Senior New Delhi-based journalist R Rajagopalan, who has been closely following the Union Budget preparations since 1977, lifts the veil off India's most secretive operation.
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
'These children are wards of the State. They were exploited because the state government and its officials didn't do their jobs.'
The people in charge of the PM's security need to shift the emphasis from the numerical (the number of policemen deployed) to technology-based solutions to sanitise the area where he resides, works and during his road journeys, says Anil Chowdhry, former secretary (internal security), ministry of home affairs.
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
Militants on Friday struck in a big way two days ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, storming an Army camp in Uri in Baramulla district, killing 11 security personnel, including a Lieutenant colonel, and following it up with multiple attacks in Srinagar, Tral and Shopian.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
'If the chief minister says there are areas in her home state where she cannot enter, where has she driven the state to!'
Assembly elections in Bihar, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is set for a battle against a united Janata Parivar, are likely to be held sometime in September-October when extensive central forces and a reworked expenditure monitoring system will be deployed to curb money and muscle power.
Indrani and Peter Mukerjea seemed more at ease on Wednesday, maybe with the INX Media interrogation over temporarily, chatting cheerfully and easily amongst themselves, and with former husband Sanjeev Khanna, at the back of the courtroom, in the accused enclosure.
It is a sight that both warms and breaks the heart. The women of Shaheen Bagh seem oblivious of the cold, these women and their children, the latter ranging in age from 19 days to early teens, who have been occupying the road for over two weeks now. Some of them have not gone home for days, but their faces are clear, unlined by fatigue, their eyes bright and fierce as those of the falcon, shaheen, the area is named for.
'Both India and Japan can find themselves in a win-win situation if they draw some lessons from each other's strengths,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
'Human rights violations are there in rural areas and in cities. In rural areas it is crude and in the open. In urban areas it is well hidden.' 'Awareness has grown several fold. India has 160 national and state human rights institutions. No other country in the world has this.' 'Unfortunately the right to association, right to assembly, freedom of expression, right to protest and discuss are all being curtailed systematically one by one.'
'A little old man who has renounced personal possessions, walking with bare feet on the cold earth in search of a great human ideal'.
The National Investigative Agency has filed a chargesheet against Pakistani national Bahadur Ali, who was arrested in Kashmir in July last year, alleging that he was working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba and was planning to carry out attacks at several places including Delhi.
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.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'More so, if it is their daughters wanting to marry someone of their own choosing.' 'Children are seen as property. That's why the problem is so messy.' For young Indians wanting to marry outside their religion, expressing their right to love and live as they choose is becoming increasingly hazardous.
It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
In 2016, the Centre has been able to get only seven IAS officers from all states so far.
'These are challenging times and we get energised by that.' 'I don't feel that 'I am tired now and I should relax', because even if someone calls us at 12 o'clock I have to answer his call.'
'That the commandments to officialdom were issued by a BJP functionary and not a minister is a reflection of the Yogi government's work style.'
Families of victims of extra-judicial killings in Manipur expect a favourable judgment from the apex court.
In the shock after Nathuram Godse murdered Mahatma Gandhi that January evening 72 years ago today, a young American diplomat rushed to capture the assassin. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel traces the memorable life of Herbert Reiner, who History has sadly relegated to a footnote.
Active citizenship through peaceful protest is a powerful tool, says Merril Diniz, who was part of a peaceful march that was struck down by police and CRPF personnel, while protesting against church attacks in Delhi.
Sanjay Khan goes back in time with memories of the Mysore fire tragedy.
Indrani called her personal assistant Kajal Sharma from the UK, May 3, 2012, and told her she had to sign Sheena's resignation letter as if she was Sheena signing it. But she had to first practice the signature and send Indrani proof of her proficiency in signing Sheena's name before sending the letter off. Sharma said she was reluctant and told the court that she told Indrani as much, but Indrani demanded it of her.
The girl lending the helping hand won her hearts and accolades, with Hero Cyles taking special note.
'The Kashmiri wants freedom, the dignity that comes from it and the intellectual versatility that flows from the combination of the two,' says political historian Siddiq Wahid.
Recruiting women works for the terror groups, as in most cases it is found that a woman draws less suspicion from security agencies. But the bigger advantage is that women terrorists have been found to get the job done nine out of 10 times, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The night before Sheena was allegedly killed, 'Indrani Madam instructed me to not send anyone up to her flat.' 'She told me to especially not allow Rahul Mukerjea.'
'We owe our existence to the men in uniform, and we owe it to them to cleanse the armed forces by driving away every bit of corruption that eats into it,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
The apex court said the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he is symbolically the owner of the land.
Right from the beginning, the State abdicated its responsibility in fixing the blame for the Hashimpura massacres or getting justice for the victims.
'Haven't you heard of the magical EVM machines? They can negate all our votes.' 'There is no hope. Modi is India's Putin.'
'The issue of the larger homeland of Nagalim, the dream of the Nagas to hold sway over swathes of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is just that, a dream.' 'The NSCN has been told categorically that the government is not going to concede on this issue.'
Fearing imminent arrest and likely reprisals from the CRPF -- 25 of whose jawans were gunned down by the Maoists inside a jungle just 200 to 300 metres away from their homes on the afternoon of April 24 -- young Adivasi men and women in Burkapal abandoned their homes and fled into the jungle.
'Poverty-stricken and drought-affected families in Bundelkhand and Marathawada are selling their children for as little as a few hundred rupees.'
Rediff.com takes a look at drones as they engage in activities you'd never thought you'd see.
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