With the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government marking its first anniversary on Saturday, the first year is likely to be remembered for the fulfilment of decades-old Hindutva demands as Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the huge majority his party won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to push through its core agenda.
'Fighting terrorists is one thing. Fighting insurgents is worse. Fighting a population is worst of all,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Relationship problems? Let Love Guru help.
'The change of vocabulary in the India-US conversation was significant and refreshing.' 'It matched the styles of Trump and Modi.' 'The differences were not papered over, but there was determination to resolve them in the days ahead,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'With the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Hindus from Pakistan can come to India. They have got a way,' says Gurumukh Jagwani who came to India on his honeymoon, loved the country so much that he stayed back and got Indian citizenship.
'Hinduism is the mother of all religions; communal hatred should not be spread in its name.'
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to official sources at the Imperial Guest House in Kyoto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with his host and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at a traditional dining table for over one-and-a-half hours, "for an exceptionally warm and friendly conversation" over a traditional Japanese meal on Saturday evening.
'We must not forget who we are and what courage and bravery were shown by our ancestors to bring us closer to the freedom we enjoy today,' says Tarun Vijay after attending the Gudi Padwa in Goa.
In a state where Hindu social identity continues to remain in the overarching Dravida umbrella, the 'Hindutva' political identity does not have the same, or even near-similar electoral purchase, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If this is the India you're talking about, where there is no space for minorities, where you have hate, where people can enter universities and beat students up, let me be anti-national.' 'I'll carry that as a badge of honour.'
Rumours of a live power line having snapped triggered the stampede. The injured have been rushed to a local hospital, a BSP spokesperson said.
Despite the Oscars, the box office glory, and the universal acclaim, Francis Ford Coppola, I am sure, remembers The Godfather with as much frustration as pride. Like Michael Corleone, he got into it with the best of intentions, and got out of it on top but lost in the heights. Sreehari Nair revisits the film as it turns 50 this month.
'To treat a Hindu fleeing persecution and certain death in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan on par with a Muslim voluntarily sneaking into India for economic reasons or otherwise is callously cruel, blatantly perverse and grossly unjust.' 'The concept of equality cannot be invoked to perpetuate a historical wrong that needs to be righted,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Captain Saurabh Kalia was captured, tortured and barbarically killed in the Kargil War. For 20 years, his father has waged a war of his own to get justice for his son. Captain Kalia is no more, but he lives on in the home he did not return to.
On December 15, Mohammed Mustafa, an MBA student and IAS aspirant from Jamia Milia Islamia University, was among the students who were dragged out of the library and lathi-charged by policemen. In a conversation with Rediff.com's Divya Nair, the 26 year old recounts the ordeal he faced for a protest he says he didn't participate in or volunteer for.
The nine meetings offer an interesting window into Shafi Armar's efforts to try and group together what after all were excitable keyboard warriors into an actual terror group, capable of handling weapons, organising recruits, cooking homegrown explosives, selecting safe training areas, safe houses and finally, committing strikes against Indian targets.
To be alive is to be an artist, legendary Carnatic singer T M Krishna tells the Tata LitFest in Mumbai.
Aseem Chhabra introduces us to the best of Berlinale.
It is not in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a clear majority, but the Rajya Sabha that the Opposition has ganged up to checkmate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans.
With a staff in one hand and the other on his granddaughter's shoulder, the old man briskly takes the lead as the sun breaks over the horizon.
Sakshi Maharaj, Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament from Unnao, has stirred a hornet's nest yet again by saying that Hindu women should produce at least four children in order to protect the Hindu religion.
Pulwama must become the defining moment in our fight against terror, effecting a sea change in our mindset. The erratic, blow hot blow cold approach, the hallmark of our anti-terror-Pak-Kashmir policy must end. In its place is required a pragmatic, comprehensive, robust hard line course that is relentlessly pursued even in times of relative calm until the final objective is met, namely the eradication of separatism and the total annihilation of terror, says Vivek Gumaste.
Jaishankar said that the resolution on Kashmir introduced by Jayapal in the House is not a fair characterisation of the situation in J-K. And also said that he has no interest in meeting the Congresswoman.
The ultimate was surely Yudhishthira's immortal "Aswathama hatha...", followed by a whispered "iti narova kunjarova..."," says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'It is extremely important to take back the domain of both religion from the religious bigots and nationalism from the chauvinists, who are spreading hatred.' Sugata Bose, the Harvard historian-turned-MP, who is Netaji's great-nephew, tells Anjali Puri why it is imperative to speak up for India's students.
'The majority community needs to accept that the Indian Muslim is peace loving, not communal and treat them accordingly.'
'Pakistan is paying the price for ignoring secularism. In seeking to be ever more Muslim to define its nationhood, it has become a terrorist haven.'
When Nehru came in active contact with Gandhi 100 years ago, he was a Westernised rationalist while Gandhi was deeply soaked in the Indian ethos and spirituality, notes Rasheed Kidwai.
'The world is silent because your rhetoric is dishonest and rings hollow,' says former RAW officer Tilak Devasher.
'He has attacked our enemies in their own backyard.'
The ordinary life lived in Pakistan is rarely a part of Indian imagination. This is this gap that Pakistani television serials have succeeded in bridging, says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
Opposing Tipu birth anniversary celebrations, Bharatiya Janata Party and pro-Hindu organisations had called for a bandh on Tuesday even as the district administration had made arrangements for the celebration.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan urges his counterparts to stand up against Centre's 'anti-federal, anti-democratic and anti-secular move'.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations.
The accused, identified as Sabar, is a teacher at a government school at Rajouri. He was arrested on Saturday morning and booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav.
If you have to take the daunting step of joining a conversation of strangers, always pick a duo.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'Through a translator, I was able to speak with several of the detainees from India who are seeking asylum.' 'I was saddened to hear the detainees tell us that they are being confined in their cells for up to 22 to 23 hours a day.' 52 Indian are among the 121 asylum-seekers held in an Oregon prison. Rediff.com Senior Contributor Pottayil Rajendran reports from New York on the case that is making headlines in America, India, indeed around the world.
The US will not be delivering military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan unless it is required by law.
