'I want to ask Giriraj Singh why should we go to Pakistan when we are natives of Hindustan? 'This is Modi's only chance to wipe out his past...' 'This election has been reduced to only one issue -- communalism...' On the turf of the Modi versus Lalu battleground, Archana Masih/Rediff.com listens to what young Muslims think of Narendra Modi.
'I want to ask Giriraj Singh why should we go to Pakistan when we are natives of Hindustan? 'This is Modi's only chance to wipe out his past...' 'This election has been reduced to only one issue -- communalism...' On the turf of the Modi versus Lalu battleground, Archana Masih/Rediff.com listens to what young Muslims think of Narendra Modi.
Monday is the last day of campaigning in Gandaman where 23 children died after eating a school meal, but no leader has found time to campaign among the villagers. Archana Masih/Rediff.com returns to the lonely village in Bihar.
Under a blazing sun, Narendra Modi attacks the Ma-Beta and Lalu Yadav; invokes his tea boy's journey; and asks the youth for a mauka... A stolen mobile, a man who faints, women fleeing the bamboo enclosure to save themselves from being crushed by men -- and a government employee who flouts rules to attend a poll rally because she's a fan of Modi. Archana Masih/Rediff.com reports from Narendra Modi's first-ever rally in Chhapra, Bihar.
There have been some benefits to the corporate sector, agreed they also need support, but the government should realise that the economy is not suffering from lowering investment -- people are ready to invest but where is the demand?
'Neither are Baloch insurgents capable of breaking up Pakistan, nor has Pakistan learned any lessons from the 1971 debacle that led to the country's dismemberment.'
'Canada doesn't want to de-escalate and neither does India. There is war when one party wants it, but peace is won by both parties.'
'They will continue to keep pricking at places where both of us are sensitive and keep the LAC alive.'
'He has to face both aspects of life to mature as a cricketer.'
'If you want to win you need to perform.' 'Governments have found a way to buck anti-incumbency, but one policy intervention will not pay in all elections.'
'You have to separate the concept of India as a nation State which is very young and the Upanishadic wisdom which is timeless.'
Bill Aitken came to India nearly 60 years ago. He never returned. An Indian citizen since 1972, he tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how India changed his life forever.
'Instead of shouting at cricket matches, why don't we raise our voices for the release of the Indian Navy veterans in Qatar?'
Do you like the first look?
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
'If this had happened anywhere else, Indians would have been desperate to leave. But not in Israel.'
'He's charismatic, a populist, very popular, and indeed a cult of personality.' 'That ensures a powerful reaction from his support base -- even if it's not sustained, it will be quite intense, and that's worrisome for stability.'
Shut for nearly a year due to the pandemic, schools reopened in Bihar on March 1. Rediff.com's Archana Masih spoke to 10-11 year olds about their year away from school and what it feels like to be back.
'In 1984, Pyongyang just had one hotel and one could not move out without an official escort.' 'India was the only country with an embassy, apart from the socialist countries.'
'We are puppets. We have to go where the government takes us.' Archana Masih reports on Kashmiri Pandits facing a third migration after they fled their homeland in the late 1990s.
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
'There is a difference between a politician and leader.' 'A politician will have his pound of flesh first and do everything else later.' 'A leader will sacrifice everything to help people.'
Air Marshal Denzil Keelor was an Indian Air Force legend. His nephew Basil Keelor, son of another war hero Wing Commander Trevor Keelor, remembers a remarkable officer and gentleman.
'...for success like the BJP.' 'The BJP's work for the next election begins the day one election ends.'
'Individuals who have participated in violence and arson should be identified and not be recruited.'
Sub Lieutenant Shivangi, the daughter of a village headmaster in Bihar, will conduct maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue missions.
'Now we have to think about disasters like earthquake, infernos, chemical leakage, war,' says Maharashtra DGP Dr P S Pasricha.
'We humans may not have not created natural disasters, but we have definitely amplified their impact.'
'Gorkhas are terrific soldiers. They are known the world over for their fighting qualities.'
'It is notable how humble he was and didn't want anything different just because he was a Tata.'
'The 2020 assembly election was a Tejaswi Yadav election; whereas this is a Lalu Yadav election. It is his plan.'
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
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...'
'Since the rotors of a helicopter rotate at very high RPMs, if they hit an obstacle -- for example a tree, wire or pole, the result is catastrophic.'
'Trump will absolutely back New Delhi on its position that Pakistan must do more to crack down on terrorists that threaten India.'
'The victory is an expression of agrarian distress and social turmoil.'
'Bangladesh has become unstable and this instability will impact India.'
'The tally of Muslim MLAs has increased. They know they can make themselves count in the electoral system.'
