'The way opposition parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena, the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Jharkhand Mukti Morch have supported her, if she wins, she will be the biggest opposition face for 2024'
'Their idea of unity is uniformity. They disrespect and fear diversity which means they deny our pluralism, our freedom of choice, which are integral to our fundamental rights'
A key cog in India's pace attack, the 27-year-old was left out of the list of contracted players unveiled by the BCCI on Wednesday but the board did not offer any immediate explanation as to why.
Why did Mountbatten suddenly declare that the Partition of India would take place with inexplicable haste on August 15, 1947, almost a year ahead of schedule? Colonel Anil Athale (retd) explains the likely reasons for the British decision to hastily grant India independence.
Sukanya Verma salutes the legend and celebrates some of the finest soundtracks of his career.
Bollywood is known to make everything look dazzling and dramatic -- suffering, seclusion, hopelessness.
'He spent his lifetime writing about Africa, supporting the continent's desires to stand up against injustice. Watching him work, I learned to be tolerant, secular and liberal, values that now define who I have become.' Aseem Chhabra pays tribute to his father Hari Sharan Chhabra, one of India's foremost experts on Africa.
Robert Vadra, 42, has evolved from being simply a son-in-law of the Gandhi family to one of India's most successful businessmen. Amid the latest allegations by activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan about his involvement in multi-crore land deals, rediff.com takes a look at the life and times of Vadra and the controversies that he courted.
The actor is the most likely contender to play the former Prime Minister of India i Gurinder Chaddha's new film.
'Communalism and communal riots happened in India only during and due to colonialism. Pre-colonial India didn't have this problem of communal conflicts and religious strife.'
Press Council of India chairperson justice Markandey Katju on Saturday said that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is the reunification of India and Pakistan under a strong government which will not tolerate bigotry.
While Hindus are complaining about the violation of their rights in Pakistan's rural Sindh, they received a harsh blow in Karachi when a pre-partition temple was demolished by a builder despite a Pakistani court hearing a petition seeking a stay on such a move.
Applying balm on the wounds of the two religious groups is a better course of action for the rulers. Common sense dictates the verdict be accepted in good grace by all sides, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
About 124 pilgrims on a two day visit arrived at the sacred Katas Raj temples in Chakwal district near capital Islamabad on Friday and were overwhelmed by the official reception.
'Neither Modi nor the BJP have lost control over the minds and votes of their original supporters due to their tremendous political ability to play upon baser communal instincts.' 'But this buoyant support will melt away if the economic scenario remains depressing.' 'That makes 2020 an interesting year to watch out for,' notes Sheela Bhatt.
The nation has many individuals like Kuldip Nayar to thank whose idealism and honour has helped keep the country on the path of freedom and democracy.
Singh, a former Army officer, had been ill after a fall at his home in August 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital. He had been in and out of the hospital and was admitted again in June this year.
Continuing the special series, we take a look at some more interesting minimalist Bollywood posters.
The West Bengal government on Monday made public the cabinet papers on Netaji and allied subjects from 1938 to 1947.
'When it vanishes as a national force (meaning when it can no longer get sufficient votes to hold onto its symbol, the hand) it will not have been the first large Indian party to die,' says Aakar Patel.
In Seoul, Nikhil Lakshman discovers, fears about North Korea and its bizarre ways are never far away.
A security guard on Friday deposed before the special Central Bureau of Investigation court, hearing the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, that he had seen no 'outsider' on the fateful night while another witness claimed he had painted a portion of the Talwars' house more than a year after the incident.
One should appreciate the sagacity and audacity of JRD and Nani Palkhivala in founding TCS on April 1, 1968. At that time there was no Microsoft or Intel, SAP or Accenture, much less Google.
They needed a person who could build and execute their vision: A frontiersman; a problem solver and an institution builder. It was their and India's good fortune that Faqir Chand Kohli more than measured up to their requirements and indeed laid the foundation to take TCS to unimaginable heights and to the giant success that it is today. Shivanand Kanavi salutes the incomparable F C Kohli, who passed into the ages last week.
'Politicians's slogans on social distancing, showered like petals from their ivory towers, mock every single moment of pain and distress imposed on the vulnerable down below, at migrant labour stuffed like chickens on goods trucks, trying to get home at all costs,' observes Veenu Sandhu.
'First they will say Kashmiris are not good enough to be Indians, then it will be Muslims are not good enough to be Indians, then they will start a conflict within Hindus that Dalits are not Indians'
M I Khan travels to the Purnea district in Bihar where he not only comes across a village called Pakistan, but finds that there is in fact, not a single Muslim family living there.
'He was a true intellectual of this country: Never claiming to be an expert on anything, or the greatest, he just went ahead and followed his beliefs uncaring of how the world judged him.' Jaya Jaitly pays homage to a dear friend, Wendell Rodricks, designer and trendsetter.
Pakistan perceives that if it had declared Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK or both, which are only a part of the territories of J&K, as legitimate provinces of Pakistan it would weaken its case for the entire J&K and lead to legal complications, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Master tailors, textile manufacturers and custom clothiers, however, say the upcoming festive season, reinvention in the form of new collections and digital outreach are salvaging the situation somewhat.
The Bill provides for according Indian citizenship to the the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years even if they do not possess any document.
'The Citizenship Amendment Bill is a classic case of short-term gain over-riding long-term interest. 'We must welcome all persecuted minorities from our neighbouring countries and not just Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Nawab Mir Jafar Abdullah, direct descendent of Nawab Asaf ud Daula, speaks on Lucknow's past, present and future, in a conversation with Saisuresh Sivaswamy
Salman-Kat have major chemistry to live up to in Bharat!
Anybody living in India is a Hindu, Bhagwat said.
Counter-attacking the divisive and communal barb, BJP on Monday said Congress was the 'biggest communal party' because it was responsible for the partition of India and the Bhagalpur riots.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
In dealing with Pakistan, India's first step should be to stop treating it exclusively as a Muslim nation, writes Vikram Sood
It is time we pre-empt Pakistan and the separatists by fast tracking normalcy, advises Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
