Nikkhil Advani, a master of long-form storytelling, reflects on Freedom At Midnight and what it was to make a two-part series on the most difficult period of India's history in these polarised times.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
Learners in India prefer to pursue newer courses, such as Gen AI by building apps and code using the technology, along with learning about it.
'India is at a critical juncture in this century. I want to be a part of the diplomatic team that works to make India great.'
'You are scared about the next film: 'Will it work? Will it be as good as my previous film?' Deep inside, I think everybody is scared.'
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
'India's ties with Israel have to do with defence and general technology.' 'The war changes nothing in what India and Israel hope to get from the relationship.' 'It's not as though India will get significantly more benefits from Iran if India abandons Israel at this time.'
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
'We were in a heavily nuclearised environment. China had tested for Pakistan in the 1980s and helped their missile programme stay just one step behind us.'
'Much later when I came to Afghanistan, I realised that there were songs in Bollywood films.'
Acrylic nails have long had a reputation. They are glamorous, long-lasting, but notorious for making your natural nails thin, brittle and painfully sensitive.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'The next phase of India's IPO cycle will be defined by quality, pricing discipline and investor selectivity.'
'The reality is that every one of us will be pushed to learn and relearn faster than ever before. Some people will rise to that challenge. Some may not. But the opportunity itself is massive,' says Noshir Kaka, senior partner, McKinsey.
From 20 hours of non-stop celebrations to a 12-day wedding event in Ahmedabad featuring over 300 artistes, Devanshi Patel of Shreem Events tells us how she has handled challenging wedding demands.
Of the donations, 48% is in kind -- such as food, clothing, or other household goods -- followed by cash (44%) and volunteering (30%) with non-profits, religious institutions, or community groups.
'We are profoundly energy-dependent on the Gulf. That dependency must now be redirected towards the United States, because we require American permission to procure oil.' 'We additionally require Iranian permission to acquire oil from that source. So India now has to seek two separate permissions merely to secure its energy supply.' 'Should we be compelled to source from America, or from Venezuela -- which is, in effect, American-controlled supply -- that will inevitably carry a price premium, an elevated shipping cost, and a considerably extended delivery timeline, given the distances involved.'
'India was not obliged to protect the Iranian ship.' 'Once the Iranian ship left Indian waters, she was on her own.' 'Guilt tripping India is wrong.'
'The White House lunch that Trump hosted for Munir last year came just after Munir returned from a visit to Iran, at a moment when Israel and Iran were at war.' 'Trump said after that lunch that the Pakistanis know Iran very well. He likely views Munir as a useful interlocutor that can give helpful insights on Iran.'
As soon as both the Houses met for the day, members of all the parties, except those of the ruling Congress, demanded Ambassador Ronen Sen's recall
'When there is such an elaborate and a strong process, one would have expected anyone to either place the issues so that they can be addressed or go to the regulator and probably tell them rather than creating a kind of uncertainty for the stakeholders.
'Families go through turmoil at that time. There is a feeling of guilt and uncertainty, and they do not know what they should be doing.' 'Now that the new judgment has clarified what the procedure is, doctors will be confident enough to talk to the families and explain what is to be done.'
'I don't want to do silly or meaningless work anymore.'
'My concern is that, although everything is expressed in monetary terms, you are effectively combining values that have been adjusted using different price measures.'
'I could have accepted the humiliation if I wanted to remain as an MP. But I decided to leave.'
'Lakhs of transgender people's identities will get erased. Many of them will go into hiding and lead depressing lives.'
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
Ajit Pawar granted Rediff an interview in Baramati at 6 am. Why? 'To be a successful politician one needs to sleep less, and I never sleep for more than 4 hours' Ajit Pawar told Syed Firdaus Ashraf as Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff captured the encounter on his camera.
'We do have some concerns with the timeline being shortened from 18 to 12 months.'
John Abraham and Bipasha Basu emerged as a popular power duo who set new fitness goals for their audience.
'The US landed in this war without planning. The US felt that if they kill Ayatollah Khamenei the people of Iran will come out on the roads and do a regime change.' 'On the contrary, the US bombings on Iran has united the entire nation.'
'Islamabad feels it has no alternative, but to address the challenges from the Afghan-Taliban through an open war.'
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