'With butterflies in our stomachs, but confident of our mission, we took off for Jaffna on the morning of 24 July 1987.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe recalls a conversation with Air Vice Marshal Harpal Singh Ahluwalia (retd), then a wing commander and mission leader for the clandestine operation.
Azad, 73, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed" and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" its entire consultative mechanism.
The significance of the Assembly poll results will be more psychological than real for the impending parliamentary elections, says Bharat Bhushan.
'Badle ki bhavna (revengeful politics) was never seen in Maharashtra and Indian politics, but now we are witnessing all that today.'
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
By changing the nation's name from India to Bharat, would this landmass overnight lose the emotional and cultural linkage that had been built over generations, centuries and millennia, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Only time will tell how difficult it would be for the BJP when Mr Modi may not be in a position to actively run affairs of the party and be its biggest vote catcher.'
'Then the BJP could even split.'
AIADMK insiders see the very idea of an NDA conclave as a measure of the BJP's current electoral assessment, stemming from relative weakness in 2024 compared to 2014 and 2019. In their reckoning, the BJP now needs allies more than the other way round, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP president demanded that Rahul apologise for his stand on the JNU issue, saying support to anti-national forces in the name of the Left's progressive ideology is not acceptable.
'It was more than ego.' 'It carried with it a sincere belief that he was the quintessence of the country, that the country's destiny was irrevocably intertwined with his destiny.' An excerpt from T J S George's The Dismantling of India: In 35 Portraits.
The current question is about the BJP-ruled Centre, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like its predecessors, not arguing the Union of India's case effectively and continuously, whenever the matter came up in the past, if its case still was that Rajiv's killing was an 'act of terror', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
Dr C P Joshi, the rising star in the Congress party, explains his strategy for the Rajasthan poll.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia cited purported claims of the Pakistani journalist, Nusrat Mirza, to allege that Ansari shared many 'sensitive and highly classified' information with him.
Sanjaya Baru, Manmohan Singh's former media advisor and author if The Accidental Prime Minister defends his controversial memoir
A protest happens because the State doesn't follow its own laws. A protest is an objection and a complaint. It exists because it is otherwise unheard, observes Aakar Patel.
'They fear their caste privilege will be exposed if there is an OBC caste census.'
Even in this season of political-peeing-on-lampposts, Rahul Gandhi's statement takes the cake (with due apologies to another astute observer of poverty, the much late Mary Antoinette).
Despite consumer inflation, joblessness, etc, ordinary voters still think Modi is the best to rule the country.< Going into the poll with a tried and tested prime ministerial candidate is a huge plus for the BJP --- and a huge handicap for the Opposition, points out Virendra Kapoor.
The appointments to the Supreme Court and the high courts cannot be speeded up unless both the Judiciary and the Executive agree to a new mechanism which affords both near-parity in decision-making, argues Virendra Kapoor.
'The pride of the devoted Seinfeld fan is that he happens to love a show that doesn't take his love for granted, so that even on repeat viewings he is never really sure what directions an episode might take,' observes Sreehari Nair.
Immigration authorities at the airport in New Delhi stopped yet another Kashmiri journalist from travelling abroad, citing restrictions imposed by the Jammu and Kashmir police, officials said on Wednesday.
Ramesh alleged that the PM "forced" Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read a "most wishy-washy" statement in Parliament earlier this week
A look at Elizabeth -- both the lady and queen -- and the world in which she operates.
Coming out in support of suspended Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated.
Governors must be impartial, fair, and above narrow politics to uphold the values and spirit of the Constitution. But in a rapidly changing political culture where the unstated rule is to crush the Opposition, such values have no meaning. At stake are Constitutional values, federalism and governance, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'The idea of aligning with different political parties -- parties that are relevant at a particular period -- is opportunistic and unacceptable.'
Venugopal said it is true that the judgment of the top court also notes the fact that Savarkar has been found not guilty of Gandhiji's murder in the criminal trial. However, if one reads the judgment as a whole, it is clear that the court was disinclined to go into the findings of the Justice Kapoor Commission of Inquiry, the AG said.
The Sangh Parivar forgets that not only is there no scriptural prohibition, venerable authorities in India held beef as both a desirable and an essential food, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray
Strengthening the party's communication strategy to improve public engagement is foremost on the Congress agenda after Rahul Gandhi had stressed that they "have to go back to the people" at the Udaipur meeting.
Some media reports claimed he may meet some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Delhi after which Amarinder Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral sought to clarify the reason for his visit.
'He was provided sustenance by the British.' 'Many times he wrote to the British that he needed an increase in pension.'
Like Nitish, Mamata and KCR have prime ministerial ambitions, but, unlike Nitish who has established a rapport with Sonia, both Mamata and KCR are cold towards the Congress president, points out Virendra Kapoor.
The Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese calendar, began on Sunday, January 22.
Compromise, constitutionality, pragmatism and self-respect. These were Mandela's leadership virtues. For countries such as India and South Africa, these are the qualities leaders must have, says Mihir S Sharma
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your income tax queries.
Nilanjana S Roy compiles a list of the most eagerly awaited books next year.
"They are attacking democracy. There is a non-stop attack on democracy and that is why we are fighting here," Gandhi said, accusing the government of not allowing debate on price rise, Lakhimpur Kheri and other issues.
Rediff.com presents the gist of the speech delivered by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi on the Foundation Day of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh.
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