While the United Progressive Alliance ties itself up in knots, two out of every three Indians say the prime minister and the higher judiciary should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal, an issue that has seen the UPA government differing with civil society representatives.
'We are losing the battle of secularism, but we have not lost.'
It's been ten days since the royal wedding and the media spotlight has now shifted to the newlywed Duchess of Cambridge's maid of honour and sister, Pippa Middleton.
It is to Vajpayee's credit that he told Dilip Kumar to ignore Thackeray and to follow his own conscience. But the episode -- as indeed, the manner in which Dilip Kumar has been made to pay for being a Muslim throughout his life -- shames us all as Indians, says Vir Sanghvi.
Tarun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of news magazine Tehelka, expresses his disappointment over India's education system.
'If everybody knows your name, that's success. Isn't that what society tells us? I experienced all that at a very young age. So how come I wasn't happy?' Lisa Ray wonders.
The withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2018. The US will remain a full member of the Paris-based UNESCO until then.
A state-run university in Tamil Nadu has removed noted writer Arundhati Roy's Walking with the Comrades, book from the syllabus of MA English course following complaints, including from Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad that it glorified the ultras and was anti-national in content.
'This country is not of one culture. We must live together and we must respect each other.'
Indian American community leader Rajan Zed has criticised Vanity Fair magazine's just released prestigious '2009 International Best-Dressed List', claiming the list was 'biased and uneven'.In a statement issued in Nevada, Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said that although the list claimed to be 'international', its 53 listed best-dressed people belonged to only ten countries, representing only about ten percent of the world population.
Playboy Enterprises, known for its adult magazine for men Playboy, is reportedly planning to launch its accessories, apparel, etc, in India by year end 'targetting young adults', even as the Indian American community has called it 'crude westernization'.
'They are deliberately targeting journalists who are not succumbing to government pressure and therefore these journalists are paying a price.'
Six Indian-American high school juniors and 19 others, all named 'Leaders of Tomorrow', will discuss ways to heal the ills faced by society at a meeting later this month on the Bentley College campus at Waltham, Massachusetts. The students are winners of the 2008 Tomorrow 25, an international leadership competition for high school juniors organised by Bentley College, in cooperation with Time magazine.
Why Rediff readers support breastfeeding.
The Slumdog Millionaire star has been tagged by high-society, high fashion magazine Vanity Fair for its The Vanities Girls section. Every month, in The Vanities Girls, VF chooses a 'promising' young actress and gives her a full-page portrait. Freida is the chosen one for the March 2009 issue.
In its 90-year history, the Academy has expelled only one other member, and only because 83-year-old Carmine Caridi, an actor, violated specific written rules about sharing screener copies of films in 2004.
So far, there seems to be limited debate about their activities in India, where virtually all FAANG companies have teamed up in different ways with India's most powerful businessman, observes T N Ninan.
'India's print media appears to be on the ventilator, gasping for breath, cutting staff, cutting salaries, cutting editions, cutting off its hands and legs,' notes Krishna Prasad.
Arun Sarin-led British mobile giant Vodafone has been named as the world's fifth most accountable firm by Fortune Magazine in a list of the world's 100 Most Accountable Companies 2007. The list has Mittal Steel, headed by NRI billionaire Lakhsmi Mittal, at 96th position.
Ramani, who concluded her arguments on Saturday in the complaint filed against her by Akbar, told the court through her lawyer that the #MeToo campaign was started to correct the structural wrong, which was continuing for long.
'Today, there is pervasive fear in society; an uncertainty of what might happen.' 'This has forced Muslims to shrink further into mental ghettos, with many considering extreme measures like pretending to change their identity.'
A survey of 300 engineering colleges revealed that only 29 per cent engineers are employable, while 30 per cent can be made employable after further studies, whereas 48 per cent are simply not employable
o attitudes or interpretations of the law on free speech change, depending on which religion is involved?
Anjuli Bhargava meets the women of Stree Shakti, an organization that is helping women in Uttarakhand's villages to supplement their family income.
The model, who has the same features as the late princess is taking the modelling world by storm.
Bhagwat referred to Gandhi's writings in Harijan in which he had declared himself a "fanatic Sanatani Hindu".
'Women's voices are too high or too low, or they are seen as too short or too tall, or too fat or too thin, to be great leaders.' 'These judgments wear us down.'
It is amazing how she used social media to network, inspire and give back to society while building an international career.
Bangladesh gets its first ever lesbian comic strip. Read on...
'When I used to shoot my friends or cousins, I used to tell myself: I want to make them look a better version of themselves.' 'That's how I started: "I don't care who you are or who you think you are. When you are in front of my camera, I'll make you look better than what you think you are".'
The noted publisher of Hindu religious and spiritual texts, which has seen tough times in the recent past, hopes the new UP CM's spiritual background will boost sales.
The world awaits a creative breakthrough for mobile phone ads, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
'I was born a lower middle-class person, am one today and will die as one,' Billboard's International Power Player Devraj Sanyal tells Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'The prime minister's announcement of a nation-wide shutdown was eloquent, but should have been more clearly phrased to avoid police overreach.' 'Migrant labour should have been allowed adequate notice and transport options to get home,' notes Rahul Jacob.
A small electric current boosts verbal ability, a study finds.
Hercules Singh Munda's father used to open the gates to a forest. Today, Hercules leaves for London to open the gates of his many dreams.
'Suspect all, fix all.' 'It is this mindset that begins at the very top of an establishment and then trickles down and across,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Public-interest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, along with Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list also includes Indian-American comedian and TV host Hasan Minhaj.
'Economically, if there are too many losers, macro-demand will suffer and undercut growth.' 'In more developed societies, the issue is resolved through the provision of safety nets, which don't exist in India.' points out T N Ninan.
Bumble began in 2014 as a dating platform for women to start discussions with potential male partners. The company is aiming to promote newer functions, Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz, which help women find friends and build business networks, alongside dating.
