JP was a People's Hero unmatched in Independent India. Archana Masih goes to Jayaprakash Narayan's village looking for Bihar's greatest son as the claimants of his legacy go to war in what is being called the Election of Elections.
It took Gour Hari Das three decades to wrangle out a certificate recognising his work as a freedom fighter. His struggle is now the subject of a film
'Sardar Patel's actions must continue to inspire those who have worked for change today and those who aspire to alter the strangling status quo in our national life.'
NSA Menon's wisdom says that the idea to be superpower is not really desirable, it is better to be different. Sheela Bhatt reports.
'RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was on the Hindu extremists' hit-list. In June 2008, this information was made public. Prior to that, you should hear Bhagwat's speeches and listen to his 'liberal' statements.' 'After he was informed that he was on their hit-list, he became a hardliner. He was not like that before.'
'I stand by what I said. It is understandable that Rushdie got angry and called me names. But it also means it hurt him because there was some truth in what I said.'
Former Delhi chief minister and Kerala governor Sheila Dikshit, speaking for the first time after her gubernatorial resignation, tells Kavita Chowdhury there is a need for Parliament to codify rules for governors if they are required to demit office with a change in the central government. Edited excerpts
'Khadi is my passion. The only idea behind this start up is to promote and popularise khadi.'
'Non Resident Indians know that India's problems are the combination of many factors over the centuries, including foreign rule, lack of resources and the ever-growing population, among other things. Yet, India has achieved many things and even looks at Mars as a neighbour.'
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'Why was Yeddyurappa taken back by the BJP ? Because his community is very strong in Karnataka and if he is back, the BJP thinks it will get more seats.' The government should stop all reservations based on caste, Gandhian Salem Velu Gandhi -- who recently asked the Supreme Court to include a new caste in the list of India's castes, for the children of inter-caste marriages -- tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
ACN Nambiar's life was extraordinary and intricately linked to momentous turns in history. Having lived in Europe for five decades, he was witness to and entangled with what we today -- with the benefit of hindsight -- call recent history.
'We have 200 million families. Parents have the responsibility to make their children righteous -- where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.' 'Only three people can give a good citizen before s/he turns 17. Father, mother, the spiritual environment and the primary school teacher.' President A P J Kalam on India becoming a developed country by 2020-2022, the heroes he admired; how 90 per cent of India's space programme is intended for the people and the individual's potential to become unique.
'We saw how vigorous democracy was when it dislodged authoritarianism under Indira Gandhi. We saw its vigour again when it voted Mr Modi out of humble origins as prime minister. It was Nehru who laid that foundation for India and what is worrying today is Modi's rather imperial style of functioning,' says writer Nayantara Sahgal.
Princess Shivranjani of Jodhpur is breathing new life into dead forts and quietly changing the house of Marwar.
The Bharat Ratna conferred on Madan Mohan Malaviya has exposed the frictions within his family, reports Manavi Kapur
If the high security notes introduced in 2015 were kept in the system, the pain due to demonetisation can be ameliorated to a certain extent. But unfortunately, such thought process have no place in the hasty demonetisation decision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday address Members of the British Parliament in London where he promised to open more doors of cooperation between the two countries and delved on issues like terrorism and United Nations reforms.
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like?
The second part of BJP president Amit Shah's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'Nehru is often portrayed as a visionary with his head in the clouds. But he had his feet firmly planted on the ground when it came to building and nurturing institutions and setting them on the right path with the right traditions,' says B S Raghavan.
Following is the full text of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speech at FICCI's 86th annual general meeting on Saturday:
Blessed with a computer-like brain and an elephantine memory, Anandji Dossa was a pioneer in compiling cricket statistics and scores. Haresh Pandya pays tribute to the modest stats-man, who has passed into the ages.
'I like the thought that I am competing successfully with writers much younger than me,' says Ruskin Bond.
What is Narendra Modi like? What is his politics about? What will he do? What are his priorities? Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com speaks to Swapan Dasgupta to find out more about the man of the moment.
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like? Archana Masih reports from India's other most talked about state.
Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Full transcript of President Obama's speech at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday addressed the first joint sitting of Parliament as mandatorily required under the Constitution after the general elections. The address is the political, economic and foreign policy road map of the Narendra Modi government and covers virtually all crucial areas.
