Then chief minister Jyoti Basu once told an industrialist that capitalists were class enemies and he should expect no sympathy.
The year threw up quite a few shockers, some rather rude one. Below are Rediff.com's 12 picks that made us sit back and think, 'Did that really happen?'
'It was a mission undertaken in darkness in every sense -- literally, because Afghanistan had no electricity at that time; and, metaphorically because Delhi historically dealt only with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the foreign ministry's vast archives had nothing to offer on the culture and politics of the northern tribes in the Hindu Kush.'
You can gift a day at a spa, a curated gourmet meal at a pool side or an offbeat travel trip.
A weekend in the beautiful sleepy town of Mukteshwar is just what you need to bust your stress, says Suchismita Banerjee.
Indrani is clearly in charge in her little corner. She is speaking rapidly to a not-very-tall, pot-bellied, balding man, whom she repeatedly, decisively, asks, "Have you understood?" The tone is that of a boss talking to an employee. The words "cheque" and "two lakhs" float by.
'If you put colour-coded internal security maps of India in May 2014 and now, the picture won't be flattering to Modi.' 'Failures on internal security are now piling up and can break Modi's momentum,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'A close look at the time-lines tells you that exactly as the back-channel negotiations were in their most crucial stage, "somebody" was planning the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,' says Shekhar Gupta questioning Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's account of a peace deal with India.
Rediff.com looks at other sensational murder mysteries that left India shell-shocked.
Before finding their 'happily-ever-after', some Kapoors have endured and inflicted heartbreak.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative also revealed about his training while he deposed in front of a Mumbai court via video link.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
A look at the life and times of maverick businessman Chinnakannan Sivasankaran
'It has been a quick evolution.' 'That is because he saw the big names playing in the IPL and he played alongside them; that transformed him as a batsman.' 'I would say now he is perfect.'
Hemant Kanoria tells Niraj Bhatt why understanding the dynamics of the borrower's business is critical for the lender.
Some 230 kilometres from Kolkata, in West Bengal's Birbhum district, 500 children stand out because of their 'unconventional' education, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Pilates, a fitness system that focuses on stretching to help the muscles find their balance, is becoming popular. The author tries it out.
Life inside the prime minister's official residence is highly regulated, but it comes with its perks, says Veenu Sandhu
Fun and games at start-ups have ended as easy money dries up.
Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:
Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.
The stage on which the Jammu and Kashmir flood disaster played out is littered with protagonists, most of whom did not receive the attention they deserve, says Ajai Shukla
'The Pakistan government, we were told, has a plan to renovate several Hindu temples and Buddhist sites, which over the years have fallen into disrepair. The aim is to create a pilgrimage circuit to attract visitors from all over the subcontinent.'
Sunita Dugar, Parneet Sandhu and Neetha Jegan set out on a dream trip that changed their life. This is their story.
20 years ago this day, May 11, 1998, India conducted its second nuclear test at Pokharan in Rajasthan. In a fascinating interview on Rediff.com, K Subrahmanyam revealed how Indian PMs reacted to nuclear ambitions.
It is time to reset expectations as government will move with alacrity on social policy, not on economic reforms.
'I have only this to say to those who talk about Mewar rulers and Akbar's brutality -- do you expect a king to not expand his kingdom?' 'You have entire cities named after Muslim rulers. It's time our heroes got their due.'
Giving up cricket isn't easy for a cricketer especially when you are the son of a cricket legend.
Prince William and Princess Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, collected quite a few Mumbai hearts on a hot two days in April.
'My father knows that he was not good in Parinda. He himself told me that he messed it up because he was so successful at that time with Ram Lakhan and Tezaab. He was so iconic as Munna that he tried to recreate it all the time. It is not necessarily the best thing to do.' Harshvardhan Kapoor says why he's blessed to be an actor in today's days.
In 2002, at 13 she lost both her hands and severely damaged her legs in a freak accident. Today she is a dedicated social worker, a motivational speaker and model for accessible clothing in India.
26/11 survivor Anamika Gupta on her unforgettable encounters with the terrorists.
'We know many things are going to happen.' 'People should be preparing for sea level rise, for increased cyclonic activity, for drought.' 'One reason I wrote the book is to alert people to the dangers that they face.' 'For example, Mumbai faces enormous threat.'
