Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde arrived in Jammu for a day's visit on Tuesday to review the security situation in the wake of the increased ceasefire violations on the International Border by Pakistan.
After the Chauri Chaura incident, Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
'As engineers, as alumni and as Indians, we should be concerned about today's leadership that is making tomorrow's leaders at our IITs,' says Air Marshal P V Athawale PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd).
'We don't know what the reasons were that we gave back the Haji Pir Pass which was strategically very important. Today the entire infiltration into Kashmir takes place from that area. If we had retained that post that we had captured, things could have been different.' 'A lesson we need to learn is if you start losing the gains of war at the negotiating table, they become a disincentive for future wars,' says Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (retd), reviewing the lessons from the 1965 War.
'(Upper caste) leaders talk against the Constitution, reservations and the nation and still get away.'
'Where they lose, you never ask why they failed there, like in Bihar and Punjab.' 'You are stuck on the UP victory, thinking they have the mandate to rule for all times to come.' 'The BJP has 282 MPs, but can I honestly say that the BJP is the party for everyone?'
'I am quite optimistic that sooner or later, my wishful thinking would turn into a reality.' The only hitch is that the INC president's own career ambitions may be hurt if the Congress merges with the BJP,' says Sudhir Bisht.
On the 40th anniversary of the beginning of one of the darkest periods in our history, here are six painful facts about the Emergency.
'Is Rahul turning the Congress' covert soft-Hindutva support into overt support now?' 'And if so, following in the BJP's footsteps, is the Congress going to abandon Indian Muslims and Muslim causes altogether?' asks Dr Najid Hussain whose father-in-law former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the Gujarat riots.
Amitabh: "There is a very famous limerick that aptly describes my presence tonight, ladies and gentleman: A funny young man from Clyde In a funeral carriage was spied; When asked, "Who is dead?" He giggled and said, "I don't know; I just came for the ride."
For me, Arundhati (Chukku) Ghose was the last word on multilateral economic issues when we worked together in the ministry of external affairs on UN affairs. If her disarmament persona had not made her a celebrity in that area, she would have been known for the work she did in economic matters in different capitals. She was highly respected for her views and no one wanted to be seen on the opposite side of the argument with her. But she was always patient in explaining her position and in accommodating different perspectives, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Do the students who chanted pro-separatist slogans and their teachers/supporters want the army to withdraw from Kashmir or not fight the terrorists?
How are we allowing an entire generation to grow up with no clear sense of identity and no knowledge of their incredibly rich cultural heritage, asks Anjuli Bhargava.
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya pays tribute to her aunt Sonali Dasgupta, who eloped with filmmaker Roberto Rossellini in 1956, and then made a life in Europe.
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Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's latest film lacks clarity and coherence.
Decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant's voyage came to an end on Friday as workers at the Darukhana ship-breaking yard in Mazgaon docks in Mumbai began scrapping down the warship.
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We present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's full speech as he addressed the country on the occasion of 66th Independence Day, from Red Fort, Delhi.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called for a relook at the entire ambit of Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
'The fabric of democracy is fraying,' says T V R Shenoy. 'It is being attacked not just by terrorists in Kashmir or by zealots in the North-East, but is being ripped apart even in Allahabad, in the Hindi heartland.'
Already facing severe criticism over its poor show in the elections and now fighting for the Leader of Opposition's post in Lok Sabha, the Gandhis, the first family of Indian politics, is now facing new battles with the BJP in the form of notices being served to the family in the National Herald case. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports on the growing confrontations between the government and the shaken up family.
With President Pranab Mukherjee voicing his objection to the 'ordinance route', senior ministers met here on Tuesday to discuss how to ensure that the ordinances issued recently are followed up with legislative action in the upcoming budget session in February.
'We do not oppose any parent admitting his child to any English school.' 'We are opposed to the government grants that are to be given to such institutions.' 'If local languages are to be kept alive, at least they have to be taught at the primary level.'
The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. This plurality of our society has come through assimilation of ideas over centuries. Secularism and inclusion are a matter of faith for us. It is our composite culture which makes us into one nation.
Bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi says that it is indeed possible to 'attract' good luck!
In his fifth address as President, Pranab Mukherjee asked authorities and institutions of the State to adhere to the 'dignity' in discharging their duties.
Modi's tweets talk about the celebration of democracy and also puts emphasis on the education of girls, says Mayank Mishra
A reformed Planning Commission should reflect the diversity of Indian debate.
'In North India, brother kills brother for a small piece of land. So if the perception goes that the government has come to snatch away land, then the issue can go to any extent.'
'To expect that he has a magic wand to resolve all differences and announce breakthroughs in all issues during his first visit to the US is to be unrealistic,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Fearlessness, courtesy, humour, wide interests and wisdom, deep commitment to science and technology, passion for the environment, objectivity and the ability to see many things through not only a national but also an international prism.'
The Economic Survey was tabled in the Parliament on Friday.
The former finance minister also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the words he chose to attack his predecessor Manmohan Singh, saying he should remember that the Chair he sat on was used by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and even Atal Bihari Vajpayee and hence he should use right language.
'As a governor, I have every right to speak my mind if I feel the security of my country is at stake.' 'Why is it that we would have to shed tears when Muslims are killed or tortured, but have to keep mum when the Hindus receive the same treatment?'
'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.
As India gears up to honour its pravasis on January 9 to mark their contribution in the nation's development, rediff.com presents perspectives from eminent writers on the Diaspora. Kicking off the series is Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who points out that the change of the Diaspora policy put in place by Rajiv Gandhi following the military coup in Fiji and his decision to stand by them, was the one defining moment in India's dealings with its overseas family.
What is so honourable in defending or dis-honourable in not defending the 'Johnson line' in Aksai Chin? That is a question that needs to be asked to the Indian shouting brigade. The Chinese also need to be asked as to why they wish to implement the 'MacDonald McCartney' line drawn by British Imperialists? asks Col (retd) Anil Athale.
Narendra Modi would have done well to take a few more months before he agreed to receive or call on heads of countries like Japan, China, and the US. The prime minister is to settle down in his job and it was too soon for him to have full awareness of the nuances of intricate international issues, says B S Raghavan.
It is rare for communal riots to spread to rural areas. The UP riot is the first time after the September 1969 Gujarat riots that a rural area have been affected. Electoral politics which divide society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale in the first of a two part series.
How has the Indian State, in principle and practice, given shape to the essential ingredients of the secular principle and composite culture?
The ongoing vicious game between Delhi and the so-called 'separatist' militias has severely blighted the Nagas' life and gutted their dignity, says Ravindra Narayan Ravi
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