'Is standing in a queue any bigger sacrifice than that of a soldier's family?'
With the weaker-than-expected agreement at the recent Climate Change Conference at Lima, there is an urgent need to highlight endeavours in civil society and business for a sustainable global economy with grassroots empowerment, say Rajni Bakshi.
'There is anger against Rahul and this will become obvious in the days ahead.' 'He tried to run the party like a corporate.' 'He has been successful in wiping out the party from large parts of the country.' Within the Congress party there is extreme anger at Rahul Gandhi's style of politics.
Affaq Husain and his wife Saira built a Rs 100 crore empire preying on the most vulnerable people in society.
Brazil arrested 10 people on Thursday suspected of belonging to a poorly organised group supporting Islamic State (IS) and discussing terrorist acts during the next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
It is too early to say whether the Aam Aadmi Party's transformation from a watchdog of Indian politics to the lapdog of the political elite is complete. But it seems to be heading in that direction, says Bharat Bhushan
'Anything that is anti-growth is demonised because growth is the biggest religion.' 'Growth is synonymous with progress. In fact, it is the opposite.' 'Exponential growth is cancer.'
'...and then react.' 'There are two options before him if the alliance breaks.' 'He either teams up with the BJP or goes for a fresh election.' 'My impression is that he will avoid a fresh election.'
'You want a steady, confident, self-assured and highly skilful hand at the till. 'It is a pity that the BJP has decided to deprive itself of such a hand at this politically sensitive time.' 'It is like sacking your surgeon in the middle of your brain surgery,' says S Muralidharan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party claims it has over six lakh committed workers in Bihar, a team of 10 deployed for each of the 62,200 polling booths.
It's not just the aam aadmi who has been feeling the corruption heat.
'Having a voice at the table means the other side has to show up to listen. It became clear that wouldn't happen,' says actor Maulik Pancholy, one of the 10 members who resigned from the US president's advisory commission on Asian Americans.
Hailing from a village having no electricity, Ankur Mishra now runs two start-ups, educates his community, gives TED Talks and is on his third novel.
Tarun Vijay, MP, salutes the General whom he adored as a great friend.
Following are the possible contenders for the post of Maharashtra chief minister. We request our readers to take the poll at the end of this list.
'This wipes out the entire black money in the nation in one stroke. Ninety per cent plus of the black money is kept in Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes. What they have done is a brilliant move.'
Anshu Gupta, the founder of Goonj, has transformed the culture of giving in the country. He has for 15 years now, worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots, by making discarded materials a resource for the poor. His weapon, he says, is 'cloth as a tool of social change.'
'The BJP should know that simple caste arithmetic may have ceased to follow the basic law of addition.' 'Adding up seemingly distinct vote banks can even cause overall reduction in numbers,' says Sudhir Bisht.
For all the blame-game over the flood preparedness in Chennai and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, this is not the first of its kind. Nor would it be the last, given the nature of the north-east monsoon, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gujarat took the lead when it came to empowering farmers in dairying.
'He should have at least offered to step down. He should have shown some grace as head of the government in whom the party leadership reposed so much faith.' 'Sonia Gandhi is essentially a democrat. She does not like to disturb chief ministers. It is a reflection on the person's style of functioning when they mistake this trust as their personal power.' Former Union minister Kumari Selja lashes out.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
After a series of defeats since 2012, the results of the recent panchayat polls are being seen by her as a tide changer for the upcoming UP assembly elections
Those who have a long-range mission of true nation-building will pay close attention to World Bank's new action plan for fairness in all matters of land use, says Rajni Bakshi.
As the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar knows she has to pull off something spectacular if she wants the world to take notice.
'There is nothing like the Sangh agenda or the BJP agenda... we believe only in the Nation's Agenda,' says newly appointed BJP Vice-President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
'The BJP has not moved on since its 2014 victory. There is nothing new to offer. There is far too much negativity about the other side and far too little about what has been achieved by its government.' 'That may have worked when the BJP was in the Opposition but if they believe that the people of India will continue to hold them to such a low standard of expectations, they are really taking the voter for granted or misreading his pulse.'
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
The BJP doesn't want to focus entirely on an anti-Mamata campaign.
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party's big defeat in Bihar, disgruntled party MP Shatrughan Sinha on Monday said those responsible for the debacle should be taken to task and responsibility fixed for the loss.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) led by Nobel laureate R K Pachauri on Wednesday has commissioned a solar micro-grid connection (SMG) in Tanda village of Jagdishpur block (about 80 km from Lucknow) in Rahul Gandhi's Amethi parliamentary constituency.
The second episode ably shed some light on the lesser known side of police apathy -- another topical issue that has evoked nationwide anger lately. But did the topic fit in the show's format, asks Nishi Tiwari.
The AAP's mandate in Gujarat is similar to the one in Delhi -- address issues related to corruption and other grievances of the common man, says Vinay Umarji and Premal Balan
'Both reflect prejudice and short-sightedness peculiar to Mr Modi's way of thinking.'
Here's an analysis of the style and strategy of the man who did the magic for Narendra Modi and then Nitish Kumar and whom the Congress has now hired.
Copa America kicks off in Chile on Thursday as a widening US-led investigation lifts the lid on rampant corruption among the sport's top officials.
Two young cyclists have embarked on a cycling tour across India with an aim to support girl child education.
Performance counts more than populist slogans when you are in power, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Naresh Chandra, former cabinet secretary, diplomat and well-known strategic thinker, tries to explain what the Modi government is up to and assesses what will work and what may not work and why. He spoke to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, also, on diplomatic issues.
On Election 2014: 'So far it looks like a one horse race. The difference between the first and the second challenger is so large that if the first one looks back in the last round, he'll probably not see the second one anywhere.' On the AAP prospects: 'They should be happy if they're able to open their account.' On Rahul Gandhi: 'He has a confused message. His campaign is in the abstract. And his campaign has nothing to offer.' Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in a free and frank conversation with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
