'They want to wind up Osho's Pune operation, take the money and move out of India.'
On his first visit to Srinagar post the abrogation of Article 370, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that incidents of terrorism have declined and stone-throwing incidents too have ended in Jammu-Kashmir.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf unravels the chronology of controversy in the Aryan Khan drug bust case.
'They are ABVP-phobic people. Tomorrow, they will say the US attack on Iran is because of the ABVP.'
'When the Congress tied up with Chandrababu Naidu, they helped trigger Telangana pride.'
>The BJP's star campaigner could not help even half the number of candidates for whom he campaigned in his aggressive 'Didi-o-Didi' style in Bengal
'Prime Minister Narendra Modiji must personally intervene in the matter to make it clear to his officials and the rank-and-file that communal abuse should now stop'
The transformation of the Modi-Shah baiting Hardik Patel into saffron poster boy.
'They were certainly not practising Hinduism in the Harappan culture (which includes Mohenjo Daro and other sites).' 'There was no notion of Hinduism then.'
'Everyone has to take some step in solving this deadlock -- civil society, separatist leaders, the government.'
'When the Congress is put against someone like Narendra Modi, they do not have anything new to offer to the people of India.'
'Nowhere is it written in the Constitution that Ravan's effigy must be burnt.'
'The Indian government spent Rs 506 crore on security of the separatists in the last five years.' 'These separatist leaders must know how ordinary people live. Have you ever seen Geelani's son throwing stones?' 'The separatists have encouraged people into this stone throwing business. They have destroyed Kashmir.' Jammu BJP MLA Rajesh Gupta on why separatists must not be given security.
'We have been fighting for the last 70 years on the issue of Article 370.'
'Government intervention in agricultural trade is a problem for farmers.'
'You want poor people who take 5 kg rice to produce an Aadhaar card.' 'The poor man may or may not have Aadhaar.' 'Poor people are losing their food and dying.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents 10 dynasts of the BJP who have managed to get elected this time round.
It is a waste of time to speak up in today's India, believes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Israel has received an extremely hard and rude reminder that it cannot go ahead and talk of normalisation of relations with other Arab countries without addressing the issues pertaining to Palestine.'
'Cultural nationalism or the victim card that you play is okay when people are well fed.' 'But if you are not well fed, then it puts a question mark (on your leadership).'
Mulk tells Indian Muslims they have to ensure that their children don't get involved in jihad, and at the same time tells Hindus not to doubt the patriotism of Indian Muslims, notes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'When the Taliban took over there was a genuine fear that they will harm me, but right now that fear is not there.'
'You cannot give authority to citizens to start policing the State.'
'Sachin Pilot had every legitimate right to demand to become CM.'
'We are losing the battle of secularism, but we have not lost.'
'It is not that I don't want to say "Jai Shri Ram".' I only said I will not say this slogan under any pressure.'
Blaring music. Manic shoppers. A foreign brand launch.
'The Chinese have not crossed the LAC in Galwan.' 'They are on their side of the LAC and we are on our side.'
'The BJP is using all the central agencies at its disposal (to undermine us).' 'We are also taking care that our MLAs are not poached.'
Onkar Singh, a valuable member of the Rediff.com team over the years, breathed his last on January 13. Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who knew him intimately, remembers the ultimate newsman.
'Muslims have been observing namaaz for so many years.' 'The BJP wants to divide Hindus and Muslims for political gains.' 'This is happening in Haryana even though Muslims are only present in one district of Haryana.'
'Why do the English-speaking class feel they are the only ones who are efficient in work?' 'My own mother was from a village and she was more efficient than me. She used to handle crises better than me.' 'We will have to come out of our elite perception of governance.'
'Destabilising the Yediyurappa government is not a cakewalk.' 'If he is destabilised, then the BJP will have problems in Karnataka.'
Raghuram Rajan's exit reminds Syed Firdaus Ashraf of Kafka's The Trial.
Tanveer Jafri -- son of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the massacre -- speaks to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on how the carnage was a conspiracy against the community and their continuous fight for justice.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf wonders why no one objects to jokes about Rahul Gandhi, but are upset when Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar are mocked.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya is the eighth economist to quit since the Modi government took office.
'That she drove 20 km in 9 minutes is rubbish.'
'The government must have armed security personnel for doctors and only then they can go and serve people.'
'Muslims should not justify demolition of temples by foreign invaders.'
