Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But through social and political reformers, not by courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.
The Bharat Ratna conferred on Madan Mohan Malaviya has exposed the frictions within his family, reports Manavi Kapur
'For the last two months, the menace of stray dogs has gone to scary proportions in Kerala' 'What will you do if you cannot walk on the road without fear?'
Once a bountiful water body, years of neglect, rampant encroachment and dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waster has virtually turned Bellandur lake into a large septic tank.
The expert panel has suggested that there would be two components of rehabilitation plan -- physical and biological, and they would cost Rs 28.73 crore and Rs l3.29 crore respectively, besides additional ancillary expenses.
Violence has always been a fact of life in Bengal's politics; it is just that the faces have changed, the contesting ideologies have changed, says Saisuresh Sivawamy.
'Emojis were conceived to add a dash of pizzazz to our text lives.' 'That's what they do still.' 'Hoping that they will usher social change is optimism on steroids,' says Shuma Raha.
Mayawati has accused 'Ravan' of being a BJP agent who is dividing the scheduled castes.
With the Maharashtra government doling out pieces of the lush green Aarey forest to various utilities, the tribals living in it for generations are feeling increasingly insecure. Hepzi Anthony reports.
'She was just a little girl. She didn't understand religion. Who is Hindu, who is Muslim.' 'She was just 8! Why punish her?' The family of the eight-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Jammu's Kathua district say everything has changed since that horrific crime.
Women should stop being ashamed of their periods. They should start celebrating it, feels Nishant Bangera.
'This speech is going to be more of a punishment. I spoke too much this afternoon' A tireless Prime Minister Narendra Modi left over 700 notable luminaries in peals of laughter with his quick wit and sense of humour during a dinner and reception hosted by Indian Ambassador Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Taj-owned, The Pierre Hotel. In the presence of the who's who of desi Americans and US lawmakers, Modi once again thanked the Indian-Americans for their contributions and discussed his plans of developing India and the ties he hopes to nurture with America. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com presents a sneak-peak into the festive, grand dinner.
Rediff readers share why they support the breastfeeding campaign.
Modi government is pushing GM food crops without adequate safety assessment and transparency, claim activists.
'Mohammad Akhlaq's death isn't only about a Muslim being killed out of sheer communal bigotry, but also the denial of the Constitutional guarantees of "due process" under Article 21 and the freedom of choice,' says Shehzad Poonawalla, who has moved the National Commission for Minorities over the murder.
Meet Sabriye Tenberken, a German woman who is changing lives in India.
'The reason I call Dadri a landmark turning point in our politics is the relatively muted response of the self-styled secular forces.' 'Top leaders of the Congress haven't even taken a padyatra to the village, just a 40 minute drive from Delhi. Lalu, Nitish, Mamata, all claimants to the secular vote, are afraid of messing with an issue involving the cow.' 'Holiness of the cow has now become as multi-partisan an issue as hostility to Pakistan,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The situation is unlike any other legislation/ordinance that governments at the Centre and states had passed on earlier occasions after the higher judiciary had held certain laws, orders or decisions ultra vires of the Constitution, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The government has set up a control room to coordinate the cleaning process across the state and the civic bodies have been entrusted with the task of managing the work, official sources said on Thursday.
Aseem Chhabra picks the scenes that left him impressed this year.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
'You can never say never in politics.' 'We may still see the return of AAP, but hopefully not of the same abusive politics again,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'The beef fest is about an individual's freedom to wear what he wants and eat what he wants. The students were protesting against the state interfering with their personal liberties.' 'Everybody has the right to air his or her opinion and lead a life they want. Nobody has any right to put restrictions on others. What we need is tolerance but what we see is intolerance.' Deepa Nisanth, a lecturer who backed Kerala's beef fest, on why she supported the students in their protest.
'Children should be brought up connected to our culture and should be introduced to characters from our mythologies. What is this Baa Baa Black Sheep?'
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
Kailash Satyarthi, co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, in front of packed crowd made a rousing speech asking every person to come together and set our children free. He honoured those who came before him and also said that he accepted this honour on behalf of all the martyrs and activists in India. Here's the transcript of his moving acceptance speech.
Anecdotes and laughter peppered the launch of Renu Kurien Balakrishnan debut novel, Four Aleys.
National award winner Chaitanya Tamhane tells us the story behind his film, Court.
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Anand Gandhi's directorial debut is a film we've all been waiting for.
'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....' 'Have you heard of such nonsense anywhere else in the world? And we claim we are civilised!' 'One or two or a few people becoming President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Speaker etc from the downtrodden do not mean that the untouchables are uplifted and caste-based slavery is over.'
'The BJP has no presence where the regional parties are strong.' 'And we should think of the Congress and support the Congress in those places where it is the dominant regional party.' 'The leaders of the other parties (have to) get together on this simple principle of one candidate against the BJP candidate.'
Here's how India's most successful film star goes about his work.
Single mother Gauri Sawant hopes to change the way people view transgenders in India.
'Why would the Communists do this? I have three possible answers: One, they are specifically opposed to the Global Education Meet that the ambassador organised. Two, they are beginning to realise their days are numbered in Kerala. Three, the standard modus operandi of leftists is anarchism because they are not constrained by any codes of ethics. Roughly, the bad, the good, and the ugly,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Pablo Bartholomew, the legendary Indian photojournalist whose searing images from the Bhopal gas tragedy stunned a nation's conscience 30 years ago, speaks to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com.
Co-founder of Twitter Biz Stone tells us what he learned from his enterprising entrepreneurial journey.
Mar Remegiose Inchananiyil, the Bishop of the Thamarassery diocese in Kozhikode, Kerala, told a public meeting that there would be another 'Jallianwala Bagh' in the foothills of the Western Ghats if the K Kasturirangan committee report is implemented. He spoke to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the plight of the farmers and why he has taken up the issue.
