Hamid Nihal Ansari, a software engineer from Mumbai, returned to India in December 2018 after spending six years in a Pakistani jail for illegally entering the neighbouring country from Afghanistan, reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. He was arrested in 2012 and lodged at Peshawar jail after Pakistan had slapped espionage charges against him. The decision to release him was on account of relentless pressure from New Delhi and Sushma Swaraj, who was the external affairs minister and was personally monitoring the case. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, Ansari recalls the time he spent with her and says that if it wasn't for her efforts, he would still be rotting away in a Pakistani cell.
'Since I was held at gunpoint I had no option but to give them the car keys.' 'They took the car and drove away.'
Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha's tenures in the Rajya Sabha end this month.
'A slum free Mumbai cannot happen with Dharavi at the centre of the city.'
'This trope must have been taken in 30 films.' 'The rogue agent is a common trope and not something unique.'
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
'We are losing the battle of secularism, but we have not lost.'
'People of my constituency told me they will continue loving me, but will not vote for me if I am with the BJP.'
Why is the government unwilling to disclose the winners of its DigiDhan Yojana?
'The Indian Army and paramilitary have to land more in Assam as the situation is very bad, especially in upper Assam,' says BJP MLA Binod Hazarika whose home was burnt down by mobs.
'Ajit Pawar's speech leaves no room for reconciliation.'
'All is well in Visakhapatnam for now.'
'The people of Jharkhand know that Modi is not going to become chief minister, so why should they vote for the BJP?'
'With the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Hindus from Pakistan can come to India. They have got a way,' says Gurumukh Jagwani who came to India on his honeymoon, loved the country so much that he stayed back and got Indian citizenship.
'William Mustoe, the director of horticulture during British rule, named the Presidential Palace garden after the Mughals.' 'He simply kept the name because it was made on the pattern of a Mughal garden.''He simply kept the name Mughal gardens because it was made on the pattern of Mughal garden.'
'I am not sure of the numbers killed, but they were not as high as the use of the word 'genocide' suggests.' 'There is another meaning you could take, 'cultural genocide', in that the Pandit community is extremely small and their forced departure led to a wiping out of their culture.'
Indians waiting patiently in serpentine queues outside Mumbai banks tell Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf they are ready to suffer for the larger good of the country.
'If we want a stable society, then all groups must feel that they have a seat at the table of power.'
'The BJP always said Rahul Gandhi is an 'air-conditioned leader', but after this yatra he has proved them wrong.'
'We are a country of amazing ability and the way we have responded to the pandemic is evidence.'
'Modi warned China, therefore they have come to the talks.' 'Nothing will come out of these talks.'
'As far as I know, Sachin Pilotji is not going to the BJP.'
'The Indian government evacuated its citizens from the clutches of the Taliban and Covid-hit Wuhan, so I am not worried.'
'At present there might be at least 500 Indians stuck in Iran for various reasons and we have no idea when they will come back.'
'I would like to see Kharge include Shashi in the Congress Working Committee.' 'The other alternative is that the Congress will marginalise him.'
'If the Congress gets to form the government in 2024, then Sonia Gandhi by virtue of being CPP chairperson will have the authority to decide who will be the prime minister and not Kharge.'
'We moved out just in time. The fire spread so fast.'
'Where was the armed police?' 'Did you see armed constables around him?' 'There was deep negligence by the UP police and this was a deep conspiracy.'
'I am very grateful to Rajnathji that he confirmed the fact that Savarkar was a habitual mercy-seeker from the British.'
'The Congress didn't win elections only on soft Hindutva.'
Aam Aadmi Party calls Bhagwant Mann its people's choice for CM candidate in Punjab. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com traces what makes Mann so indispensable for his party.
'The act of demolition, for whatever reason, was far too hasty without even giving an opportunity of an appeal.'
'The place I used to sleep in the jail had a big window high up on the opposite side, where at sunrise and sunset time a bird would drop in every day.' 'It could be an eagle or a peacock. And sometimes a monkey.' 'Those moments calmed you, brought hope...'
'Centres like polling booths can be set up for the area till the last adult is vaccinated -- open on all days from 9-9.' 'People should be able to come as per their convenience.'
'As the firing started everything went haywire.'
'All restaurants and pubs must treat the issue seriously and appoint safety officers. This chalta hai attitude cannot work.'
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
'If you want to change everything all of a sudden to polyester, then the production of khadi flags will come under trouble.'
'They want to wind up Osho's Pune operation, take the money and move out of India.'
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