Everything about ISIS had indicated that this would be a violent Ramzan. A violent, divisive Ramzan sends out exactly the message that ISIS wants to send to religious Muslims outside its folds: It plays on their faith and fears, says writer Tabish Khair.
Tista Sengupta catches up with five emerging designers from North East India -- Daniel Syiem, Atsu Sekhose, Meghna Rai Medhi, Dhiraj Deka and Sanjukta Dutta -- who, in their own way, are fighting to keep their traditional art of weaving alive.
'All the anti-India groups like LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen have been activated with terrorist camps and launching pads in place.'
She warned that Trump is not fit to have his finger on America's nuclear trigger.
The storage of water in the six major reservoirs in the state was just 6.2 per cent of capacity as of April 27, 2017, reports T E Narasimhan and Gireesh Babu.
'I think my mom's fear came from the fact that I would be compared to her.' 'She was worried about the comparisons because she would say, "I have done 400 films and this is your first, but they will compare you to my 400 films".'
'We have created an enemy we can't even see and that enemy is entertaining us while tightening the noose around our necks.' 'As the radiation increases, it will affect everything -- from your little bumble bee to plants to every living cell.' 'By the time the effects are understood, it might be too late.'
Most juvenile remand homes are in appalling condition and need a massive overhaul. But whether redrafting the law will bring down juvenile crime is the moot question. What is required better remand homes, more specialised care rather than to expose young people to the trauma and stigma of adult jails, says Rashme Sehgal.
Just as Billa-Ranga had become symbols of everything that was wrong with the system many years ago, Nestle is now portrayed as the wickedest of the wicked. Every known food crime in India is now attributed to Nestle including deliberately increasing the level of lead in their noodles, as well as deliberately destroying the health of millions. That's not only unfair, it's downright idiotic, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'There is nothing wrong in accepting Rama as a God.' 'You will not get to read a story as deep as Valmiki's Ramayana in which he talks about complex relations, strong emotions, pain, desertion and unconditional love. Whether you depict Rama as a human being or a divine person, the Ramayana is an epic with a great human story.' 'It is not religious intolerance at all; this is part of political power and polarisation. A religious person will never act intolerant towards another religion.'
'The government that is talking all the time about national security and national interests should be concerned.' 'When national interests are jeopardised by their own project, they should pause and listen.' 'Whether it is the BJP or the Congress, they all want control over the people.' 'They don't give a damn if anything happens to the people of the country; they are only interested in what they can get out of the data.'
The following is the full text of US President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of the Congress on February 28, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House press office.
Priya Ramesh, a psychoanalyst and life coach, recounts how she, her husband and neighbours braved the floods by sheltering on the first floor of their villas in Chennai's Sholinganallur suburb.
A Muslim man taking a PhD in a dance form is not unusual, but it becomes interesting when the dance happens to be Mohiniyattam, says Shobha Warrier
The Dalals, whose son faces 30 years in prison if found guilty of masterminding domestic terror acts, have decided to take their case to the Indian-American community.
Rediff.com's Love Guru answered readers' queries on their relationship problems.
A month ago, Jasmeet Gandhi set out to cycle 1,000 kilometres to raise money for children afflicted with eye cancer. At the end of the journey from Mumbai to Bengaluru, during which he raised Rs 23 lakhs, he received a gift that changed his life.
'The year in pictures' treks across the globe, looking back on the moments that shaped 2016. From the United States presidential race, to demonetisation in India to the refugee crisis, the news has kept pouring in. Here are our top 50 moments from the world.
'In the name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
For the thousands of destitute that Mother Teresa treated, she was 'god incarnate' and her hand was the miracle of love the poor needed. Attributing scientifically-unproven remedies as miracles does not help the followers of Missionaries of Charity and humanity in general, says Pallava Bagla.
The so-called soil scam has left Lalu alone in the Mahagathbandhan.
'...because we are truer to the spirit of the Hindu faith.' 'There is absolutely no question that the Hinduism of the mob lynchers, the people who have killed others because of what they are eating or how they are worshipping or the faith they belong to or what they're doing professionally, those are, to my mind, not Hindus at all.'
A soldier cannot justifiably demand faster, easier promotions based on frequent field tenures
Is Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi opening another minefield with the introduction of mandatory pre-nuptial agreement before marriage or will this proposed legislation help streamline the dissolution process of a marriage given the spiralling divorce rates in our country? Rashme Sehgal speaks to lawyers on the issue.
As India gears up to honour its pravasis on January 9 to mark their contribution in the nation's development, rediff.com presents perspectives from eminent writers on the Diaspora. Kicking off the series is Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who points out that the change of the Diaspora policy put in place by Rajiv Gandhi following the military coup in Fiji and his decision to stand by them, was the one defining moment in India's dealings with its overseas family.
Anti-conversion laws are needed since thrusting the idea of a competitive battlefield of religion onto India's pluralistic traditions can only lead to greater communal conflict, says Sankrant Sanu
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya's take on International Women's Day.
Nebraska is not merely a black comedy, but one laced with light, with hope, with brightness. Black and White, then. Sometimes they do make 'em like they used.
>What happens when two teenagers -- one Israeli and one Palestinian -- discover that they were accidentally switched at birth? The Other Son is a wonderful vision of Israel and Palestine. There is no positive future for the region and its people without this vision, feels Aseem Chhabra.
'That winsome smile is a key asset. And says a lot about her too.'
Here are some of the most stunning moments of the week that was.
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.
Ivanka spoke for a good 15 minutes, gracefully, looking straight at her audience, her face wreathed often in winning smiles. She is an articulate, striking, woman who charmed her audience.
Karan Johar talks about his much-awaited directorial venture Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
They say that cinema is a reflection of society. If that is true, what kind of society are we living in, asks Paloma Sharma.
'It is nauseating to hear jingoists shout that this is a country that worships women as Goddesses. Leave Goddesses aside, do you treat women as human beings here?'
The local labour force is streaming out of the region, creating a vacuum that makes it easier for the Bangladeshis to fill in, says R N Ravi
'Imagine for a moment that the Coast Guard was unable to stop the vessel and it reached Porbandar with its cargo/personnel and targeted the event at which the prime minister was present,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The patience, discipline, and resolve displayed by 125 crore Indians, will play a critical role in shaping the future of the nation for years to come, the PM said.
The population in Gaza has, for almost a decade, been facing Israel-created 'blockage' from the rest of the world. The isolation has given rise to tunnel phenomenon, an underground route for the procurement of essentials, says Ajey Lele