'If the army says sit we have to sit and if they say stand we have to stand. We were better off under the LTTE.'
Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman says who needs a punishing regimen like the Indian captain when he can hit longer sixes than the world's No.1 ODI batsman.
'Outsiders are the ones who have to make the biggest journey to realise themselves, to come back to some sense of normality.' Director Jacques Audiard and actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan discuss the human landscape behind the award-winning film, Dheepan, with Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
Hundreds of migrants, who continue to arrive in Europe as they flee the scenes of chaos and brutality of the Islamic State in the Middle East, have created sharp divisions among European Union member states which are increasingly finding it tough to control the massive influx.
Lack of opportunities coupled with a desire to get rich quick in the West is fueling Punjab's human trafficking problem.
Images of the events that shaped the world in March.
'There were moments when you didn't know if you will get out of there alive.'
From the many large communal riots across decades to the six-hour mass cull of Muslims in Nellie, 1983; Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere, 1984; Kashmiri Pandits, 1990; selective massacres of Hindus in Punjab, 1983-93; and Gujarat, 2002, we have failed to bring perpetrators of our biggest tragedies to account, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Have Muslim women taken to the BJP under Modi even while their menfolk cling to 'secular' politics, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'While they claim to cherish Bapu's ideals, they cherish Godse as fervently.'
Europeans believe that what is under attack is their way of life, their secular faith, the long-fought right to keep religion out of the public sphere, observes Virendra Kapoor.
BJP president Amit Shah, while kickstarting 'Ganatanatra Bachao Yatra' in Bengal, vowed to overthrow the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sets off on Tuesday on a five-day tour of Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka that is expected to give traction to the country's Indian Ocean outreach during which he also visit a former war zone and Tamil heartland of Jaffna.
Will Priyanka start a family? Or does she have some career aces up her sleeve? Longtime Rediff.com contributor Aseem Chhabra, author of
Some broke stereotypes. Some inspiring. Some made our jaws drop.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last month, in 12 images.
At least 105 terror suspects, including Afghans, were arrested in Peshawar as part of the Pakistan government's offensive against militants after the Taliban's deadly school attack in the city.
Priya Ramesh, a psychoanalyst and life coach, recounts how she, her husband and neighbours braved the floods by sheltering on the first floor of their villas in Chennai's Sholinganallur suburb.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
Syrian Kurds have been struggling for weeks against better-armed IS fighters, with US-led air strikes helping the former avoid defeat.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, hailed as a military hero at home and loathed in the Arab world as a war criminal, was on Monday laid to rest at his family ranch in southern Israel after a state funeral.
Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon died on Saturday at a hospital near Tel Aviv after being in a comatose state for the past eight years following a stroke. He was 85.
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Eleven militants carried out the brutal Taliban attack on an army-run school in Pakistan's Peshawar city last week that killed 150 people, mostly children, an initial investigation report has said.
'We need to be in a perpetual state of aggression, and able to swiftly change the goal posts to keep Pakistan in a state of imbalance,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
The RSS criticised the previous UPA government at the centre and National Conference-Congress coalition government in the state for allowing Rohingyas to settle down in Jammu,
Polling in Madhya Pradesh was marred by complaints of faulty EVMs and voter verifiable paper audit trail machines.
'We may have played a small part, but being a part of the film that has won the prestigious award Palme d'Or is definitely a great honour.' Suresh Balaje and George Pius, who own the Wide Angle Creations, were the line producers on the French film Dheepan that won the top prize at the Cannes International Film Festival.
The least the leaders who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have done was to highlight the plight of the Muslim riot victims, but they happily chose to ignore it, so privileged they must have felt to be in the presence of the prime minister, the most powerful man in the country, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Tibetan refugees in India face a bleak future, says Greg C Bruno.
25 winters have passed. More will pass, but the fight will go on. In spite of successive governments' unwillingness to sincerely reverse ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus and provide them justice, they will steadfastly work towards securing their rights and homeland, says Lalit Koul.
Shringla visited Dhaka in March last after assuming office of the Indian Foreign Secretary in January this year.
Rup Narayan Das reveals the towering Odisha leader's role in improving national security after the 1962 War with China.
'The government lights lamps for nurses but when we demand what's due for us, they don't listen at all.'
Many political experts believe that the extent of protests has put the government on the defensive and highlighted its unpreparedness.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to people to maintain peace and calm and urged the protesters to refrain from taking law into own hands.
'This is basically aimed at vilifying Nehruvian ideals.' 'Why?' 'Because, Nehruvian leadership is seen by Hindutva forces as the one which did not let them have their Hindu Raj.' 'The Hindutva proponents have always assumed that had Sardar become the first prime minister, India could never have become a secular State,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Pak PM discussed the situation in Kashmir and tense relations with India with Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif.
Twenty years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, India is in rebirth mode. Whether there is a Babri Masjid or a Ram temple or not in Ayodhya, India will go on. And it will see many tomorrows, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Balraj Bahri Malhotra and Ram Advani's passing signals the sunset of the era of the many booksellers across India who came over after Partition.
