'There are no multiplexes, not a single cinema hall and no malls.' 'Because the government in Delhi constantly cuts off mobile services, there is no app-based economy in Srinagar.' 'There are 403 news channels in India, but there is none in Kashmir,' notes Aakar Patel after a journey to the Kashmir valley.
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'The goal is achievable. What is stopping us from getting there?' asks Aakar Patel.
'In Pakistan there has been no problem about the installation of the statues of these men, unlike the Jinnah portrait or other controversies that seem to be present in India these days quite regularly,' says Aakar Patel.
We celebrate Independence Day with this special feature, published on Rediff.com in January 2013.
'More members of the Indian Armed Forces have died in Kashmir, North East and Naxal areas than in the 1962 and 1971 wars against Pakistan combined. These deaths are the result of political failure and not war.'
'The intensity with which we are focussed on Pakistan, particularly our government and our media, ultimately harms us and reduces our greatness,' argues Aakar Patel.
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'How will someone who has stood on Mars and looked at Earth, only a tiny blue dot in space, then see the idea of nations and religions and all of our divisions?' says Aakar Patel.
'It is only because of the Congress that we became a secular republic.' 'As we enter a period where another political force has became dominant, it will be interesting to see if this legacy of Nehru and the Congress is sustained or we are taken in a new direction,' says Aakar Patel.
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'One goal of the Congress would surely have been to rebuild its organisation so that it begins to match that of the BJP.' 'However, this has not happened, though Rahul Gandhi has been in the party for 15 years now,' says Aakar Patel.
So long as no females were allowed to pray there, the strength of emotion kept the issue burning. As more and more women do this, the matter will fade.
'We have had 27 years of liberalisation and in the same period Korea and Japan and China transformed themselves forever,' says Aakar Patel.
'The sentiment against immigrants and particularly against Muslims is produced by the climate of hatred and bigotry we see all around us.' 'It is produced by the politics of division and spread by a reckless media around the world including unfortunately in India,' says Aakar Patel.
'The individuals whom this government and its media call 'Urban Naxals' should not have been arrested.' 'In any civilised democracy (which India is not) this would not have happened,' argues Aakar Patel.
'In India, we are very far away from the per capita incomes of the West. And so the need to support many more people with much more money will come sooner in India than in other nations,' says Aakar Patel.
'What is the problem in getting the UK to extradite our citizens?' asks Aakar Patel.
'It is only when those who are oppressed stand for themselves that society is forced to create space for them,' says Aakar Patel.
'It would have been much more appropriate if a law such as this, which all of the civilised world has given up, was struck down through democratic politics rather than five individuals sitting in judgement,' says Aakar Patel.
'A nation can take a quick decision in a fit of passion or excitement that can be damaging to itself in the long term,' says Aakar Patel.
'I do not think that we are showing Hindu humanity and humaneness in the process of the National Register of Citizens.'
Director Karan Malhotra overstuffs a simple family story about strained ties into a nearly three-hour long cacophonous music video, writes Sukanya Verma.
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Whatever the ideologies of our leader are, the end result should be nothing more than well being of our fellow citizens, says Khemchand H Sakaldeepi and Nupur Pavan Bang.
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week was high on drama.
'Acting is a very crazy profession to be in. Mentally and emotionally we have to go into a particular zone and come out of it and keep on doing it. I am sure acting takes a toll on everyone and maybe that's why logon ko actors pagal lagte hai.' In the second part of a fun conversation, Tabu shares some beautiful nuggets with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar and Sonil Dedhia.
'I am not human... :)' SS Rajamouli has some fun on Rediff Chat.
Nidhi Tiwari speaks about her road trip from Delhi to London.
Mrinal Pande remembers Rajendra Yadav, one of the most prolific fiction writers and thinkers of Hindi literature in the recent times, who passed away on Monday.
'When it came to S D Burman, a Guide song was completely different from a Tere Mere Sapne song which was completely different from a Sharmilee song. Except for their quality, there is nothing to link them together.' 'Lata was his ultimate voice. He felt there was nobody like Lata. "Give me a harmonium, give me Lata and I will make music," he said.'
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