Rediff.com takes a look at record-setting wins in Indian politics.
Following the elimination of LTTE, Pakistan-based terror groups are leaving no stone unturned to take advantage of the vacuum, and slowly recruiting youth for terror activities from South India. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
As political rivals clamour to retain their pan-Tamil credentials, the BJP may use the 'nationalist' card to even the odds in its favour, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Whenever a new film of his releases, he uses politics to hype his film.' 'Her party can manage for a short period without Jayalalithaa as the chief minister but if her absence is for a long term, the AIADMK will start crumbling and disintegrating.' 'What keeps the DMK going despite its corrupt image is it is a democratic party in comparison to the AIADMK... Also, many social welfare measures in Tamil Nadu were brought in by the DMK. So they do have a place in the political scene despite corruption.' Gnani Sankaran, the well-known political analyst, discusses the fallout of Jayalalithaa's conviction on Tamil Nadu politics with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
The country has a fiendishly complicated electoral system that is a combination of population-based proportional representation and party-based national lists, says Aditi Phadnis
President Maithripala Sirisena's government in Colombo has clearly decided to restore some balance in its diplomatic outreach, which presents a great opportunity for India.
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday made a historic visit to the former war zone of Jaffna to "shine a light on the chilling events" during the last phase of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, hours after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cautioned against turning the Commonwealth into a "punitive and judgemental body".
With some countries like Britain and Canada seeking to bring alleged human rights violations in the Sri Lankan civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam under the scanner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting summit, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday asked member nations not to turn the Commonwealth into a "punitive and judgmental" body and desist from introducing bilateral agendas.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will visit India on his maiden foreign trip next month even as he ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in custody in Colombo as a goodwill gesture on the first day in office.
Sri Lanka's newly elected president Mithripala Sirisena waves at media as he leaves the election commission in Colombo. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/ Reuters
In a significant development, India for the first time on Thursday abstained from voting on the United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged human rights violation which was passed by 23 votes in favour as against 12 in opposition and 12 abstentions in the United Nation's Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Superstar Rajinikanth needs a box-office hit after two successive flops in Kochchadaiyaan and Lingaa, both 2014. Yet, Kabali is being projected as if the fans need the film, and the Tamil film industry needs it even more, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In Muthuvel Karunanidhi's passing, Tamil Nadu has lost the last of its Titans.
Sherine Xavier, a Sri Lankan Tamil filmmaker from Canada, is happy. After months of struggle with the Indian censor board, she has finally obtained approval to screen her film Muttrupullia?, which deals with the post-war situation in Sri Lanka's Tamil areas.
Days after the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a 'terror boat' from Pakistan, there are still some doubts over the claims.
Modi said he was glad that his trip "is one to wipe tears from the eyes of those who suffered".
'Our policy is pro-Sri Lanka.' 'Burma is not the only girl on the beach in South Asia.''
In a conversation with R Ramasubramanian, Xavier said, "My documentary attempts to find answers to those frequently asked questions from Tamil refugees who are still in India."
Sri Lankans on Thursday voted in large numbers in the bitterly contested presidential election in which incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa is seeking a record third term against his friend-turned-foe Maithripala Sirisena, with an unusually high voter turnout in Tamil and Muslim areas.
The Sri Lankan cartoon faux pas has revived the slackening pan-Tamil mood in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Voicing concern over the fate of the 13th Amendment to Sri Lankan Constitution that agreed to devolve some authority to provinces, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday called for a "bold stand" by India, saying it cannot remain a "passive bystander."
Building relations in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi has gifted naval vessels to Mauritius, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, even as China eyes the same locales.
Brushing aside the demand of political parties in Tamil Nadu for a total boycott, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrived in Colombo on Wednesday to attend the CHOGM this week saying India remains committed to the welfare of the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lanka and that "we have to remain engaged" in "enlightened national interest".
Speaking exclusively to rediff.com's Anita Katyal, Narayansamy recalled that Rajiv was to address a public meeting in Puducherry the morning after his rally in Sriperumbudur but unfortunately it was not to be.
'Tying somebody to the jeep is not the military way, but the officer was able to come out of the situation without any bloodshed.' 'I am not supporting him, but I am also not criticising him.' 'He had to use some mechanism to save the uniformed personnel, many of whom were Kashmiri boys of the J&K police,' points out Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (retd), who was instrumental in the surrender of a record 1,267 terrorists in Kashmir.
A vigilance department insider-turned-online journalist, busy taking on the establishment, comes to fore with the 2G tapes
The prime minister should have visited Sri Lanka, armed with a critique of the Rajapakse government based on nuance and fact, says Sreenivasan Jain
There is no alternative for the party and the state to wait for CM Jaya to return home as CM Jaya, and make her call, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A double-quick analysis of the Lankan election results would show that the relatively narrow victory margin of challenger Maithripala Sirisena was made up by the three minority communities of Tamils, Muslims and Christians, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the island heads for elections, two major factors worry Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One is the division in the Sinhala vote and the other is the prospect of the Tamils and Muslims voting heavily against him.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday expressed satisfaction over External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
Accusing Bharatiya Janata Party of fanning communal flames, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the party's "politics of hatred" was damaging the country's fabric and apprehended he may also be assassinated like his grandmother and father, who had fallen victims to it.
Since the US and India broadly share similar interests in Sri Lanka, they should coordinate closely to ensure that the country preserves its democratic institutions, says Lisa Curtis
In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
'What we have heard from the Sri Lankans is their desire to have a foreign policy that allows Sri Lanka to best advance its own interests rather than a foreign policy that relied solely on one relationship.' 'We think this is an attitude that makes a lot of sense. India and Sri Lanka have many areas of shared interests, and it's certainly welcomed by us to see that deepening of those ties.'
'Outsiders are the ones who have to make the biggest journey to realise themselves, to come back to some sense of normality.' Director Jacques Audiard and actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan discuss the human landscape behind the award-winning film, Dheepan, with Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
'Foreign policy-making cannot be shifted out of Delhi and the regional satraps, who do not have a national perspective, should not be allowed to dominate foreign policy. But regional inputs should be integral to foreign policy-making at every step of the way,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated in the war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam haunted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit with UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday giving the island country an ultimatum to conduct a credible probe into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation.
A recent inquiry report by the Geneva-headquartered Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has cast serious aspersions on the claims of the Sri Lankan government over alleged war crimes duirng the conflict with the LTTE. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
M K Stalin might not have his father's charisma, but he has learnt the ropes the long, hard way, says T E Narasimhan
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