India batsman Karun Nair reflected on his brush with death this year after scoring a brilliant triple century against England in the fifth Test on Monday.
The DMK combine has won 37 of the 38 LS constituencies in Tamil Nadu, and bagged 13 of the 22 assembly bypolls. What swept away the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the southern state was not dravidian ideology but job loss and graft bias, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Counting of votes is underway for four Lok Sabha and eight assembly Constituencies, spread across six states and one Union Territory where by-elections were held on Saturday.
Nine hundred and forty-seven people are said to have died in grief after J Jayalalithaa's demise on December 5. But how true is this claim?
Says more than 120 who lost jobs have approached it; TCS says workforce optimisation leads to some involuntary attrition, nothing out of ordinary
The 19th edition of the Malabar naval exercise saw the Indian, US and Japanese maritime forces participated jointly in the routine.
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.
Tamil Nadu's politics returns to being bi-polar, and that's a good thing, says B Srikumar.
The two rival factions of the AIADMK may have merged, but there are problems staring at it on all fronts -- governmental, political, electoral and organisational, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Considering that all sides to the game feel being targeted by the BJP-ruled Centre through taxmen and their ED/CBI counterparts, both factions may not rule out the possibility of patching up after a time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Rs 89 crore question before Tamil Nadu now is what shape a central intervention would take, and if there would be any role whatsoever for acting governor, Ch Vidyasagar Rao, in it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here is a closer look at politicos who have emerged victorious in the electoral contest of five state assemblies.
Today, with the 'Cauvery row' in full flow, the DMK has managed to wrest the 'pan-Tamil initiative' for the Dravidian polity as a whole. What more, the DMK has also stolen much of the 'Tamil thunder' that had belonged to peripheral pan-Tamil groups over the Jallikattu protests in January 2017, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What is surprising is the scale and spontaneity of the mobilisation and the social profile of the mobilisation.' 'Not just the youth, but women, children and families are part of this now.' 'This is completely unprecedented.'
An injured jawan said around 10-12 Naxalites must have got killed in the 'befitting' retaliation by the CRPF contingent.
A humdinger on cards as South Africa chase first series win in India
Will the EC would make an example of the RK Nagar by-election, either by ensuring free and fair polls or by countermanding the same, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The problem for OPS lies in the fact that most party MLAs believe Sasikala's clan was the force behind their obtaining the party nomination as much as it was Jaya's charisma that won them their seats in the May 2016 assembly polls.
'Since there will be US lawmakers, deans of leading universities like Harvard and Columbia and personalities from the worlds of art, culture, politics, medicine, science, technology, "We have made a request to the prime minister to say something in English." Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
The BJP's national leadership seems to have convinced itself that with a weakened, post-Jaya AIADMK for company, they should be able to strike roots before long, and start by winning about 10-15 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The moot point is if a re-energised Jayalalitha will order snap polls when the Opposition is in disarray and her own political starts are on the rise, says N Nathiya Moorthy.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK may choose to capitalise on the confusion within opposition ranks and hope to ride to power on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's popularity, writes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Almost three hours go like a breeze in the company of Bahubali's eclectic protagonists, where every single one makes an 'entry' designed for wolf-whistle.
Even as an enthused AIADMK cadre celebrate their Amma's return, if the Supreme Court stays the Karnataka high court judgment in the disproportionate assets case, Jayalalithaa may once again lose her chief ministership. R Ramasubramanian reports from Chennai.
AIADMK's Jayalalithaa won three assembly by-elections from her hospital bed. However, the DMK heir's decision to disempower second-line satraps, who were running personal fiefdoms in their districts, and his fresh approach, could prove beneficial in the next polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
OPS is just now friendless in the party's second-line, but the situation could change as and when Governor Rao arrives in the state capital, and sets the constitutional ball rolling, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A cow that speaks, a question on patriarchy and the story of a 17th-century poet - Sanskrit filmmakers are finding new ways to revive the 'dying' language.
'Some TV channels are wrongly reporting that the Honourable CM is no more. It is totally baseless and false,' the hospital says.
DMK Working President MK Stalin is worried about divisions in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after the death of Jayalalithaa and keen that it should not affect the functioning of the administration.
Glimpses of I-Day celebrations across India.
With faction bosses not seeming to control anyone any more, can the BJP count on the AIADMK for the presidential polls any more, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
In private, AIADMK spokespersons say that the raid on Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao might be aimed at weakening the AIADMK, and demotivating the party from selecting/electing Jayalalithaa's confidante, Sasikala Natarajan, as her successor -- first as party head then possibly in the government, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Now that an elected chief minister is at the helm, it is high time the Centre initiate discussions to appoint a full-time governor at the earliest, given that the state is set to face some challenging times, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Whatever the circumstances the cadres will not let themselves be seen as challenging 'MGR's symbol'. It's an emotional identification for most of them, and many consider it an 'eternal sin' for them to defy 'Two Leaves', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We understand where we want to go and hopefully the guys can keep putting this kind of effort and take the team where it belongs' 'As a captain, I feel it's a complete series for us. Everyone contributed at different times, especially the lower-order's contribution is something that stands out for me in this series'
'Things are far from normal. The roads are still under several feet of water and every time we venture out, it is a nightmare wading through the water that is no longer flowing but stagnant, filthy and foul-smelling. Shops are yet to stock up on supplies. Power supply is erratic and there is constant fear that it might go off again.' S Saraswathi recalls the horrific four days of her life.
The governments at the Centre and in the state were unprepared to handle the massive response to the large numbers of people, as they were not aware of the groundswell of public admonition that was against the Establishment, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
Fulfilling the promises made in the manifesto, a resurgent Opposition in the state assembly, impending local body polls... Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa may have made history by winning two assembly elections in a row, but the real test begins now, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
Barring one of the earliest surveys of the kind in the country, in 1989, none has proved right in Tamil Nadu's case, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
