Indian-American Vivek Murthy was on Wednesday administered the oath for the top post of US Surgeon General by Vice President Joe Biden at a ceremonial ceremony in Virginia, becoming the youngest-ever in charge of the country's public health.
'I am only slightly puzzled by why the childishness has not left the minister. It is easy to be prejudiced and closed-minded when one is in one's teens. But adults should view the world as adults, not as squabbling and petty schoolchildren,' says Aakar Patel.
Patnaik, 89, passed away at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in the temple city
Peter said he needed a broom to sweep his cell because, he joked, there are no vacuum cleaners in jail.
'How can Hindus protest efforts to ban an edition of the Gita in parts of Russia, and force a publisher to withdraw an academic critique of Hinduism, all in the same breath? It makes the Hindu community seem petty, self-serving, and hypocritical. Episodes like this allow Hinduism to be "owned" by the most conservative, intolerant, extremist voices. These people do not speak for me, and they certainly don't represent the form of Hinduism I practice and love," Princeton University's Hindu chaplain Vineet Chander tells Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
The Delhi high court on Friday allowed Vikas Yadav, convicted for killing Nitish Katara, to meet his ailing grandfather by granting him custody parole of two days as a test to see if he is "fit to be let out in society".
If only Mahabharat was a made-for-radio special instead of a half-heartedly animated demo reel masquerading as a children's fantasy, writes Sukanya Verma.
Whatever the ideologies of our leader are, the end result should be nothing more than well being of our fellow citizens, says Khemchand H Sakaldeepi and Nupur Pavan Bang.
If you can have caste and faith based parties, why can't there be a gender based one as well, asks T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The writers, artistes, thinkers and academics had gathered for a "resistance" meet (Pratirodh) against what they described as "attack on reason, democracy and composite culture".
'We need to be in a perpetual state of aggression, and able to swiftly change the goal posts to keep Pakistan in a state of imbalance,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
'The government is not insisting that customers must eat a certain quantity only.' 'Customers can ask for extra portions.' 'It is dictatorial, but we welcome it because it is one step towards ending food waste.'
Sharpening his attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused them of trying to usurp the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and recalled the Congress stalwart's description of the RSS as "a venomous organisation" which could "finish" the country.
Continuing his Lok Sabha plank of ousting the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought a clear mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana for putting the state on a growth trajectory.
This Sanjay Dutt starrer is cringe-inducing fare.
'A vote for Hillary means a vote for endless wars of trying to overthrow governments and rebuilding foreign countries.' 'A vote for Bernie Sanders means an end to these interventionist wars, and instead spending our money and precious resources rebuilding our own country,' Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu-American in the United States Congress, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
APJ Abdul Kalam was passionate about everything he did. He was perfect, says Aditi Phadnis
Why are far right Hindu organisations growing in strength? Why is there a rising subscription to Neo-Wahabism, the Saudi Arabian version of contemporary Islam?
Refusing to budge from its tough stand on food security issues, India pressed for a fair and balanced outcome of the WTO ministerial meeting in Bali.
Ditch your tuitions and expensive books; there is a way you can crack the GRE without burning a hole in your pocket.
Garm Hava is a product of like-minded artistry and resourceful acumen that hasn't spared any effort to reserve its special place in movie history, says Sukanya Verma.
What you need to know about M S Sathyu's classic Garm Hawa.
The government has decided to ban Indian women from being surrogate mothers to foreigners to stop 'commercial surrogacy'. How will this decision affect surrogacy in India?
Athiya shows potential, Sooraj his physique in Hero, says Sukanya Verma.
A time comes when the distance between words and meaning becomes unbridgeable. Or, words become shells, which hide the real intent of the speaker. To understand how language works in the case of a person like the present prime minister, you'll have to analyse the way language is practiced by the RSS, says Apoorvanand.
Economists expect Modi to announce big-bang reforms.
'Acting for On The Quest was a very fulfilling experience,' Sandeep Hebbar tells Praveen Sundaram/ Rediff.com
Gandhi and Birla, in spite of their closeness, too differed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned against "commodifying" yoga, saying using it as some sort of business will do great damage to this world heritage.
'The Constitution allows me the Right to Freedom of Speech and Religious Freedom. But this is not religion... this is spiritual discourse,' says IAS officer C Umashankar, who is being prosecuted in the Madras high court for hurting the feelings of Hindus.
Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta.
'For showing us a shining vision of how even a ceremonial role can be infused with life by a patriot, a scientist and a humble man of the people, representing the best of India's pluralist ethos, we will remember Dr Kalam.'
The BJP has 165 first-time MPs. Are we to expect such utterances from all 165 of them? Or only those from a rural background? Because that is the explanation given by the PM, says Jyoti Punwani.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
Two fitness experts weigh in on what works for them in the ancient Indian practice and what doesn't
Shubir Rishi/Rediff.com speaks to rockstar saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan days before the release of the sequel, MSG 2.
'He never believes in loose talk.' 'If he is done with you, then you go your way, he goes his way.'
The Duncans Goenka group is in a spot of bother over the death of workers and non-payment of dues to employees.
'Our daughter's name is ANITA-BRIGITTE. She should actually bear the name of AMITA, but the German authorities would have certainly objected to such an unusual name so we chose the name Anita which is almost sounding like Amita.' 'Brigitte was chosen by me because its short form in German is Gita.' Netaji's family had no idea that he had married and had a child till his brother Sarat Chandra Bose received a letter from Emilie Schenkl. A fascinating glimpse from Madhuri Bose's book, The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence, An Insider's Account.
Here's a look at some of the hashtags that trended during the first year of the Modi regime.
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