'Now that the Ram mandir is done, we need to move on. And grapple with COVID-19, a sputtering economy, a belligerent China...' 'The temple may win a few more elections for the BJP, but by itself it won't solve the nation's growing problems of economic and social distress,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
In this excerpt from the book Here and Beyond, author Rashmi shares the story of a survivor.
'We've been unable, or unwilling, to be vigilant about how the government and its proxies are changing the character of India.' 'We have accepted public relations as fact, kept our heads down instead of risking our interests, and allowed militant chauvinism to define love of country,' says Mitali Saran.
"But we are concerned about human rights and we make sure rights of people are not violated," he said.
While India has to curtail its side, those who do business in India have to be more conscious that they should be less part of the problems and more part of the solution, the business magnate said.
'The best remedy would be to scrap Section 124-A of the IPC, a colonial vestige, altogether.' 'However, if legislators don't want to do so, they can do two things.' 'They can formally amend Section 124-A to bring it in line with what the Supreme Court has said about sedition.' 'The words which stand on the statute book today were inserted in 1898.' 'The Supreme Court's words are not a part of Section 124-A.'
Justifying the security extended to separatist leaders of Kashmir Valley, Union minister Jitendra Singh has said that they faced threat from Pakistan which might attack them to blame it on India.
'We are telling them we have isolated them and their religion as not only unwanted,' says Aakar Patel.
"I congratulate the people of Kochi on the proud moment," the PM said.
Maruti Warke's basic understanding illustrated how far outside the system most less privileged Indians are -- simple, innocent people barely but admirably eking out an existence, with almost no knowledge of their surroundings or owning even the basic smarts to go about life. The same people who instinctively and often astutely vote governments into and out of office in New Delhi without knowing the entire reality of this country. The folks who are actually the essence of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a Rs 745-crore package for renovation of houses and six major hospitals damaged by the recent unprecedented floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday sought to know from the Central Bureau of Investigation if sanction was required to prosecute former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on corruption charges in the Adarsh Housing scam case.
UPSC toppers -- Ira Singhal, Nidhi Gupta, Vandana Rao and Suharsha Bhagat -- tell Rediff.com how they cracked the tough national exam.
The rally was being planned by UK-based Kashmiri groups to mark the first death anniversary of the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit killed in a gun battle with Indian armed forces in the Kashmir Valley on July 8 last year.
'Babur has been facing gross historical injustice for the last two centuries, when he had no role either in the demolition of any temple or in the construction of the so-called Babri mosque at Ayodhya.'
'Studying History, we come close to all of the messiness of human life -- we understand what motivates people, what makes them get along or go to war, what dreams they had for themselves and their futures.'
'It is very much a danger.' 'With Tibet following the India tradition of ahimsa and the global visibility of the Dalai Lama who embodies these values, he should be supported by India as a diplomat.' 'It would be in India's self-interest and instead of being embarrassed about his presence, India should recognise this (role).' 'By appeasing China, India does not get anything in return; they (the Chinese have not stopped) claiming Arunachal, part of Kashmir, etc.'
"In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
It's not as easy to know how the funds were deployed and gauge the impact.
Why must Indians adjust their time-tested system because of what the West needs, asks Sanjeev Nayyar.
'Growing up in Karnataka, in middle-class and forward-caste background, Ambedkar did not enter our consciousness at all, I realised.' 'The 'exclusion' of sections of our society was not only physical; it was comprehensive in the sense that all aspects of their lives including the life of an exceptional intellectual and stalwart had been under-understood by people of my class, I thought,' says B S Prakash.
A former Maoist speaks to Shobha Warrier
'India is the most depressed country in the world at the moment and women have twice as much of the likelihood to be depressed.'
'The writers fear that the fringe is threatening to become the mainstream and the liberal space -- a must for any creative expression -- is fast shrinking,' says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
India would have responded differently to "Pakistan-sponsored" Mumbai terror attacks had there been a different "mix of people" at the helm, according to former foreign secretary and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the Aam Aadmi Party government went ahead with the odd-even plan despite apprehensions that the move may have an adverse impact on the party's vote bank.
Yulu founder Amit Gupta believes bicycle sharing is the next big thing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' programme in London also said that people have more expectations from his government because they know that it can deliver.
We salute the Mi-8 today on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of Operation Cactus. Through its glorious service career, the Mi-8 left an indelible mark on the future by providing the IAF with a lineage of professional helicopter aircrew, says Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
The government's negligence towards this 'treasure house of knowledge' can be seen from the fact that monkeys roam about freely in the reading rooms, disturbing the calm of the library, as well as putting the lives of the readers in danger, writes Sajad Ahmad Dar.
'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
'There will be a broad coalition of non-BJP parties in at least 25 states'
Rajdeep Sardesai's 2014: The Election That Changed India, will make him a ton of money, says Shreekant Sambrani, but admits he is more interested in knowing whether the book lives up to its title.
Beauty is woven into the ghazal with such deep feelings of love that the focus is always on seeking oneness with the other, notes Gopi Chand Narang.
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale has put Kerala on the art tourism circuit, says Kishore Singh.
'Political parties can play up different ideological aspects to fit individual voters.' 'For example, a party may present itself as business-friendly to one individual while it could target another voter by harping on communal fears.'
'I am very sure that Rajnikanth, a patriot and a spiritual person, will not do this movie which is about a tyrant, killer and murderer,' BJP leader H Raja tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com
The hounding of former AMU students by some alumni over their 'wining and dining' during Ramzan is deeply disturbing, says AMU Professor Mohammad Sajjad. 'Intolerance, irrationality, bigotry, religious/sectarian hatred, and all such pernicious tendencies must be fought and resisted, more particularly by university campuses, in order to build a better society.' 'Have we, as academics, failed, and that too, quite miserably?' he asks. 'I feel like confessing and saying yes, we have indeed failed.'
'I don't think there is a need to order a fresh investigation into the complaint against Modi & Co. As the amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran said in his report to the Supreme Court, the existing material is more than sufficient to prosecute Modi and other high-ups of his regime,' Manoj Mitta, author of the book The Fiction Of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
