In a sign of the growing political prominence of Hindus in America, the Trump and Biden campaigns are wooing this religious minority community like never before. Hinduism is the fourth largest faith in the US, representing approximately one per cent of the US population in 2016.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's worldview sets him apart
Swati Snigdha Suar brings you some interesting factoids about the Indian-American who is eager to take on Washington.
On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the United States Naval Observatory has announced.
Atul Keshap would be 'a superb fit for Sri Lanka as he knows the ins and outs of the politics there and all the political players, including the new disposition in Colombo intimately,' US diplomatic sources in Washington, DC told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
'President-elect Biden, in particular, has deep knowledge of, and experience with, dealing with India, serving as a custodian and champion of the relationship long before it was fashionable to do so.'
'The general perspective -- certainly on Capitol Hill and Congress -- the love for India, the positive feeling for India still focuses on India as a democracy.' 'The more that Indian democracy and its pluralistic features is called into question by Indians, the more that same debate will replay back here.'
The American efforts to make India a security partner have enhanced India's importance to Chinese decision makers and new recognition of India's importance and achievements are reflected in a much more positive reporting about India in the State-controlled media, says Walter Andersen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a high-level summit on sustainable development hosted by the United Nations on September 25 and will also travel to San Francisco during his United States visit, becoming the fourth Indian premier to visit America's West Coast.
Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued a telegram message on Sunday noting that visas would be issued for the Americans partly because of the decision by a US federal judge to "halt the execution of discriminatory restrictions against the entrance of Iranian citizens to America", IRNA reported.
The Americans, Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, are travelling back to the US with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Read the full transcript of President Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday at the US Capitol in Washington.
There are worrying signs that the resolve to continue adhering to the dos and don'ts of the times -- physical distancing, wearing masks and maintaining hygiene protocol - is flagging. This recklessness, more evident ahead of Diwali, may lead to a resurgence in novel coronavirus infections and stall the progress in curbing the disease, the experts said.
'Potent nationalism doesn't just distract from the economic task at hand; it actively undermines it.'
Kavanaugh's nomination plunged into chaos after Christine Blasey Ford on Sunday told 'The Washington Post' that she was subjected to a sexual assault by the Supreme Court nominee in high school in the early 1980s.
While there is a glimmer of hope and India's COVID-19 numbers are on a definite decline for a combination of reasons, a vaccination programme continues to be important, particularly given the presence of a mutant, more transmissible strain, several experts said while cautioning against infection upticks ahead.
He was most recently credited as one of the brains behind labour law reforms in Rajasthan
The court asked challengers of the ban respond to the appeal, and for the Justice Department to file a counter-response by Monday.
The start of Indian lobbying in the US can be traced back to Pakistan's anti-India lobbying. Policy wonk Ashok Sharma documents this journey and its catalytic role in transforming the US-India relationship.
Trump picked Justice Kavanaugh from his original list of 25 judges, which also included prominent Indian-American judge Amul Thapar, from which he had said he would nominate for any vacancy in the Supreme Court.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was again "detained" at an United States airport, the third time in seven years that he has been stopped by US immigration officials at the country's airports. However, outrage over the incident prompted US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma to apologise on behalf of his government.
'All the vaccines that are available in most countries, right now, are all highly effective and safe.'
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Will the latest development see a marked break from the way the case has been going?
'What Kamala Harris' rise and rise underscores is that our old ways of identifying the Indian-American Diaspora need to change...' 'None of this detracts from her Indian-American identity, which makes us feel as if we are Americans too,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Amul Thapar, 47, had become in 2007 the first South Asian Article III judge when he was appointed as a US District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
In 2012 Rediff.com had published a feature on the rare aspects of Hawking's life and work, based on a feature by popular edutainment website HowStuffWorks, which we reproduce.
'New Delhi and Washington are now on the same page, on dealing with growing Chinese assertiveness, across the entire Indo-Pacific region,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, Chancellor, Central University of Jammu.
'To be an immigrant, a South Asian immigrant of colour, a woman to be included in the Portrait Gallery... it really says that we are the country where people look for the people who make a positive impact and celebrate them,' Nooyi, 64, told reporters during the portrait gallery induction ceremony on Sunday.
Indian Americans in Boston are preparing to throw a red-carpet welcome to anti-corruption crusader Annn Hazare, during his two-week visit to the United States, a kind of welcome, which has not been seen for a non-politician from India in recent times.
Distinguished Indian American professor of psychiatry and neurosciences Dr Dilip V Jeste has been appointed the first associate dean for Healthy Aging and Senior Care at the University of California. In an exclusive conversation with Aziz Haniffa, Dr Jeste speaks elaborately on his road map ahead, and also the need to change mindset towards ageing and aged people.
The denial rate jumped from 4% to 41% for Tech Mahindra, from 6% to 34% for TCS, from 7% to 53% for Wipro and from just 2% to 45% for Infosys.
Pakistan's military can go to any length to inflict harm on India, so don't write off the possibility of an ISI-IS alliance, says Rajeev Sharma.
The 36-year-old desi speaks impeccable Arabic and quotes freely from the Quran during his speeches, reports Aziz Haniffa.
Rediff.com takes a look at some of the most prominent politicians across the world as they get jiggy with it.
Shriya and Adhya Beesam won the competition while Vineet Edupuganti won the top individual award.
A Sikh can be allowed to enter the United States military with turban and beard, the Pentagon has said, noting that the approval in this regard would be given on a case by case basis and there is no universal or automatic approval to the new relaxed religious norms.
'We're paying them nothing because that's what they've done to help us. Nothing'
A 20-year-old Sikh-American student has won a significant legal battle in the United States with a court allowing him to enrol in an army programme without removing his articles of faith like the beard and turban.
'Trump forgets that Kim is not one who likes to be treated publicly as a pauper; he wants to come to the table as an equal, and from a position of perceived strength, not as a suppliant,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.