Why are the 'secular' parties silent about the lynchings on our streets? Are they so busy forging political alliances that they ignore the numerous distortions of Constitutional values?
Reasons include include dropping out of education, raising children and family pressure
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to address concerns of international community over India not signing the non-proliferation treaty by saying that the country's commitment to peace and non-violence is engrained in the "DNA of Indian society" which is above any international treaty or processes.
Angus Deaton's Nobel Prize should spark off more research on the measurement and usefulness of poverty percentages.
Yale University has issued a statement saying that Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani attended a weeklong programme and received a certificate from the university last year, along with several other lawmakers from India. George Joseph/Rediff.com reports from New York
The hypocrisies of high-caste Hindus have cost their followers very dear. Millions have left their dharma, their great religion which boasts of the loftiest philosophical ideas, says Tarun Vijay.
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.
Vasanthakumar, who started his career as a salesman, today owns a retail empire.
Following her spat, 'Aunty National' Irani took to Facebook to speak out against her detractors. Here's the Facebook post in response to her critics which Rediff.com represents verbatim:
Indians thrive in ordinariness -- from academia and science to business and military power. Sports is just an apt metaphor, says Shekhar Gupta.
'The idea behind the new rules is that slaughter markets must buy directly from the farms as is the case in the bloody world.' 'The cattle markets have become centres for the organised beef mafia.'
'Ashok Singhal was an amazing missionary, a monk in civil dress. His personal ego and pride simply evaporated before the national cause.'
The collector king Sayajirao Gaekwad III, who lived a century ago, put together a fantastic world of Indian and European art for his subjects.
Angry Congress members staged a walkout during Modi's address.
'You are sending the army to Rohtak? There are six paramilitary forces in the country. Why can't you use these people?' 'What is the need to call out the army? And that too at a place where there is an army man in every house.' 'Can you imagine how stupid this decision is? How insensitive?'
The Mukerjeas' former driver could remember every detail of Sheena Bora's alleged murder five years ago, including on what day he took Indrani to the beauty parlour, and the brands of liquor he bought, but was unable to recall anything subsequently or more recently...
New Delhi-based Samskrita Bharati has decided to take upon itself the task of cleaning up Indian languages and introducing Sanskrit as the mainstream language. Dinesh Kamath, the organisation's all-Bharat organising secretary, speaks to Vicky Nanjappa about the cause.
The prime minister's visit to Washington should focus more on shopping for energy security and stopping the US from snooping on us, reigning in its popular and innocuously operated instruments to gather intelligence like Google, says Tarun Vijay.
'Given that 95 per cent of rapes are committed by adults and only 5 per cent by juveniles, these 95 per cent of rapes will continue to take place, so what women's safety are we talking about?'
Germany, as the locomotive of Europe, has much to teach India in manufacturing and process management, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'In the short to medium term, the Myanmar raid will impose caution on Pakistan in planning another 26/11-like adventure. As a result of this caution, even if the proxy war ebbs, it will reduce the danger of escalation to a nuclear stand-off,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Let national interest alone be Narendra Modi's guiding principle, says Virendra Kapoor. No personal agendas, no divisive ideas and ideologies, no crony capitalist interests.
As a child, Sufal Das used to dream of becoming a dhaki. But a life full of adversities, and dwindling popularity of the dhak, has made him regret his dream.
The attempts to unearth the document started getting more and more frantic. The clerks began to flip pages of files full of documents, some hand written, some bearing thick seals or multiple stamps, some in Hindi, some in Marathi. Several junior lawyers joined in, perusing different files and dockets. But in spite of the best of efforts the document was not to be found.
'Some people petitioned the adhikari (government official) and a electricity pole was unloaded here, but because we were not here at that time, some people from a neighbouring village took it to their village instead.' As Bihar goes to the polls, Rediff.com looks at the state through the stories of its people.
By calling the Congress demand for covering lotus ponds absurd, ridiculous, the EC has done well. After all, even despite occasional lapses, there are wise men around, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
'How can middlemen disappear as long as our political parties are sucking in massive amounts of black money?' 'There is an old political art well practised in New Delhi -- people create artificial problems and then solve it for you to earn your gratitude for a lifetime.'
'The government and corporate sector must join hands to implement action which allows all of India to develop. It would be good for the corporate sector in the long run.' 'It is not that talent is a monopoly of a few castes who have been privileged over centuries. Talent also exists in other groups. They need opportunity and exposure,'
'I have only this to say to those who talk about Mewar rulers and Akbar's brutality -- do you expect a king to not expand his kingdom?' 'You have entire cities named after Muslim rulers. It's time our heroes got their due.'
'From the beginning (I have told her) "Whatever it may be -- you are losing or winning -- on the ground you're not going to cry!" She never cried.' '"I don't want you to project that you are a loser. You are a winner".' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com speaks to Leela Raj about her famous daughter, now in the West Indies for the women's T20 World Cup.
'We need to put aside our anxieties about the Budget for now and possibly for long, and carry on as best as we can,' advises Shreekant Sambrani.
Mehta was known to be outspoken and had an unerring instinct for what would be read
Fortune favours the brave, and the loyal. And Vinubhai Kanjibhai Jaipal, who served Gajrajsinh Jadeja unflinchingly through thick and thin, will attest to it, having inherited Rs 600 crore from his late employer, says Haresh Pandya.
'There were days when there was no rice at home and we ate only jackfruit seeds.' 'They feel I, a lowliest human being, a tribal, have no right to go abroad and study.' 'The humiliation was so bad that I was broken inside.'
With what joyous expectations I welcomed you! You have tumbled me into a cauldron of gloomy forebodings, says B S Raghavan.
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com visits this Delhi slum where the administration demolished 1,200 shanties, resulting in a baby's death.
Distress sales, market closures and anchoring of fishing fleets have been reported from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The 39-year-old, the fifth child of an illiterate labourer couple and only the second of their eight to be educated, now helms various ventures that bring in a turnover of between Rs 75 crore and Rs 90 crore.
'If standing in a bank or ATM line is a test of patriotism, why is not a single leader standing in that queue too?'
