News for 'provocative speech'

'BJP hasn't given up its Brahminical vision for India'

'BJP hasn't given up its Brahminical vision for India'

Rediff.com3 Jan 2018

'The Constitution, which talks about democracy and equality, is something that will be applied in this country, and not Manusmriti in which the RSS believes.'

Govt slams media for 'distorting' Moody's report on Modi

Govt slams media for 'distorting' Moody's report on Modi

Rediff.com5 Nov 2015

The note was authored by Faraz Syed, an associate economist with Moody's Analytics.

India's First Surgical Strike

India's First Surgical Strike

Rediff.com6 Nov 2019

'Shastri told General Chaudhuri, 'I want to reach Lahore before they enter Kashmir'.' 'Today, many regard this initiative of Shastri as the first surgical strike.' A revealing excerpt from Dr Sandeep Shastri's Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics And Beyond.

Kejri's lesson: Only a 'Hinduised' Hindu can stop Modi

Kejri's lesson: Only a 'Hinduised' Hindu can stop Modi

Rediff.com11 Feb 2020

'In Kejriwal's re-election, we are finally seeing someone who has successfully bridged his Hindu identity with ground-level development triumphing over the BJP,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

After telephone spat, Trump patch up with Australian PM

After telephone spat, Trump patch up with Australian PM

Rediff.com5 May 2017

Trump said he had a "productive discussion" with Turnbull on a wide range of issues in New York.

Return of the Bharatiya 'Baniya' Party

Return of the Bharatiya 'Baniya' Party

Rediff.com31 Jan 2020

'The BJP has shown signs lately of returning to its trader mindset.' 'Several strong emotions get meshed in this: Nationalism, protectionism, mercantilism, and arrogance,' points out Shekhar Gupta.

Kangana, Prasoon Joshi, 60 others question 'selective outrage'

Kangana, Prasoon Joshi, 60 others question 'selective outrage'

Rediff.com26 Jul 2019

On Tuesday, 49 people, including award-winning filmmakers Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam, and historian Ramachandra Guha, wrote to PM Modi, urging him to intervene in cases of hate crimes and atrocities against minority communities.

Can Modi-Trump bromance really improve India-US ties?

Can Modi-Trump bromance really improve India-US ties?

Rediff.com27 Feb 2020

'While high-level interventions may help smoothen inter-State relationships, they cannot fundamentally change the alchemy of such relationships, which are firmly rooted in mutual benefits and mutual interests,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Amit Shah to riot-hit UP voters: 'Vote to take revenge for insult'

Amit Shah to riot-hit UP voters: 'Vote to take revenge for insult'

Rediff.com5 Apr 2014

Raising the communal temperature in riot-affected western Uttar Pradesh going to polls on Monday, Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah has spoken of the current election being an opportunity to take "revenge for the insult" during the violence in Muzaffarnagar last year.

EC bans Amit Shah, Azam Khan from holding rallies

EC bans Amit Shah, Azam Khan from holding rallies

Rediff.com11 Apr 2014

Cracking the whip on Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah and SP leader Azam Khan, the Election Commission on Friday banned them from holding public meetings, processions or roadshows in Uttar Pradesh and asked authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

How to Be a Likeable Bigot

How to Be a Likeable Bigot

Rediff.com27 Jan 2020

Here are various roles that a bigot can play, disproving that s/he is one-note and uni-dimensional, and is in fact a versatile, multitasking person.

Secret SIMI camp case: 2 convicts awarded 14 years in jail

Secret SIMI camp case: 2 convicts awarded 14 years in jail

Rediff.com30 Nov 2015

The court had on November 25 convicted five SIMI activists and acquitted 11 others in the case relating to a 'secret' meeting of the banned outfit at Pannayikulam near Aluva in 2006.

How can there be peace if Pakistan uses terror against us?

How can there be peace if Pakistan uses terror against us?

Rediff.com5 Oct 2015

'How can Kashmir be demilitarised if the terrorist threat remains and Pakistan continues to incite elements in Kashmir to keep the internal situation unstable?' asks former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.

Why the Uttar Pradesh violence escalated

Why the Uttar Pradesh violence escalated

Rediff.com10 Sep 2013

The UP government, if it manages to remain in power now, must take immediate steps to ensure that no violence takes place as the country gears up for the elections. Action has to be taken to prevent this, not just through the law and order machinery, but through a secular campaign in which all non-communal political parties participate, says Seema Mustafa.

'Don't make my Kashmir a graveyard'

'Don't make my Kashmir a graveyard'

Rediff.com4 Nov 2019

'The decision of August will have to be taken back. This is our resolve. When it will happen, how it will happen, the judge of our case are the people of this country.'

Tillerson says US is India's reliable partner, takes dig at China, Pakistan

Tillerson says US is India's reliable partner, takes dig at China, Pakistan

Rediff.com18 Oct 2017

Tillerson said China's behaviour and action is "posing a challenge to the rules-based international order".

Chinese publisher withdraws 'vulgar' translation of Tagore's poetry

Chinese publisher withdraws 'vulgar' translation of Tagore's poetry

Rediff.com29 Dec 2015

Users on popular Chinese microblog Sina Weibo chastised the translation as 'a blasphemy against a classic'.

The dialogue is as good as over for now

The dialogue is as good as over for now

Rediff.com3 Oct 2015

It is time to forge a credible New Delhi-Srinagar axis, says Ajai Shukla.

Who helped Dhananjay Desai spread his poison?

Who helped Dhananjay Desai spread his poison?

Rediff.com16 Jun 2014

Dhananjay Desai has been allowed to spread his poison to young men in Maharashtra and Goa over the last five years, by a 'secular' Congress-NCP government. The 23 cases pending against him have not stopped him. He and his supporters must have thought they were immune when they lynched a bearded Muslim at night. Neither Desai nor his followers, nor the police, nor their 'secular' political masters, must have expected the nationwide furore that followed, says Jyoti Punwani.

BJP party of governance? Ha! Ha! Ha!

BJP party of governance? Ha! Ha! Ha!

Rediff.com17 Apr 2018

'The current BJP leadership believes the party's expansion across India, and thus their own survival at the top, depends on injecting communal tension into areas where it has so far been largely controlled,' argues Mihir S Sharma.

'Naik evokes a closed reading of the Quran to establish Islamic supremacy'

'Naik evokes a closed reading of the Quran to establish Islamic supremacy'

Rediff.com11 Jul 2016

'Naik is an outcome of an image-centric Islam, which is linked to the technological changes introduced by new media.' 'English educated upper middle class Muslims embraced Naik's image-centric Islam in the 1990s.' 'Television converted him into a religious object.'

After Basit, Modi unlikely to attend SAARC summit in Pakistan

After Basit, Modi unlikely to attend SAARC summit in Pakistan

Rediff.com9 Apr 2016

SAARC summit in Islamabad in jeopardy. A SAARC summit can only take place when leaders of all member countries are present, notes Rajeev Sharma.

Secularists, Muslims need to accept Yogi

Secularists, Muslims need to accept Yogi

Rediff.com20 Mar 2017

Will he take Modi's 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas' route? Or will he turn UP into Egypt under Morsi, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

'The separatists have to be made irrelevant'

'The separatists have to be made irrelevant'

Rediff.com20 Jun 2017

'That cannot be done till they roam around free, get money from Pakistan and seek attention.' 'The cycle of violence was very cleverly generated.' 'During night patrolling when it was discovered that dumper trucks were unloading heaps of stones in various places, it was the first indicator that there would be trouble.' 'Wherever stones were dumped, the stones were taken by the police to construction sites.' 'It was a laborious task, but we did it rigorously.' 'We had to use some smart tactics and soft skills to defeat the cycle of violence.''

Modi outlines 7-point 'mantra' for BJP workers

Modi outlines 7-point 'mantra' for BJP workers

Rediff.com13 Jun 2016

Delivering his concluding address to the party's National Executive, which saw its president Amit Shah raising concerns over "migration" of Hindus from a communally-sensitive western Uttar Pradesh town, Modi made no reference to the controversial issues and instead asked leaders to use power for the benefit of society.

Shah Rukh Khan's India

Shah Rukh Khan's India

Rediff.com10 Feb 2017

'Are we seeing the beginning of the communalising of one of the most iconic film industries in the world?' asks Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

BJP demands arrest of Trinamool MP who threatened rape

BJP demands arrest of Trinamool MP who threatened rape

Rediff.com1 Jul 2014

Slamming Trinamool Congress member of Parliament Tapas Pal's controversial comments allegedly threatening to kill Communist Party of India-Marxist workers and have their women raped, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded that the leader be put "behind bars", saying he has "no right" to be in any political party.

Kashmir's Atwal Moment: Government must act now!

Kashmir's Atwal Moment: Government must act now!

Rediff.com26 Jun 2017

'...Else we will let the situation develop to a dangerous level where much greater violence will be the only outcome,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Day after Bihar defeat, more brickbats for Modi, RSS and Amit Shah

Day after Bihar defeat, more brickbats for Modi, RSS and Amit Shah

Rediff.com9 Nov 2015

In further rumblings within the Bharatiya Janata Party over its big loss in Bihar, party MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav on Monday said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's quota comments 'agitated' backward castes who rallied around the grand alliance and asserted that many who voted for the Modi government are not RSS supporters.

Muzaffarnagar riots panel blames officials, silent on Akhilesh

Muzaffarnagar riots panel blames officials, silent on Akhilesh

Rediff.com6 Mar 2016

The 700-page report tabled in the state assembly on Sunday said the riots, following the murder of two persons by a youth from a minority community in Kawal town on August 27, 2013, took place as the then inspector of intelligence unit Prabal Pratap Singh failed to give an exact number of people going to attend a mahapanchayat at Mandaur.

The Return of Manmohan Singh

The Return of Manmohan Singh

Rediff.com31 Dec 2018

He is talking, making sense, and India is listening. Rahul Gandhi needs to listen to him, too, says Shekhar Gupta.

Pakistan raising Kashmir at UN is 'clear interference': India

Pakistan raising Kashmir at UN is 'clear interference': India

Rediff.com15 Oct 2015

India suggested that Pakistan should refrain from using the Right of Reply and instead "use the right of introspection" to think about the direction in which the country is moving.

Kashmir cannot be ruled through gun barrel: Opposition reminds government

Kashmir cannot be ruled through gun barrel: Opposition reminds government

Rediff.com18 Jul 2016

Slamming the government over the situation in Kashmir, Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Monday pressed for holding an all-party meet to discuss the issue and pitched for a political solution rather than using "barrel of the gun" while dealing with the unrest.

Political soup, served sweet and sour

Political soup, served sweet and sour

Rediff.com7 Apr 2014

L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.

No need for the world to fear Trump

No need for the world to fear Trump

Rediff.com21 Jan 2017

Other countries need not be worried by Trump putting America first, says B S Raghavan. 'That is what the imperative duty is of everyone heading his country's government: To put his own country first, and make it great.' 'That is what Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and all the democratically elected heads of governments, with the interest of their people at heart, are doing.'

Why the RSS is not untouchable

Why the RSS is not untouchable

Rediff.com7 Oct 2014

The real danger in India is not majoritarianism but minorityism, a bane we have already experienced. Majoritarianism in the India context means plurality and tolerance. No one needs to fear, says Vivek Gumaste

Why is govt taking pangas with RBI, CBI etc?

Why is govt taking pangas with RBI, CBI etc?

Rediff.com23 Nov 2018

Has the Modi government been more at odds with institutions than other governments? There is no doubt that there have been more run-ins. While the RBI and CBI cases have drawn attention, there have been others, less publicised, Subhomoy Bhattacharjee points out.

Right man in the wrong (Owaisi's) party?

Right man in the wrong (Owaisi's) party?

Rediff.com23 Apr 2019

Has Owaisi's MIM become an albatross for Imtiaz Jaleel, former journalist and the party's candidate in Aurangabad?

'Banning books seems more like Taliban culture than Hindu culture'

'Banning books seems more like Taliban culture than Hindu culture'

Rediff.com27 Feb 2014

'How can Hindus protest efforts to ban an edition of the Gita in parts of Russia, and force a publisher to withdraw an academic critique of Hinduism, all in the same breath? It makes the Hindu community seem petty, self-serving, and hypocritical. Episodes like this allow Hinduism to be "owned" by the most conservative, intolerant, extremist voices. These people do not speak for me, and they certainly don't represent the form of Hinduism I practice and love," Princeton University's Hindu chaplain Vineet Chander tells Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.

America won't stop India from more such strikes

America won't stop India from more such strikes

Rediff.com30 Sep 2016

'The interests of the United States and India are sharply aligned on the issue of Pakistan-based terrorism.'