
'General J S Aurora, the commander of the Indian forces in the East, asked General Sagat Singh to withdraw his troops who were on the move to Dacca -- but he refused.' 'He said, "Jaggi, over my dead body".' 'Therefore, I say the creator of Bangladesh was General Sagat Singh.'
'The BJP has no presence where the regional parties are strong.' 'And we should think of the Congress and support the Congress in those places where it is the dominant regional party.' 'The leaders of the other parties (have to) get together on this simple principle of one candidate against the BJP candidate.'
