As Narendra Modi and his ministers vigorously campaign for a shift to a cashless society, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf reports on what is really happening on the ground.
'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.'
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
'The act of demolition, for whatever reason, was far too hasty without even giving an opportunity of an appeal.'
'The BJP always said Rahul Gandhi is an 'air-conditioned leader', but after this yatra he has proved them wrong.'
'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.'
'You need to have enough funds to maintain the primacy of public transport and it should not suffer because of lack of funds.'
'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.'
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
'The decline of the Congress party and its inability to play the lead role in Opposition politics has created a space for the TMC to expand.'
Chandrashekhar Sawant halted the train by applying the emergency brake when he saw the debris falling as the train was approaching the collapsing bridge.
The hits and misses of the week.
Within four years of winning a single party majority in the Lok Sabha with 282 seats -- the first time it has happened in 30 years -- the BJP has lost it.
'When the Congress is put against someone like Narendra Modi, they do not have anything new to offer to the people of India.'
'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...'
'If you want to change everything all of a sudden to polyester, then the production of khadi flags will come under trouble.'
Can Nawazuddin Siddiqui bring Bal Thackeray's powerful personality to life? Syed Firdaus Ashraf watches the Thackeray trailer to find out.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com traces how the beating up of a man in Ghaziabad went from alleged communal attack to reported regular crime in a matter of days.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf tries to escape the Mumbai heat in the hills of Uttarakhand and discovers the aftermath of climate change and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
'Ajit Pawar's speech leaves no room for reconciliation.'
'When Etihad initiated their bid, it was conditional.' 'They said only if someone takes a 'haircut' would they be interested.'
'This is not the right way to speak about farmers. How can Kumaraswamy call farmers goondas?'
The result was so disastrous for the Congress and NCP that they lost 41 seats out of 48 to the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.
'There is a sense within the government and Modi that things are not as good as they were in 2019.'
'BJP has achieved its aim by making him a regional leader dependent on them.'
'It is a well-thought-out decision. I feel it is difficult for him now to step back.'
'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.'
Journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on August 18 for a retweet and has been in custody ever since.
Where did the rasgulla originate from? Is the dish originally from Odisha or West Bengal?
'Every traffic police station in the city has a policeman designated unofficially as the 'cashier.' 'His job is to collect the bribes and, at the end of every month, distribute this money among the cops according to rank.'
'Many BJP MLAs and ministers tell us the police does not listen to them.'
'While I am talking to you, I have no idea whether I'm infected or not.' 'I just want to go back home safely.'
'After Ambedkar, Dr Gail was the only writer who wrote critically on caste issues.'
'Whenever the Government of India throws the debris, they will not take such care of the mosque's debris and Muslims may object to such a move at that time.'
'Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are the two people who have been marked and punished'
'Upper castes who complain against reservations are fighting only for their own castes.'
