'Culture is our asset. Culture is our identity.' 'Wherever you go in India, every millimetre can be measured with culture.' 'There is so much to see that even one life is not enough.'
'The thing we fondly call FB has come a long way from the cute baby dimples it had in 2006.' 'Today the dimples are long gone and FB looms over us as Mr Hyde, designing the news we see with algorithms that determine what we might want to see; allowing companies to empty our pockets as we hug it good morning and to lobotomise us as we sleep,' says Mitali Saran.
'India missed the software products revolution (and now is in danger of missing the platform revolution), complacent that we are the software experts of the world based on IT services prowess,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
One would not think that a Facebook status or a tweet could land you in jail, at least not in India -- the world's largest democracy. However, the reality is a lot more brutal in India, which has a shameful history of locking up its citizens for dissenting viewpoints. According to Mint, at least 50 people have been arrested through 2017 and 2018 for posts on social media. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents some of the most prominent cases.
'While there cannot be any doubt that the national anthem should be shown utmost respect, cinema halls are not the most appropriate places to play the national anthem.'
'The Elgar Parishad turned out to be the first rallying cry against the BJP and RSS in Maharashtra.' 'The speakers took a vow not to vote for the BJP.'
'Both the governor and the President enjoy an enormous array of 'grey' powers.' 'All parties criticise these when in the Opposition. But why does no government dismantle them when these parties come to power?' asks Aditi Phadnis.
'...vis-a-vis state or local elections,' Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala tell Uttaran Das Gupta.
'The Pakistani military has encouraged and supported terrorist organisations, especially in Kashmir, as a means of waging proxy war against the Indian military and the country's superior economic resources.' 'The evidence is irrefutable with the recent killing of 46 paramilitary troops being just the latest example.'
For podcasters -- those who create podcasts -- the medium's appeal also owes to the fact that its content remains unregulated. Uncomfortable conversations, taboo subjects, stigmatised issues, are all encouraged.
'A class antagonism of rich versus poor took the colouring of a communal confrontation,' says Sunil Sethi.
'#MeToo is not to be dismissed as a 'shoot and scoot' but seen as the uncovering of dark truths about seemingly sophisticated and powerful personalities, or at least as one providing catharsis to a survivor,' notes Utkarsh Mishra.
'So potent is the menace of false news that scientists have now devised a psychological vaccine to target it,' says Veena Sandhu.
Unique Identification Authority of India said the alleged data breach took place on a website that does not belong to it.
'You cannot say that I have blocked a thousand Web sites (operated by IS) and so I am happy.' 'They will immediately open another thousand such Web sites.'
'It is important whenever such accusations arise to provide whatever support we can to the accusers who, with inspiring bravery, have decided to take on men far more powerful than they are,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Rishabh Lawania's three tips for success: 1. Innovate. 2. Fail fast. 3. Always see ahead of time.
'What matters is that India's perspective on global issues -- climate change, intellectual property, free trade, trade routes being kept free, digital technology -- are listened to with respect,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
Unbanked customers can expect easier access to banking.
Indians must remember that Pakistanis hate losing to India, at war or in cricket, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Facebook owns WhatsApp and Microsoft owns Skype, the two services that are at the centre of the current "net neutrality battle".
Investigation has revealed that the two had planned to attack the famous temple at Chotila town of Surendranagar district.
The 25-year-old's story is an inspiration for young Indians.
The new entrants are young, enterprising Chinese men and women who want to tap into the promising Indian market.
'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
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New York Stock Exchange President 38-year-old Tom Farley (ranked 7) and Twitter co-founder and CEO 37-year-old Jack Dorsey.
'It is very hard to get the police to file a report against someone from an upper caste.' 'Things are so bad that sometimes we have to sit on a dharna with the body of a Dalit victim to get the police to file a complaint.'
Incidents like these are a wake-up call, says School Education Secretary Anil Swarup. 'Today, if a particular problem has been found, technology allows solutions to address it,' he says, suggesting alternatives such as printing and distribution of encrypted question papers on the day of the exam. Swarup wants electronic tracking to keep tab on who has access to and can, therefore, leak papers.
'We know each other for quite some time.' 'He could provide stability to the country for five years.' 'But he could not provide confidence to the countrymen that he is our leader.'
From coming up with the correct list of beneficiaries to finding enough people to work as Ayushman Mitras to generating awareness about the scheme - many things need to fall in place before it can be successfully launched in a few days.
'Balakot and Pulwama will definitely help the BJP, but it will still not help them to create a 2014 like situation or go beyond that.'
'While Modi is undoubtedly the star of the show, the online sphere has found in Modi the champion to re-engineer what it means to support the right.'
They aid patients needing drugs and doctors via their online venture.
Fake or exaggerated news against the forces and the administration are feeding public anger, often leading to violence.
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
Who were they? What led them to mass murder?
'I would say it is not going to be days and weeks. It is going to be months and years, over which we would make an assessment on the decisions taken by the Parliament at this point of time. 'We are in for a long haul is what I would say.' It was a very diverse India, which was coming together, politically, in a very cohesive, democratically-resilient way." Professor Navnita Behera examines the wisdom of the exit of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Here's your weekly dose of weird, true and funny news from around the world.
'If majority of the country's population is sentimental about a certain species, why are we so ashamed to say that we want to give it statutory protection?'
'There are moments, and the hanging of Yakub Memon was one, where all of the gathered injustices are crystallised. Those gathered at the graveyard were not there to protest. They came to sympathise because they are also victims,' says Aakar Patel.
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