Lit fests in India have become vibrant cultural celebrations across India, bringing together celebrated authors, emerging voices, poets, thinkers and passionate readers, many of them very young, under one lively roof.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor addresses reports of differences with party leadership, clarifying his stance on party positions and emphasizing the importance of national interest.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has declined to comment on reports claiming he held discussions with CPI(M) members in Dubai. CPI(M) dismisses speculation about Tharoor joining, while Congress denies he is leaving.
'Because, if someone remains an undertrial prisoner for five or seven years and is finally proven innocent, how will you compensate for the time lost?'
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is reportedly upset and likely to skip a strategy meeting for the upcoming Kerala polls due to perceived slights and attempts to sideline him within the party.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discusses India's foreign policy challenges in a multipolar world, emphasizing the need for nimbleness and prioritizing national interests.
A R Rahman: 'I feel blessed to be Indian, which enables me to create a space which always allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices.'
Revenue generated from the final podcast featuring Zubeen Garg will be placed in a 20-year fixed deposit to support emerging artists.
Viswanathan Anand believes that this year's world championship can happen in Chennai if R Praggnanandhaa wins the Candidates Tournament
RSS leader Sunil Ambekar says history textbooks have been revised, with titles like 'the great' removed from historical figures like Akbar and Tipu Sultan. He highlights the importance of India's ancient knowledge and the need to understand its history.
Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel is at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Follow her updates right here!
Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel is at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Follow her updates right here!
With Jaipur Literature Festival around the corner, we list out ten of our most favourite books by the visiting authors.
Columnist and novelist Shobhe De reads an excerpt from a book at the Jaipur Literature on Monday.
The dramatic moves of Donald Trump, which have shaken up the global order, dominated the discussion. A sense of bewilderment prevailed, but there was also expectation that President Trump would settle down to a more traditional style of governance after a time of shock and awe, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, an attendee at literary festivals in Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Sharjah and Thiruvanathapuram.
'Our fractured world has been embroiled in wars and hatred, and many sessions reflect these concerns.'
The pani puri vendor is drawing attention with exclusive deals, including a lifetime unlimited pani puri offer for Rs 99,000 and a Rs 21,000 reward for anyone who can eat 151 pani puris in one sitting.
Britain's former prime minister was spotted at the JLF on Saturday and at the Wankhede on Sunday.
Soulful strains of classical music wafted through the chilly air as the ninth edition of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival kicked off in Jaipur on Thursday at its usual venue, the sun-kissed Diggi Palace grounds, amid elaborate security arrangements.
Even as uncertainty looms over Salman Rushdie's appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the India-born author himself is not giving any hints about his plans to visit India and has maintained a stoic silence on Twitter. The Midnight's Children author has logged on to the microblogging site Twitter regularly and commented on various issues, occasionally tweeting several times a day.
The Delhi high court on Monday issued summons to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a defamation suit filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
The eighth edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival kicked off on Wednesday to a grand start with a bevy of authors, poets, Nobel Laureates along with some Bollywood celebrities, trooping in to the pink city to participate in one of Asia's biggest literary jamboree.
Former National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon has stated that the political dynamics between India and Pakistan have resulted in a "controlled level of hostility" that benefits the ruling elites in both nations. Speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival, Menon described Pakistan as a "brand new state" still grappling with its national identity. He argued that India's foreign policy towards Pakistan is influenced by its domestic politics, resulting in an uneasy equilibrium characterized by a "controlled level of hostility." Menon also questioned the concept of a multipolar world, stating that the current global order is merely "confused." He emphasized that the United States remains the world's true military hegemon, while other nations, including China, are regional powers. Menon further argued that there is no binding international order, leading to a state of "between orders." He highlighted the absence of definitive international agreements on crucial issues in recent decades.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed concern over information regarding USAID funding in India, calling it "concerning" and hinting at potential "bad faith" activities. Jaishankar asserted that India is looking into the matter and that the country should know who is involved in such activities. He also emphasized the need to expand India's security definition in the digital age, highlighting the influence of technology and narratives on public perception. The statements come amid controversy surrounding USAID funding for certain activities in India, with the US President Donald Trump questioning the agency's funding of voter turnout efforts.
Sahitya Akademi winner Vikram Sampath has stepped down as the director of Bangalore Lit Festival in the wake of three Kannada writers deciding to boycott the event.
'Does 99 percent guarantee character and capacity for an independent awareness of life or does it make you -- barring exceptions -- a compliant careerist beholden to governments and corporations?' 'What kind of political and social choices would such minds make?' asks Shyam G Menon.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticized the BJP for its allegations that elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilize India, saying this "attack-dog" behavior is an embarrassment to India. Tharoor's comments come after the US rejected the BJP's allegations, describing them as "disappointing" and asserting that the US government is a champion of media freedom. The BJP had alleged that the US deep state colluded with the media portal OCCRP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "damage" India's image.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Two-time Olympic medalist and four-time World Champion steeplechase runner Kenyan great Ezekiel Kemboi invites Sable to train under him has invited Indian star Avinash Sable for training sessions at his base in Kenya.
'My mother puts up with me beating everybody up through the film but before the film comes to an end, she stops it. She is like, "I know what's happening next, I don't want to watch".'
It's one big bowl of crunchy goodness.
The 67-year-old gave the example of two neighbouring states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to buttress his point on why seat-sharing pattern of the INDIA bloc will vary from state to state.
During a session titled 'Sustaining Democracy; Nurturing Democracy', he claimed that tightening the already stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a way that kept people like Siddique Kappan in jail for two years without bail is one of the many ways the current dispensation has 'managed to depart from the democratic spirit of the Constitution'.
Shriya gets magical in Rome... Arjun looks back at July... Tara meets the Queen...
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode on Friday, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible.
As photographs and video clips were distributed on social media, aviation security watchdog BCAS issued show cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident, official sources said on Tuesday.
The organisers were told by "government sources" that security issues could arise due to Dhar's presence
'...only if we sort it out with Pakistan.'
'They are worried that the BJP government is trying to reduce Kashmiris as a minority.'
He cited the Congress' poor performance in the 2019 general election after victories in assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the previous year to buttress his point.
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