'The bedrock of the armed force is discipline. An indisciplined armed force is not only undesirable, it is extremely dangerous,' says Lieutenant General B T Pandit (retd).
"I have 27 missed calls during the time I've been speaking to you! Here if you don't answer the phone, there is every chance a party member will tell you 'Because you didn't answer my phone I'm leaving your party.'" Archana Masih reports on how a graduate of the prestigious Wharton Business School fits into the unusual landscape of North-East politics.
'It conveys the impression that there is not enough talent available among the serving officers.' 'That does not reflect well on the professionalism of officer corps.'
'She was not just a fan; she knew the game and could differentiate between a good cricketer and a great cricketer.'
'We had become buffoons with Lalu. If you were a Bihari you were seen as a buffoon -- that has changed. Now there's a pride in being Bihari.' Archana Masih reports on the changes in Bihar.
'The most important expenditure in the Budget that indicates employment generation is infrastructure.'
The man who wrote two of the 20th century's greatest novels, Animal Farm and 1984, was born in Motihari. But few come to the sleepy Bihar town seeking George Orwell.
'This is India. We have allowed ourselves to be dictated by the narrative that the BJP has set for itself.'
From the torch, to the gas cylinder, to the sewing machine, to a whistle, to a camera... Uttarakhand's Independent candidates are in the fray with some interesting election symbols.
'All Pakistan army chiefs follow a consistent line as far as India is concerned.'
In Gujarat, the system is such that even if Narendra Modi is not there, the growth will continue. But in a place like Bihar it is different, it will still matter who is the CEO of the state,' says social scientist-economist Dr Shaibal Gupta.
A new house, an inverter for electricity and a scooty are the material things Sushil Kumar has acquired from his prize money. But what he misses most is his cycle. Archana Masih meets the first winner of Rs 5 crores on KBC at his home in Motihari, Bihar.
No journey can give you a taste of the Indian landscape like train travel. Rajesh Karkera and Archana Masih capture vignettes on one such long journey through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The house in Allahabad where Amitabh Bachchan lived in many, many, years before he became THE SUPERSTAR.
Conrad Sangma, 35, Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Meghalaya assembly that goes to the polls on Saturday, explains the need for a fresh approach to solve the problem of insurgency in the state, the reasons for the lack of women in state politics and the need for cultural exchanges between the North-East and the rest of India.
Lady officers in the Indian Air Force have become trendsetters, carving a prominent place for themselves in diverse IAF stations across the country. This year, for the first time, the IAF contingent was led by a young lady officer at the Republic Day parade. Rediff.com's Archana Masih meets some dynamic IAF lady officers who make India proud.
'These incidents of indiscipline in army units are happening with increased frequency which is a dangerous trend and is a wake up call for the senior leadership of the armed forces,' says Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (retd).
'Khalistanis can be divided into three categories: Firstly, hardcore ideological people. They are microscopic, not even 1%.' 'Secondly, those who consider Khalistan a business.' 'The third category that has built the narrative of Khalistan are those who gain from polarisation.'
Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar (retired), who has been on the hit-list of Khalistan separatists since 1984, survived an attempt on his life in London last year. The general tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih what it is to live a life under threat and how he has not let that cow him down.
'Amritpal is the creation of journalists and the inaction of the government in Punjab.'
After being caught in the perfect storm and conquering near death at sea four years ago, Abhilash Tomy has made seafaring history by coming second in the world's most difficult ocean race. As he sailed to the finish line to welcoming cheers, holding the Indian flag, his remarkable story tells us the amazing things human beings can do.
'We must understand that the LAC is a political issue for China, so any action on the LAC will keep India focussed on the LAC which gives China the opportunity for any adventurism in the Indian Ocean.'
'Everybody of a certain age wanted to write like Rushdie and so did I but I wouldn't want being hunted around the world. I am sure even Rushdie wouldn't want that life, says Pakistani Writer Mohammed Hanif.
Reema Kaur is one of the students on strike for nearly three months at the FTII. The Delhi resident feels the campus that had been a cocoon for her in the last three years has turned into a revolution ground demanding change -- and she is happy to be a part of it.
'As we reach 2022 we are creating a very new, different India where the Citizenship Amendment Act will be passed, NRC will be pushed through, Article 370 scrapped...'
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
'That is the one headline the world is reading about India this week, and it is a potentially damaging story...' 'I don't think a panic mentality has set in, but this story is one that investors and market watchers are absolutely seized with.'
'He will be remembered for his simplicity and for taking up the cause of the labourers with great passion.'
'It will remain hostile to Indian interests owing to its close proximity to China.'
'The Centre and state need to take a unified approach and take concerted action before this matter assumes menacing proportions because unemployment, the drug trade and the levels of frustration among the youth make them vulnerable to any maverick who promises something better.'
I do think a younger population structure is an advantage against this virus, but there are other important factors such as the capacity of the healthcare system," says Dr Jennifer Dowd, associate professor of demography and population health, University of Oxford.
When elected on July 18 -- which is almost a certainty, given the NDA's numbers in the electoral college -- Droupadi Murmu will be the first President born after Independence.
From the rented home where he paid Rs 500 a month in the 1990s to the flat he will buy from the one crore won on KBC, Ajeet Kumar's personal journey is a story worth cheering for.
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
A year after her husband Mukesh died in a bomb blast in Mumbai, Sheela Seth and her nine-year-old son Mohit confront grief and an uncertain future, reports Archana Masih.
'General Anil Chauhan ticks all the right boxes as the new chief of defence staff.'
Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu & Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
'This trip will solidify India's understanding of the new kind of world leadership Obama wishes to achieve, one very different from that of George W Bush,' says Professor William Chafe.
Far from civilian populations, facing the onslaught of weather, terrain and a hostile neighbour lurking in the distance, the band of young men at the Indian Air Force's most strategic radar location near the Line of Control say life is hard, but they would not have had it any other way.
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