According to World Gold Council (WGC), gold jewellery demand in India, the world's largest consumer, touched record 662.1 tonnes in 2014.
Take a look at some of the most striking images from the contest, and see a full gallery on Smithsonian's website.
Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that the situation was now again turning normal.
MUST READ: The speech Nayantara Sahgal was not allowed to give.
'Those who say the Indian Army is persecuting Kashmiris... I will tell them that the reality is that the Kashmiri loves the fauj and what all the Indian Army has done.'
'When you are returning your award you are commenting on the country and not the government.' 'Can we actually say that a vast majority of Indians have become communal? The data shows actually no. That is not true.' 'In religious terms India has a lot to teach the world because we are genuinely liberal, but in gender terms we have to learn lot from the West. In gender terms, we are terrible.'
'There is no audience anymore for my graphic novels. Few people seem interested in what I find interesting,' Sarnath Banerjee tells Uttaran Das Gupta.
The government has identified three circuits -- Ramayana Circuit, Krishna Circuit and Buddhist Circuit - to boost religious tourism. The Ram museum will be a part of the Ramayana Circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 225 crore, with Rs 151 crore exclusively for Ayodhya, which is the hub of the circuit.
'The real danger in India right now is that identity politics is being stoked in extremely dangerous ways.' 'The narrative you get about churches in the mainstream Indian media and the narrative you get in the social media is very different.' 'Many Americans today want to appropriate Indian culture. They want yoga, but they say yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism. They want Ayurveda, but they say it's got nothing to do with Hinduism.' 'Hinduism has been failed by political constituencies in India -- seculars and the right-wing.'
'Of all the PMs of India, I had the closest relationships with Morarji and Rajiv.' Mark Tully, the most famous foreign correspondent in India, remembers some encounters with prime ministers, dictators and militants.
Trupti Desai's fight earned women the right to enter the inner sanctums of the Shani Shingnapur Temple, the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple and the Haji Ali Dargah. Her next target is Sabarimala in Kerala. Aditi Phadnis reports.
Kulkarni said that he has accepted Kasuri's invitation to join the launch of his book 'Neither a Hawk nor a Dove' in Karachi on November 2.
The traditional male dancers of Rajasthan produce seductive movement that has colour and beat.
The Obama administration sees India not only as a land of huge potential for expanded business and trade but also as a strategic partner in the face of an increasingly assertive China, whose leader visited Modi in India last week.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.
'The Quran says that saving one life is like saving humanity. So by donating for Kerala, you are following what Allah told you.' 'This gesture would create goodwill for Muslims and would work as a counter to the hostility they face.' Jyoti Punwani reports how some Muslims won't sacrifice goats this Bakri Eid, instead donating the money towards relief efforts in Kerala.
Speaking of the religious freedom and safety they feel in India, Rabbi Romiel Daniel, part of the Indian Jewish Congregation of USA, tells George Joseph/Rediff.com that members of his community hope for better relations between India and Israel.
Making her film debut with The Householder, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote more screenplays than novels, winning two Oscars -- for A Room with a View and Howards End. She kept her distance from the film crowd, seeking refuge in the 'protective' company of her two life-long collaborators, Director James Ivory and Producer Ismail Merchant.
These tips will help you excel in the competitive exam.
The Sindhi New Year 'chetichand' holds a lot of importance, as this is a day when friends and relatives come together to meet one another.
The Hindu right-wing body in its mouthpiece taunts "liberals" protesting the Dadri lynching incident, asking what exactly is their idea of India.
'What I want is not for the elected to tell me what they did in the 1990s or for the past 5 years,' says A Bihari Abroad. 'I would rather know what they plan to do in the next 6 months and give the people a report on the progress of these initiatives. Perhaps, a presentation on their performance and their future plans, to the electoral public, who they represent and are actually answerable to.'
Her great grandfather began sugar co-operatives in Maharashtra. Her grandfather was an eight time MP. Her uncle is currently leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Her cousin joined the BJP on Tuesday, March 12. Nila Vikhe Patil, who could one day become prime minister of Sweden, unravels her India connections in an e-mail interaction with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'... as long as he doesn't stop me from mingling with my Muslim friends.' 'Tolerance isn't about making a show of your respect for another man's religion. Tolerance is about not interfering in other people's affairs as long as it doesn't infringe your own rights as an individual.'
'We know the situation has worsened in the valley, but we are taking the first step.' 'We have lost 30 years of our life. We do not want to wait any longer.' 'The political class always said, you come down to Kashmir.' 'So, we are going to be there and we are going to demand a place to stay.' 'After all, it is our own land.'
'Aurangzeb spent a major part in the Deccan. The later Mughals were looted by Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali. The Mughals had no money to build. That's why Zafar Mahal, the only palace they built in Mehrauli, was built very shoddily and quickly fell into ruin.' 'Mehrauli spans a much longer period of time than any other city of Delhi,' says historian Rana Safvi.
Meet Namrata Jain, the first UPSC topper from Naxal-affected Dantewada
'It is a reassertion of their lost martial stride, of a history that is papered over by turning it into a memory largely of the upper castes.'
Be a traveller, not a tourist.
'I didn't get any recognition in Kerala for this film and it has definitely hurt me. When the whole world is celebrating the return of Sanskrit, my state is busy ignoring it.' Vinod Mankara talks about his award-winning film, Priyamanasam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party President said that it is difficult to make a guess who will win in Punjab.
Wow your guests with these delicious modak preparations.
'People, who were killed, didn't even know why they were being killed.' 'Because a couple of Sikhs assassinated Indira Gandhi, the whole community had to pay for it.'
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.
Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre examines the Marathi film industry, which annually produces around 190 dissimilar films that requires an investment of Rs 400 crores.
'Pluralism is a fundamental fact of Indian life,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) tells members of the US Congress. 'Indians created a secular/plural State because that is what the majority believes in and not the other way round.'
Through its programmes, Swechha tries to ensure Delhiites don't forget their dying river.
'Modi's campaign has been strikingly devoid of anti-Muslim rhetoric. After the kutta pilla incident, it has been several months since he said something horrible about the Muslims of India. It is the result of democratic constraints. He has to make compromises... He's trying to reinvent himself. He will politically hurt himself if 2002 becomes the definition of Mr Modi again', says political scientist Ashutosh Varshney.
What happened within the last 40 years that turned this society from secular democratic to Hindu right-wing that clench their collective fists of spiritual nobility against the fictional enemy that never was? The internet happened, says Vinay Menon.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances