'If the Modi government doesn't act now, it will demoralise and hurt the people who voted in hope of a better times,' argues former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'Where does one draw the line? At what point does your right to free speech cross the limit of civilised discourse and provoke me to take offence?' 'And if you have the right to offend, what about someone else's right to be offended?' asks Hasan Suroor.
Maroon 5 threw just about everything at the Super Bowl halftime show: a gospel choir, a drumline, pyrotechnics, a giant letter "M" and even SpongeBob.
'If the BJP becomes the new Congress, then an Opposition within will naturally emerge -- from the right, not the left,' points out Mihir Sharma.
One would not think that a Facebook status or a tweet could land you in jail, at least not in India -- the world's largest democracy. However, the reality is a lot more brutal in India, which has a shameful history of locking up its citizens for dissenting viewpoints. According to Mint, at least 50 people have been arrested through 2017 and 2018 for posts on social media. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents some of the most prominent cases.
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
The actor, who has been catapulted to the national spotlight for his work in helping stranded labourers, has refuted reports of his political motivations and says his work with the migrants is because of his love for them.
'Devendra Fadnavis' brokering the deal between the MNS and the makers of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil raises questions about the chief minister's effectiveness,' says Neeta Kolhatkar.
In an address at a leading think-tank in Paris, Shringla mentioned two recent terrorist incidents in France, one of which he said had its origins in Pakistan, noting that the civilised world needs to act with firmness to address the threat of terrorism.
The Sri Lankan cartoon faux pas has revived the slackening pan-Tamil mood in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Hitting out at Gandhi, the BJP said it was his party's app that was sharing user data with his friends in Singapore.
'They have a voracious appetite.' 'But there are many places where they go and they lose.'
The state government said the order got lost in translation and promised to bring a revised version.
Rahul also said the founders of Ford, Mercedes and Honda were 'mechanics'
She said the Centre is allowing demonetised notes in various sectors like railways, aviation, petroleum, etc but not for state government sectors.
'There is no discipline here -- only autocracy. The state is not governed by any democratic ideology. Democracy has ceased to exist here.'
Just because one can (so far) criticise the policies of the government, or expose a corruption scandal, or question bureaucrats, does not mean we have freedom of speech, says Sherna Gandhy.
Why has Mumbai's cyber police taken no action against these WhatsApp groups who everyday, commit offences under the Indian Penal Code? The police cannot be unaware of their existence, observes Shruthi Marathe.
'Deep down, it betrays a transactional view of politics. That, to get, the voter must give,' argues Krishna Prasad.
Noted educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya was on Monday posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, by President Pranab Mukherjee.
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
'The thing we fondly call FB has come a long way from the cute baby dimples it had in 2006.' 'Today the dimples are long gone and FB looms over us as Mr Hyde, designing the news we see with algorithms that determine what we might want to see; allowing companies to empty our pockets as we hug it good morning and to lobotomise us as we sleep,' says Mitali Saran.
It was never the quality of the CV that defined an incumbent's performance or legacy.
'People are losing their freedom to eat, speak, write and practise their religion.' 'All that is said in the Constitution has been taken away.' 'Does every Muslim or Christian or Hindu have to say I am a patriot every morning and repeat it in the afternoon and at night?'
From son of soil to Hindutva and from the BJP to Hardik Patel, the Shiv Sena has changed its stand time to time to reinvent itself.
'Victims' who bore the brunt of the controversial section 66A of Information Technology Act for posting allegedly "offensive" content online heaved a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court on Tuesday, in its landmark verdict, scrapped the provision dubbing it "unconstitutional".
Under fire over his remarks about Gujaratis living in Mumbai, Swabhimaan Sanghatana chief Nitesh Rane today said his statement was not against all Gujaratis, but directed at only those amongst them who felt that Gujarat under Narendra Modi was doing better than Maharashtra.
'Since Piku, Irrfan seemed content in delighting us with his finesse than striking a nerve.' 'Now, why was this so?' 'Why did our No 1 soul-searching actor suddenly decide that he'd rather be a heart-warmer?' 'Did those journeys take too much out of him?' asks Sreehari Nair.
Attacking Lalu Prasad for going to the Muzaffarnagar riot relief camps a few days after Rahul Gandhi's visit, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was a sycophant who was "licking the feet" of Congress leaders.
'You worry when serious people, with control of our and our children's future, begin to start obsessing over social media, seeing it as an easy, lazy, fun, low-cost substitute for boring, old-fashioned practices of politics, governance and serious, fact-based debate,' says Shekhar Gupta.
If Paris really meant to serve as a landmark in recognising equity in climate negotiations, it should have heralded the second phase of the Kyoto protocol. Instead we have all countries, India and China included, all signing up with voluntary commitments in what can only be seen as a race to the bottom, reports Darryl D'Monte.
'The principles on which a modern Republic should be governed are changing and taking dangerous turns,' warns Uddalok Bhattacharya.
'To ascribe motives to the actions of the state government at such an early stage of police investigation will be counter-productive,' says former Union home secretary Madhav Godbole.
India's freedom, its rambling but working Constitution, its parliamentary democracy, its lumbering administrative machinery all have many a father, but its greatest claim to fame, especially today, that of being a modern state, is due to but one person: Its first and longest-serving prime minister, Nehru, says Shreekant Sambrani.
o attitudes or interpretations of the law on free speech change, depending on which religion is involved?
Rediff.com gathers digs deep, to bring you interesting facts about the Democrat and the former White House First Lady.
The most awaited car and bike biennial event turned out to be a grand success.
The government has made it much harder for tycoons to get special dispensations from Delhi
From Aurangzeb to Sangh Parivar, the year 2016 offers plenty of hope in historical and modern literature.
'Sreedharan epitomises the way in which an Indic ethos can be brought to bear upon the seemingly intractable problems facing India,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
