Modi presented Obama with a richly silk-covered special edition of Mahatma Gandhi's interpretation of the Bhagvad Gita, and recordings of Dr Martin Luther King's speech when he visited India in 1959 and also a specially framed photograph of Dr King when he visited Rajghat. Modi had scrupulously researched and selected these gifts for Obama and more gifts would be presented on Tuesday during their summit for both the President and the First Family.
'National unity and acceptance of cultural diversity was never more important than now when the world enters an unstable and dangerous phase.'
'So complete is Modi's takeover of the foreign ministry, that Swaraj today is less important than a minister of state for secularism in Modi's government!'
'The test of true secularism in India is when a girl in your family decides to marry someone from another religion. If you accept her decision happily, then you are truly secular. If you don't, it means your secularism is fake,' argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Whatever the ideologies of our leader are, the end result should be nothing more than well being of our fellow citizens, says Khemchand H Sakaldeepi and Nupur Pavan Bang.
30 years later, relatives of the 329 people who perished in the Kanishka bombing gathered at a moving service in Ahakista, Cork in Ireland.
His remarks that some people suffer from diseases such as cancer because of sins committed in the past and that it is "divine justice" have sparked sharp reactions.
Kanti Bhatt, respected Gujarati author and journalist, passed into the ages on August 4, 2019, at the age of 88. In tribute, we reproduce an article his wife Sheela Bhatt wrote about him 19 years ago.
'Loss of faith in the fairness of the system and the perception that one cannot expect justice are the first few steps to the slippery slope of anarchy,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Noting the "widespread cynicism and disillusionment" with governance and functioning of institutions, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said elections next year is an opportunity to elect a stable government that will ensure security and economic development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned against "commodifying" yoga, saying using it as some sort of business will do great damage to this world heritage.
Two fitness experts weigh in on what works for them in the ancient Indian practice and what doesn't
Want to know how can the Mahabharata help you succeed in life? Read on!
'The reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the President's iftar was not merely to break a fast with the faithful, but more importantly to broker an understanding with India's second largest set of citizens,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
'No civilised nation can thrive if it is possessed with the spirit of Hindutva.'
In an age of patents and intellectual property rights, it would be improper to deny that yoga comes from the Hindu tradition, says Sankrant Sanu.
'it looks like India wants to follow Pakistan on the slippery slope of stupidity masquerading as religion.'
'It is exceptionally important for Hindus to once again get in touch with the foundation of Hinduism.' 'Aggressive evangelists are reducing Hinduism to its lowest common denominator.'
'People on both sides of the Hindutva debate need to read and understand the texts first,' Bibek Debroy, translator of the unabridged Mahabharata, tells Kanika Datta as he gets started on a similar project for the Ramayana.
Why are so many people so reluctant to give up on Arvind Kejriwal? The simple answer is 'Narendra Modi', or rather the fear of Narendra Modi,' says T V R Shenoy.
Nathuram Godse's nephew and niece in Pune see him as a devout nationalist, not a contract killer.
It is rare for communal riots to spread to rural areas. The UP riot is the first time after the September 1969 Gujarat riots that a rural area have been affected. Electoral politics which divide society in majority/minority, going on since the early 1990s, is a major contributing factor to this heightened tension between communities, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale in the first of a two part series.
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, newly elected co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, discusses her vision for US-India ties with Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar.
Director Anil Sharma gives us an insight into the Deol men, and other Bollywood Greats.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
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