Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poems speak to every Indian, uniting them across political, social, religious and caste divides. They elevate; they inspire; they stir the soul and goose-bump the flesh.
The prime minister said everyone in the country is proud of Patel's contribution to India before it attained freedom and during the early years after the nation became independent.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has come under fire after one of its editors allegedly compared a British Muslim radical preacher to Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill.
Two days after the cross-Line of Control surgical strike, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday described Pakistan as an "anaesthetised patient after a surgery" and said "if you give us pain, this country's forces are capable of giving the same pain to you".
India also comes seventh among the biggest losers of happiness in the last one year.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday welcomed Rajasthan government's decision to include a chapter on iconic figures like Maharana Pratap in school textbooks and said he would urge the Human Resource Development minister to consider inclusion of such chapters in CBSE syllabus.
'From India to Indiana, there has always been a sense of hope, optimism, and goodness.'
'To ascribe motives to the actions of the state government at such an early stage of police investigation will be counter-productive,' says former Union home secretary Madhav Godbole.
'Go to any village, you'll find a Dalit 15 years and above wearing jeans.' 'Earlier, Dalits were not allowed to wear a dhoti till the ankles. Jeans does not have this kind of restrictions or design. It is universal. So Dalits have also entered a caste neutral clothing zone.' 'Wherever you see Dr Ambedkar's statue in this country or abroad, he is always wearing a suit and with that English comes naturally. The Dalits' veneration of Western dress is very intense,' Dalit thinker Chandrabhan Prasad tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com
Brutal and ruthless, with terrible human rights records, these autocrats will welcome Narendra Modi to their realm this coming week.
The verdict could impact a range of life choices of Indians, including food habits and sexual orientation.
Vallabhbhai Patel's great claim to fame originated from his steely leadership of a struggle against a repressive regime, a good three decades before the achievement of states unification, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Switzerland has been named the happiest country in the world.
'India's first and longest-serving prime minister created -- or at the very least imagined -- a modern, democratic nation-State of the 20th century,' says Sunil Sethi.
If Han Kang wrote only about cruelty and suffering, readers might respect her writings and her conscience, but her novels would not be as loved as they are by readers across the world, says Nilanjana Roy
Cutting across party lines, political leaders welcomed the government's decision to confer Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian honour, on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya.
Some people were so great, Modi said, that attempts were made to make their contributions forgotten for 70 years but these met with no success.
'The BJP politics of appropriating icons from its ideological adversaries could only be a desperate attempt to extend the Jat-Muslim divide in Uttar Pradesh. Why this desperation when it can comfortably get votes on the plank of economic development?'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
"Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart..." she said.
'This is basically aimed at vilifying Nehruvian ideals.' 'Why?' 'Because, Nehruvian leadership is seen by Hindutva forces as the one which did not let them have their Hindu Raj.' 'The Hindutva proponents have always assumed that had Sardar become the first prime minister, India could never have become a secular State,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The BJP president said it is parties run by "dictatorial mindset" which can think about bringing Emergency.
An ambitious exhibition tells the story of India as also the history of the world.
'Article 15 is not the work of a hack, or of someone merely scooping a plot out of newspaper headlines.' 'It is a well-researched, clear-headed movie; but its findings have a purpose,' says Sreehari Nair.
Modi said he saw the election results, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, as the "foundation of the new India".
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United States Congress.
Looking for travel inspiration as you plan your summer vacation? Here's help.
He also emphasised that those giving shelter to terrorists and using them as political instruments must be condemned, an apparent reference to Pakistan.
The 2019 election gives the Indian public the same choice: Between growth and oligarchs (or, in our case, dynasts and crony capitalists). If we chose wisely, well and good. If not, well, we have the Nehruvian Rate of Growth and massive corruption to fall back on. In a large sense, it is a choice between the India of the Lutyens elites and the Bharat of the real citizen, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Rajini said his contemporary Kamal Haasan possibly knew what that something was.
Just as Nelson Mandela united South Africans of all races in life, his death is bringing them together to celebrate his exemplary journey and achievements rather than grieving over his passing.
At Sabarmati Ashram that very hot summer evening, some had come to see and feel the place where Bapu lived. Some had come to be alone on the lawns after a disappointing Class 12 result...
Seven persons had been arrested in connection with the blasts.
Rajeev Srinivasan on how India has continued to disappoint, but could outdo Singapore one day.
We reproduce an appreciation article that Sardar Patel wrote on October 14, 1949, a month before Nehru's 60th birthday, where he heaped praises on Nehru's merits and also went on to elaborate the deep ties he shared with him.
'The conception of Make-in-India, Skill India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padao and so on show a visionary breadth of mind, and Modi is almost the first political leader in India to put them into effect with single-minded zeal,' notes B S Raghavan, the former civil servant.
"Features of the Bill are anti-people and anti-Constitution...it is a very dangerous act," the fiery TMC MP said.
As Uddhav Thackeray consolidates his hold over the Shiv Sena, conflict within the ranks seems inevitable, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
There's never a bad time to visit Japan.
