The country's only woman prime minister, who died on October 31, 1984, equally regretted her another controversial decision -- imposition of Emergency -- that had shaken the country, say her close aides.
On her 101st birth anniversary, November 19, four letters that reveal a different side to inarguably India's toughest prime minister.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has invited his deputy D K Shivakumar for a breakfast meeting to discuss the leadership row, amid an ongoing power struggle within the state's Congress party.
Kangana Ranaut's decline as an actor feels complete, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
The record lies with first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who did the honours 17 times from 1947 to 1964.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
Despite ongoing tension between the two countries on the issue of extremism, Bezirgan said he expects warmer ties henceforth as Carney has invited Prime Minister Modi for the G7 Summit.
'...spent 1/10th of his time at 24, Akbar Road...' 'He would have met thousands of party workers and ordinary Congress supporters who have love for the party.' 'Left of Centre intellectuals have shaped Rahul's values, but he lacks earthiness.'
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Congress party also called for a special session of Parliament to evaluate the situation in detail, to identify any mistakes that were made, and to ensure that they are not repeated in the future.
Some leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed have claimed that their outfit played a role in last year's mass anti-government protests in Bangladesh that led to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
She held a roadshow in Nagpur on Sunday for BJP candidate Pravin Datke.
So-called praise for the former PM was only passing mention of her stand on the Bangladesh war, said RSS.
"She was a great prime minister.. and a greater human being. She gave nationhood for India and she would stand up to the erstwhile USSR or the USA or anybody else," Lord Paul, who had written a book on Gandhi and was considered a close friend of her, said while paying tributes to her at the Nehru Centre in London on Wednesday night as part of the International Women's Festival, 'Sakhi'.
A gazette notification issued on Friday by the Union home ministry notes that Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, following which there was "gross abuse of power by the government of the day and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities".
The Supreme Court of India reprimanded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, calling them "irresponsible." The court stayed criminal proceedings against Gandhi in a case filed in Uttar Pradesh for his comments but warned him against making such statements in the future. The court also asked Gandhi's lawyer if he was aware that even Mahatma Gandhi used terms like "your faithful servant" in his communications with the British.
The Supreme Court's opinion on the presidential reference can impact on any number of cases if and when governors, if not the President, take a literary view of the Supreme Court's 'ppinion' on their 'discretionary powers' without reference to the rider on 'reasonable time', points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Had Sam Bahadur not dictated the timing of India's military intervention, Bangladesh would not have been created without a prolonged battle.' 'Manekshaw's strategy won the war for India in just 13 days,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Indira Gandhi valued Rahul Gandhi's 'grit and determination' and often considered him mature enough to be taken into confidence on subjects she avoided discussing even with his parents when he was barely 14, according to a new book.
India was eager to see "our new relationship" transformed into specific, material forms of cooperation and welcomed the formal establishment this afternoon of a US-India joint commission, the top US official had noted.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said 'there is no need for socialism in India', adding 'secularism is not the core of our culture'.
Indira was one of the most outstanding political personalities that India ever produced, he says.
'I had no idea I would endure difficult times while making this film.'
Hours after, however, firing from the Pakistani side was reported in Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Drones were also seen in the Pir Panjal area.
'I want to ask the entire nation and the opposition. Can a Chief Minister, Prime Minister, or any leader run the country from jail?'
Union minister Thawarchand Gehlot on Friday expressed regret in the Lok Sabha over his remarks regarding the circumstances leading to the assassination of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
The Congress party has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of being unable to deny US President Donald Trump's claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan due to a 'weak wicket' and potential cover-ups. Congress leaders assert that Modi's silence implies a tacit acceptance of Trump's assertions, potentially driven by pressure for a favorable trade deal.
Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who died in a tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, joined the list of several top Indian politicians and prominent personalities who lost their lives in aviation accidents.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'It is from her that present-day political stalwarts continue to draw lessons on testing the limits of Constitutional democracy, and whose slogans even her party's staunchest opponents imitate even after over 30 years of her death,' says Veenu Sandhu.
"My interview was on March 21, 1977. That was the day the Emergency was revoked. Revoked! So, I go in for an interview at Shahjahan Road... First person that morning," recalls Jaishankar, now 70.
'Anyone they don't like can be potentially arrested and thrown in jail for 30 days to induce regime change.'
Congress legislators continued their sit-in protest inside the assembly while the party held protests at all district headquarters on Saturday against the suspension of six party MLAs.
Historically, Uttar Pradesh has played a key role in India's political landscape. It is no wonder that eight of India's 14 prime ministers have Uttar Pradesh connections.
Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
The BJP is hopeful that the issue will come in handy in its efforts to gain political traction in the Dravidian territory during the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its own Tamilian citizens and Tamil Nadu fishermen has long been a charged political issue in the state.
There were reports that the screening of the movie was disrupted in North-West London, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Slough, Staines and Manchester.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances