'Article 15 is not the work of a hack, or of someone merely scooping a plot out of newspaper headlines.' 'It is a well-researched, clear-headed movie; but its findings have a purpose,' says Sreehari Nair.
The sentiments of the ignorant are what politicians unfortunately fan to inflame passions for political gain, says Murad Ali Baig
Don't forget to make your pick for the newsmaker of 2015.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan introduced their daughter Maxima to the world with a beautiful and thoughtful letter.
'The issue of the larger homeland of Nagalim, the dream of the Nagas to hold sway over swathes of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is just that, a dream.' 'The NSCN has been told categorically that the government is not going to concede on this issue.'
At its heart, the furore over 'love jihad' reveals an anxiety over the increase in inter-religious marriages and women's freedom, says Charu Gupta, associate professor of history at Delhi University, whose areas of research include the colonial history of Uttar Pradesh and issues of gender and sexuality.
'When you come to Delhi, you see that there are many Kashmirs here -- the Dalits, Muslims, women, bonded labourers.'
Dil Dhadakne Do joins the debate over the role of women in India.
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a flutter with his first Independence Day speech. While diverted the national attention to social issues, Modi smartly avoided political traps.
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's Bareilly Ki Barfi had the critics reaching for the stars. But that is just the tip of the iceberg discovers Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar.
'What is forgotten but is actually as important for a society's long run success is morality.' 'Morals and trust are the nuts and bolts of an economy.' 'Without those you can get short run success, but not long-run development.'
In conversation with Karan Thapar, former Vice President Hamid Ansari takes on one of the most sensitive issues of our times.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
Bajirao Mastani has the potential to do for Maratha 'history' what Mughal-e-Azam did for Mughal 'history', says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
'Compared to other social groups, managing the Muslim constituency has always been easier for the secularists.' 'Just some symbolic measures and window-dressing would keep the Muslim flock together.' 'Having been betrayed by all the supposedly 'secular' political parties, Muslims should turn into citizens without any ascriptive identity marks,'says Mohammad Sajjad.
Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal, who recently returned her 'Sahitya Akademi' Award over the Dadri lynching case, has said secularism is under threat like never before and that individual freedom and rights have to be protected even these are guaranteed in the Constitution.
'Sridhar had the ability to paint a vision, for an activist faced with the toughest personal problems so as to see a way out by combining one's personal desires with the needs of the movement.' Arun Ferreira remembers his fallen comrade Sridhar Srinivasan.
Modi today needs BJP CMs and non-party regional leaders to win votes and build alliances, but he will over-rule them and treat them like dirt once they have served their electoral purpose. Make no mistake: Modi is incurably authoritarian and will brook no dissent -- so long as the RSS is on board, says Praful Bidwai.
A Muslim man taking a PhD in a dance form is not unusual, but it becomes interesting when the dance happens to be Mohiniyattam, says Shobha Warrier
'Because I am the first official transgender candidate of a political party and fighting against Jayalalithaa, I got a lot of publicity.' 'Till now, nobody knew me. Now, the entire Tamil Nadu knows me.' 'The transgender community here wanted me to withdraw my candidature, saying Jayalalithaa had provided them with houses.' 'They feel Jayalalithaa would be angry with all transgender people because I am standing against her.'
Meet Sabriye Tenberken, a German woman who is changing lives in India.
Rescued from slavery at age 7 by Kailash Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Om Prakash Gurjar is today one of the world's 7 top influential youngsters.
'The summer of 1857 saw violence, perpetrated by the Indians and the Britons, on an unprecedented scale.' 'Never before and never after in the history of British rule in India was there violence at the level that 1857 witnessed.'
The State is trying to curb the students movements, therefore, there are suspicions against some of the Subramanian report on education's recommendations, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The BJP suddenly seems vulnerable. This is not entirely surprising. In the past too, governments and leaders who won a thumping Lok Sabha majority lost popularity in a matter of months... The by-polls results shows that a degree of disenchantment with the Modi government is setting in,' says Praful Bidwai.
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.
'You will have good days and you will have hard days.' 'Go through all of them together.' 'Seek shared experiences with all kinds of people.' 'Build shared hope in the communities you join and the communities you form.' 'And above all, find gratitude for the gift of life itself and the opportunities it provides for meaning, for joy, and for love.'
If you are more than your rhetoric about a strong and united country, give us our due -- treat us as countrymen, says an ordinary Muslim in this open letter.
"They would say, 'Look at these modern women. If someone puts a hand on their shoulder, they cry sexual harassment'. I became the butt of everybody's jokes." Read on to find out more
'Small bands of terrorists believe they can destabilise superpowers if they are ready to become martyrs.' 'Since the road to paradise is under the shade of swords, it is a win-win situation for those ready to die for the cause of Allah.'
Twenty-year-old Sheetal Jain is the daughter of a bar dancer and grew up in Mumbai's red light district. She is now in the US pursuing a course in drumming
Full transcript of President Obama's speech at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.
