'The Congress, all these decades, worked on a slow Hindi-isation and Indianisation of Arunachal tribes. The RSS wants rapid Hinduisation,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'One won't find a lawyer in any court in the country willing to believe that a talented lawyer like Bansuri Swaraj would appear in a case for free, that too in a metropolis like Delhi.' These and other Sheela Bhatt takeways from the August 12 proceedings in the Lok Sabha.
In his address to the Harvard class of 2017, Thursday, he shared his Harvard memories and spoke about finding purpose and meaning in one's life.
Though on the face of it appeared Pasbola was asking a series of odd questions that would be difficult for anyone to answer, there was, it gradually emerged, it seemed, a method to the questioning. Somehow, somewhere instinctively, Pasbola knew there was something not right with Riyaz's account.
'He did something good. He did something bad. I don't think people will forget the good part altogether and as long as people remember the good part, Lalu remains a force.'
In the dangal of UP politics, much as Muzaffarnagar wants to leave its past behind, the shadows are never be far behind.
'When you go to the root cause of any strife or violence, you find an agitated mind. If this agitation is not dealt with, then any other solution will be temporary and not as effective.' 'This is where meditation and the breathing techniques play a crucial role in creating a crime-free, violence-free society.'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks CNN's Becky Anderson.
akistani-American David Coleman Headley outline how the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Inter-Services Intelligence wanted to spread terror in India.
Veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor, whose book came out recently, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about Independent India's darkest phase.
The high court verdict on AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets conviction appeal just got delayed, says N Sathiya Moorthy
With an aggressive Opposition and unyielding government, important legislation could be the biggest casualty, as details of the helicopter contract surface.
Whatever the circumstances the cadres will not let themselves be seen as challenging 'MGR's symbol'. It's an emotional identification for most of them, and many consider it an 'eternal sin' for them to defy 'Two Leaves', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Admittedly, EVMs too have a UID number and any convergence of data can make the secret ballot system a party of history, warns Dr Gopal Krishna in the 5th part of his series against Aadhaar.
The recent episode in which a supposedly Pakistani boat destroyed itself at sea, apparently by setting itself on fire, has aroused a great deal of comment in the media. There have been some positive words for the Coast Guard which responded to the developing situation, such as it was, but also doubts about what had actually transpired.
Without a moment of hesitation, Rai jumped up on his rickety wooden stool in the witness box. He then drew his legs close to his body and wrapped his arms around his knees and finally tucked his head into his knees demonstrating the fetal position.
There it lay, a photograph on the desk under a stapler, and later a stamp pad, forgotten, done with, like its subject, a Mumbai Metro One employee who vanished overnight.
'I don't prepare (for a character), I become it. I don't have to think about a character too much, I become it. I give a lot of attention to detailing. Once I become the character, I go and deliver the scene.' Aishwarya Rai Bachchan gives us an insight into her life.
'One wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but precious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse?' The statement issued by Preet Bharara, the US Attorney, whose office is prosecuting Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat arrested in New York last week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Australia will not be at the periphery of India's vision but at the centre of its thought, as he called for closer bilateral security cooperation and a comprehensive global strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism.
'The more I lived in India, the more I realised that America was my home too.'
Iconic rights activist Irom Sharmila on the highs and lows of her long fast, why she gave it up and her plans.
Have you heard of the Burning Man festival? Or the Monkey Buffet festival?
'No other terror organisation has valued popular consensus as the Islamic State does -- instead of repressing people, IS wants to gain their support. This is a major innovation in terrorism,' says terrorism expert and author Dr Loretta Napoleoni in an interview to Archana Masih and Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan introduced their daughter Maxima to the world with a beautiful and thoughtful letter.
"At my core I think we're going to be OK," Obama said.
'Over one million people served in various battlefronts during World War I. And yet, even today, we know so very little about them.' 'It is absolutely essential to acknowledge this part of India's colonial history,' Santanu Das tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
As Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma ruled out any possibility of a compromise, whispers were already being heard of a possible collapse of the talks.
Nilanjana S Roy compiles a list of the most eagerly awaited books next year.
After many false starts, India may well be at the inflexion point that Deng Xiaoping took China to post-1978. The window of opportunity is wide open right now, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The propaganda aspect of the movie -- despite it stemming purely from the writer's deepest convictions -- is a clincher for it is highly unlikely that you'll walk out of a screening of Talvar saying, 'I loved the movie, but I still think the parents are guilty.' If you are swept away by the power of the movie, it's also sure to swing your perception in a certain direction,' says Sreehari Nair.
'The original dream of people like Faiz was that Pakistan would be something different from the old India: Progressive, forward looking, democratic (if not socialist), tolerant, diverse and pluralistic.' 'I don't think anyone foresaw the catastrophe that Partition was to become.'
The US dependent visa puts many restrictions on the spouses, mostly women, of the skilled workers who have an H1-B visa. Some even felt like they were thrown back into a model of the 'traditional family' where women are not valued at all outside of the home.
Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.
'We have won our political freedom, we have liberalised our economy and now it's time to liberate our minds also. That is why this film.' Director Ketan Mehta lists his reasons for making Rang Rasiya.
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
'For so long as the rulers of Pakistan remain committed to confronting and vanquishing India, they will sustain delusions, breed terrorists, and export them.'
'I want to be murdered at your hands, so I can live on in history. The verdict of who is or is not a traitor cannot be pronounced by a secret agency, but by history.' Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who survived an assassination attempt on April 19, challenges his enemies to dub him a traitor and says nothing will stop him from exposing them.
'The US wants Modi to succeed because we want India to succeed. For our part, when India thinks of its partners in the world, we want it to think of the US first. That means positioning our country as the preferred provider of the key inputs that can help to propel India's rise.' 'The meeting between Modi and Obama is, and must be, an opportunity for true strategic dialogue -- not a scripted exchange of talking points, but an open discussion of the big questions. What kind of world do we want to live in? What are our true priorities? And most importantly, why does this partnership still matter?'
'We were firing at Patton tanks that were moving towards India.' 'Fighter aircraft are the biggest menace for tanks because they come at great speed, attack from a height and their rockets are lethal.' 'The Hunter travels at 400, 420 knots. One knot is 1.6 times a km, so it was at a speed of 700, 800 km/hr.' 'You come at great speed and when you see the tanks, you pull up because attacks are always done in a dive.' 'You go up to 3,000 to 4,000 feet and then dive on to the target and let off your rockets...'
