News for 'baniyas'

Is 9% growth possible? The answer is yes

Is 9% growth possible? The answer is yes

Rediff.com25 Sep 2019

'The goal is achievable. What is stopping us from getting there?' asks Aakar Patel.

Is Narendra Modi really an OBC?

Is Narendra Modi really an OBC?

Rediff.com5 Jun 2014

It is unusual to see Narendra Modi highlight his OBC status -- something he has never done in his long political career. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com examines Modi's compulsions for bringing his caste to the foreground

Dear Melania, know the Amdavad that welcomes you!

Dear Melania, know the Amdavad that welcomes you!

Rediff.com21 Feb 2020

As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.

What Naidu was told about Sangh's 'vegetarianism'

What Naidu was told about Sangh's 'vegetarianism'

Rediff.com18 Jul 2017

A senior politician Naidu respected once tried to convince the firebrand student leader to quit the Jana Sangh.

Column: Is Pakistan blackmailing PM, NSA?

Column: Is Pakistan blackmailing PM, NSA?

Rediff.com11 Apr 2019

'Imran Khan would only have spoken with the full awareness of Modi's complex political personality.' 'He has the great advantage of being privy to the confidential exchanges between then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Modi during the latter's celebrated surprise visit to Lahore in December 2015 as well as the 'back channel' conversations between the national security advisors of the two countries,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

9 unlikely places in India to spot a Pokemon

9 unlikely places in India to spot a Pokemon

Rediff.com19 Aug 2016

Millennials are flocking to places of worship, graveyards and parks, armed with their smartphones, to collect Pokemons.

'Secularism has become a dirty word'

'Secularism has become a dirty word'

Rediff.com18 Jun 2019

'If any party talks too much about Muslims, it will lose.'

When smugglers wanted to buy a helicopter

When smugglers wanted to buy a helicopter

Rediff.com28 Jan 2020

Iqbal wanted to land the smuggled goods by helicopter on the Andaman Islands. DK asked, 'Iqbal, a helicopter will bring the consignment to the island, drop it there and then return. Won't radars detect it?' 'No.' 'How?' 'Radars can't detect aircraft that fly at a low altitude. Our helicopter, after entering India's air space, will dive and fly at four feet above the sea level.' 'For that, I have a German pilot in mind. He was an ace aviator in the last world war.' An enthralling excerpt from Aabid Surti's Sufi: The Invisible Man Of The Underground.

Rahul's rude reality check

Rahul's rude reality check

Rediff.com23 Jan 2019

'Pure, uncluttered anti-Modi-ism, however angry, can't be an ideology or an electoral alternative.' 'The best it can do for you is damage Mr Modi enough for him to finish below 200.' 'Can it enable you to cross 100 to begin with?' asks Shekhar Gupta.

Rupani to be sworn in as Gujarat CM on Sunday

Rupani to be sworn in as Gujarat CM on Sunday

Rediff.com6 Aug 2016

Rupani on Sunday met Governor O P Kohli and staked claim to form the government, a day after he was elected by BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel.

Rupani to be Gujarat CM; Nitin Patel his deputy

Rupani to be Gujarat CM; Nitin Patel his deputy

Rediff.com5 Aug 2016

It was widely speculated that the mantle would fall on Nitin Patel.

Education can be affordable... This Delhi school proves it

Education can be affordable... This Delhi school proves it

Rediff.com5 Sep 2018

Sunshine Schools are looking to attract interest from members of the urban 'aspirational' class -- vegetable vendors, security guards, drivers, etc -- who cannot afford the fees charged by budget private schools.

Will Vijay Rupani keep his job after a close fight?

Will Vijay Rupani keep his job after a close fight?

Rediff.com19 Dec 2017

The chief minister is not being hailed as the leader who led the party to a victory in the state.

Will Yogi's citadel re-elect BJP?

Will Yogi's citadel re-elect BJP?

Rediff.com8 May 2019

Ravi Kishan, the BJP's candidate, is an outsider. The BSP-SP candidate is from the powerful Nishad community. Yogi faces a tough task in ensuring that the Gorakhpur seat, which he represented from 1998 to 2017, stays with the BJP.

From a Surat factory to Amnesty: An unusual journey

From a Surat factory to Amnesty: An unusual journey

Rediff.com26 Apr 2018

'My boss was a woman. Not any woman, she was a demanding, rude and foul-mouthed creature whom I liked immediately,' says Aakar Patel.

Start up in India, stand up in Singapore

Start up in India, stand up in Singapore

Rediff.com20 Jan 2016

Despite all the incentives, the start-ups' mega event fell short of expectations

Why Mayawati needs to reinvent herself

Why Mayawati needs to reinvent herself

Rediff.com6 Mar 2017

'She should review her strategy of social engineering and get back to the BSP's initial plank of social change.'

Jaitley, Dwivedi change the rules of political engagement

Jaitley, Dwivedi change the rules of political engagement

Rediff.com12 Feb 2014

Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

'Modi's MSP announcement is an election game'

'Modi's MSP announcement is an election game'

Rediff.com5 Jul 2018

'This announcement is big foolishness.' 'The government has no idea of economics. They are just announcing what comes to their mind.' 'Let them implement what they have announced and just see what will happen in two years.'

Varanasi vignettes: Modi, Modi everywhere

Varanasi vignettes: Modi, Modi everywhere

Rediff.com24 Apr 2014

Sumit Bhattacharya paradrops into the eastern Uttar Pradesh temple city to find it enjoying its moment in the national sun.

On 'Mission 272', BJP reaches out to Dalits, Muslims

On 'Mission 272', BJP reaches out to Dalits, Muslims

Rediff.com26 Feb 2014

In a season of political deal-making, it would seem the BJP is not only keener to win new friends but is ahead of rival Congress in the game. Its only competition, if at all, has come from regional satraps and the Left parties, which on Tuesday resolved to fight the elections together against both the Congress and BJP.

'Bas Modi hi hai BJP mein, aur kuch nahi hai'

'Bas Modi hi hai BJP mein, aur kuch nahi hai'

Rediff.com8 Feb 2017

In the dangal of UP politics, much as Muzaffarnagar wants to leave its past behind, the shadows are never be far behind.

Post-Modi difficulties in Gujarat

Post-Modi difficulties in Gujarat

Rediff.com29 Feb 2016

Successor Anandiben Patel isn't having an easy time, with a protest movement by her own community and new challenges in keeping the mandate

Overwhelming support puts BJP in driver's seat in Rajasthan

Overwhelming support puts BJP in driver's seat in Rajasthan

Rediff.com16 Apr 2014

Aggressive campaigning and the existing 'Modi wave' and a lack of will on part of the Congress has put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan far ahead of others. The party is comfortably placed in 21 out of the 25 seats, and they have been able to do this because of maintaining the same tempo that enabled them to defeat the Congress badly in December's assembly elections. P B Chandra reports

India's billionaires' success mantras

India's billionaires' success mantras

Rediff.com24 Mar 2017

Three businessmen disclose their success mantras: One belongs to an old Marwari family, another is a second generation industrialist whose father scripted an amazing rags-to-riches story and the third was a professional till one day he succumbed to the charms of entrepreneurship.

'Modi thinks I'm number 1 and up to number 10 there's no one'

'Modi thinks "I'm number 1 and up to number 10 there's no one"'

Rediff.com2 Jun 2016

'We are passing through a very historical moment. The UP election next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2019 will decide the course of India.' 'Maybe the unlettered will save India again because they have inherited a different India and a different idea of India,' says eminent social scientist Achyut Yagnik.

Sheela Says: Modi's Varanasi blues

Sheela Says: Modi's Varanasi blues

Rediff.com14 Mar 2014

Is Modi trampling upon senior BJP colleagues while taking decisions? How come Team Modi underestimated the political action-reaction when they were upsetting and uprooting the BJP's founding fathers L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the ticket distribution process?

How Modi can change the BJP in Varanasi

How Modi can change the BJP in Varanasi

Rediff.com18 Mar 2014

Narendra Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-VHP to a new level. Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history. By surrendering to the spirit of mystical Varanasi, Modi and his party can change the trajectory of their political journey.

'I am not a blind fan of Modi, I do question'

'I am not a blind fan of Modi, I do question'

Rediff.com2 May 2014

'I believe in India people should have, up to a certain age, compulsory military training. I also believe that voting should be made compulsory. I have some violent idea, that all candidates should sign an affidavit that whatever they have promised to the people, if they are unable to fulfill they won't stand in elections again.' 'I addressed a meeting near the Kalandari mosque where more than 8,000 Muslims had come to listen to me. I said Muslims have nothing to fear, you fear only Allah. You should be afraid of no one... Some people are creating a fear about Modi in your community. I only want you to understand that.' Paresh Rawal, the BJP candidate from Ahmedabad East, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com

The Nowhere People of Muzaffarnagar

The Nowhere People of Muzaffarnagar

Rediff.com10 Apr 2014

'Even if Akhilesh Yadav opens up the entire state treasury for us we will not vote for the Samajwadi Party... ''...I don't want to return to my village, my head will be chopped off. They want me to press the button on the lotus.' Caught between an aggressive BSP cornering Dalit votes and the BJP cornering other Hindu votes, the Muslims of Muzaffarnagar have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt presents the grim situation on the ground in western Uttar Pradesh.

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