Jeremy Corbyn is a most unusual politician in these times.
If the people of Tamil Nadu stop deifying their leaders and start evaluating them more objectively, the political masters too may change their wayward behaviour, argues Sudhir Bisht.
On Friday, the Bombay high court reversing the ban imposed on women entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai said, "The ban is contrary to articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men." The news brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman who is also the founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Zakia spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on what made this verdict historic and how it will bring about a change in the future.
'Be responsible, don't use a condom tonight' goes an advertising campaign that is an insult to the intelligence of a community that is by no means ignorant or illiterate, argues Sherna Gandhy.
Mohammad Sajjad raises important questions about the response to lynchings.
Over one lakh people have migrated from their hamlets and border towns in the wake of firing by Pakistan.
'Our confidence has been strengthened by the fact that the Supreme Court has decided to examine the Constitutional validity of all that has been done on August 5.' 'That in itself is an achievement because the Supreme Court could have very well said you don't have a case at all.' 'The very fact that the honourable court has decided to admit it for regular hearing, and refer it to a Constitutional bench, tells us that the Supreme Court has found merit in our case.'
'Tamil Nadu's youth bulge will soon be 70 per cent of the population, many of them smartphone-toting millennials looking for gains more tangible than what screen gods can give,' says Sunil Sethi.
On December 15, Mohammed Mustafa, an MBA student and IAS aspirant from Jamia Milia Islamia University, was among the students who were dragged out of the library and lathi-charged by policemen. In a conversation with Rediff.com's Divya Nair, the 26 year old recounts the ordeal he faced for a protest he says he didn't participate in or volunteer for.
Here's the full text of President's address with a word cloud.
Political and communal divide in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed such proportions that even the horrifying rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl is not bringing society together, writes Athar Parvaiz.
A chemical engineer, Anirudh gave up his high-paying job to work for welfare of farmers in Tamil Nadu.
'It is for the first time the voices of the most deferred, the most neglected, the most ignored, the most abused, the most vulnerable - the children-- has been heard. It is a great moment.' 'I always wanted Pakistan and India to have good relationships because I believe that this is very important for the development of both the countries.' 'If children are taught hatred, if they are taught about sectarianism and prejudice, then we can see that there will be terrorism in society." Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai were given an ovation after they delivered their rousing speeches in front of a packed audience at a glittering ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday. A day later, they sit down for an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour and share their dreams, their hopes for the future. Read excerpts from the interview.
'The decision of August will have to be taken back. This is our resolve. When it will happen, how it will happen, the judge of our case are the people of this country.'
'Muslims have been exploited for 65 years. They have been reduced to a community of committees and commissions. Nothing happens. Since 1947 they are worse than Dalits.' 'Muslims voted en-bloc once upon a time. Not now. Muslims are fragmented everywhere. They have the same choices as the Hindus in that area.' 'Muslims are not alienated. The alienation is between the haves and have-nots. Poverty in India has both Hindus and Muslims.'
The government does not seem to have sufficient grounds to invoke the CBI against Teesta Setalvad.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address on the eve of 70th Republic Day of India.
Meet 5 women who are running small home-based business ventures with the resources available to them.
'Anything that is anti-growth is demonised because growth is the biggest religion.' 'Growth is synonymous with progress. In fact, it is the opposite.' 'Exponential growth is cancer.'
'...incarcerated in jails, ruining their entire families.' 'You would see that Dalits who displayed so much agitation over the Bhima-Koregaon issue are effectively silenced by the arrests of their activists by the police.' 'What can be a more pitiable state than this for a people who had just seen a ray of hope after darkness of millennia?'
According to all accounts, Neel Tushar Kashkari was well received at the California Republican Party Convention -- his first major public exposure after formally declaring his candidacy in January for governor of California
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
'People are getting admitted to hospital two to three days before their death in a very serious respiratory compromise state and they are passing away within 48 hours.' 'Those who are coming early in the disease, the minute they are suspicious that they have COVID-19, the recovery rate has been much, much, higher.' 'The moral of the story is: We must destigmatise COVID-19.' 'People should be told: 'Look, if you have anything like this, please come immediately'.'
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
'Having a voice at the table means the other side has to show up to listen. It became clear that wouldn't happen,' says actor Maulik Pancholy, one of the 10 members who resigned from the US president's advisory commission on Asian Americans.
The growth story of India depends on its achievements in the S&T sector. There is a need to revolutionise the landscape of Indian science and technology and this is only possible if the scientific community is allowed to work 'professionally and scientifically' without burdening them with the baggage of the past, says Ajey Lele.
More than a year after he was nominated by President Barack Obama, the US Senate, defying the powerful pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association, voted to confirm Dr Vivek Hellegere Murthy as the first Indian American US Surgeon General and the youngest ever at age 37, in a cliff-hanger of a 51-43 vote.
The President talked about demonetisation, electoral reforms and disruptions in Parliament.
Actor Matt Damon addressed the graduating class of 2016 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Unlike in the past, Modi made candid, frank and direct remarks on his hosts by suggesting that the Chinese side is holding back on further improving relations, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Successful parents are increasingly faced with continuing to support children in their 20s or 30s.
'No amount of digression can hide deflect the fact that the PM's visit was badly conceived, planned and executed,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Thursday's Lok Sabha elections will be a landmark for Tibetan youth as they finally get the right to vote in their adopted homeland, reports Anshul Gupta.
'A President who is a living embodiment of high principles can tone up the entire national fabric,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Over Dosas in Mumbai, Oscar winner Megan Mylan tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel why she chose India and girls empowerment as the subject of her new documentary.
What began as a challenge ended up a way of life for 'Paalam' Kalyanasundaram, whom the United Nations adjudged one of the most outstanding people of the 20th century.
Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.
Thirty one outstanding teachers were invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan for a first-ever in-residence programme.
'For showing us a shining vision of how even a ceremonial role can be infused with life by a patriot, a scientist and a humble man of the people, representing the best of India's pluralist ethos, we will remember Dr Kalam.'
'The horrific episode of January 18 in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is quite different from what happened in Muzaffarnagar, UP, in September 2013. The Akhilesh Yadav-led administration in UP and riot-mongers among our political formations need to learn lessons from the response of the state and society in Bihar's Muzaffarpur,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
