Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as National Unity Day, saying a nation that disregards its history cannot create one and made a veiled reference to anti-Sikh riots that followed then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination this day 30 years ago.
Mayawati has accused 'Ravan' of being a BJP agent who is dividing the scheduled castes.
'What was said about Muslims was the most important part of the three-day RSS 'seminar'.'
'Nobody in AMU supports Jinnah's two-nation theory.' 'It is shameful we are debating Jinnah and not education or employment.'
The Indian Institute of Science topped the HRD ministry's 2017 national rankings. In 2016, the IISc was ranked among the world's top 15 universities in the Times Higher Education University Rankings. In his book The Creation of Wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century, R M Lala recounted how Jamsetji Tata's grand vision and immense personal contribution laid the edifice of arguably India's finest educational institution.
It is a blessing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "spends some time in the country also", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Wednesday.
She said she will go to Ayodhya on Wednesday and visit the makeshift temple to seek Ram Lalla's blessings.
India and Japan have a shared interest in countervailing China's hegemonic ambitions in Asia. Although neither has an interest in forming an overt anti-China alliance, Tokyo and New Delhi feel increasingly obligated to work together to find ways to guard against a muscular Beijing's power sliding into arrogance, says Brahma Chellaney.
"Terrorists won't win," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said after a blast at the Port Authority terminal in Manhattan during the morning rush hour on Monday, which injured four.
'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'
The Congress on Tuesday accused Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to appropriate Sardar Patel's legacy, which "belongs to Congress", and reminded that Patel had said that it was the "communal poison of RSS" which killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Because no other leader cared for Indians as selflessly as he did -- and it all started from a remote corner at the edge of this vast country, 100 years ago.
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
A Union Cabinet note said, "There seems to be no scope for doubt that he died in the air crash of 18th August 1945 at Taihoku. Government of India has already accepted this position. There is no evidence whatsoever to the contrary."
Arthur J Pais analyses Oscar 2014 big wins and losses.
'My work hasn't reached many people, and I hope that changes.'
The argument that a Bharatiya Janata Party government has no business marking the 125th birth anniversary of Panditji makes little sense, says Virendra Kapoor
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'He can do wonders if only he dons the mantle of the leader, mentor and path-setter of the nation and for all its people, instead of remaining content with being a mere PM belonging to one of the many political parties,' says B S Raghavan.
The only thing more dangerous than a killer who thinks he is acting to protect his faith or community is the killer who knows he is acting with the sanction of his faith or community
Instead of repealing Section 295A of the IPC, which criminalises speech that offends the religious, India intends to further criminalise offence against religion, says Mihir S Sharma
'There is no remorse over the Dadri lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq or of Pehlu Khan by cow vigilante groups.' 'But should you not have remorse for those who came to kill them?' 'They were Hindus. Do you accept that?' 'That to kill one Pehlu, 20 Hindus have become murderers.' Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Ravish Kumar.
When Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam took an epic car journey from Coimbatore to London, they encountered a world that was more good than bad. In the cry for freedom in a dark corner of the globe, they discovered that The Mahatma remained India's greatest icon.
John Lang represented Rani Laxmibai in her legal battle against the East India Company to prevent the British from annexing her kingdom of Jhansi. Rediff.com's Archana Masih on a maverick Aussie who spent 22 years in India and became a friend in its dark days of bondage.
'The summer of 1857 saw violence, perpetrated by the Indians and the Britons, on an unprecedented scale.' 'Never before and never after in the history of British rule in India was there violence at the level that 1857 witnessed.'
'Slightly more than 50 per cent of all Keralites are Hindus. If we can unite as many as we can, we can create a huge difference in the political scene in Kerala.'
China's ruling Communist Party has cracked down on Tibetans who planned to attend the Kalachakra Puja in Bodh Gaya. But the Tibetan people have dared the Communists by listening to the Dalai Lama's sermons on the Internet and sharing videos on social media.
The prime minister has followed a dual strategy. He is invoking Gandhi to project himself as a statesman and yet, because he is essentially a politician, he has to take the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh along as well
Stating that India is new bright spot of hope and opportunity for the world, the prime minister said India among other things is igniting the engines of its manufacturing sector and making its farms more productive and more resilient.
Here's a glimpse at what happened around the world last week.
The world is still figuring out the man as he continues his enigmatic journey towards the first 100 days of his presidency.
'Non Resident Indians know that India's problems are the combination of many factors over the centuries, including foreign rule, lack of resources and the ever-growing population, among other things. Yet, India has achieved many things and even looks at Mars as a neighbour.'
Rachit Hirani crisscrossed 1600 kilometres through Switzerland's mesmerising landscape in 10 days and he cant stop gushing about it...
The Karnataka government is divided over filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu chief minister. N Sathiya Moorthy analyses the possibilities
'It's a humiliating time to be a human being.' It's a pity that the magnificent 17-year-old gorilla is dead. But it's not enough to hang our heads in shame or comfort ourselves with clicktivism, observes Bijoy Venugopal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday address Members of the British Parliament in London where he promised to open more doors of cooperation between the two countries and delved on issues like terrorism and United Nations reforms.
PM Modi addressed a crowded UNESCO gathering, speaking of the importance of culture.
'The real danger in India right now is that identity politics is being stoked in extremely dangerous ways.' 'The narrative you get about churches in the mainstream Indian media and the narrative you get in the social media is very different.' 'Many Americans today want to appropriate Indian culture. They want yoga, but they say yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism. They want Ayurveda, but they say it's got nothing to do with Hinduism.' 'Hinduism has been failed by political constituencies in India -- seculars and the right-wing.'
With facts and figures, the CAG report has highlighted how Gujarat was far from a role model for states across India, and that the progress made in this province in western India in improving agriculture, education, healthcare and empowerment of women and children, was not exactly creditable, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
