Sheela Bhatt explores the tangled web of deception, lies and money woven by IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar and the UPA government.
Bihar expert Dr Shaibal Gupta tells Sheela Bhatt why the upcoming assembly election is a benchmark in the state.
The man who has studied Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar from a vantage position in Patna's corridors of power speaks to Sheela Bhatt about the upcoming Bihar assembly election.
After a long time, a meaningful campaign to create social awareness for Indian children's right to education was launched by the UNICEF on Monday. Awaaz Do, the project, is timely, direct and uncomplicated, notes Sheela Bhatt
Activist Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption gathered steam as he received support from scores of people across India. But for Hazare this fight is nothing new. He first raised his voice against malpractices in the system in the early 90s, reports Sheela Bhatt.
Does Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh want to capitalise over the craze between the high-voltage World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan? If high-level sources are to be believed the answer is a yes. One of the options that governments of both the nations is considering is to have more cricket matches between the two-arch rivals, sources told rediff.com.
"I am going to cheer for a good game of cricket," said Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a powerful voice in the world of Indian cricket, who is in Mohali to witness the mega semi-final between India and Pakistan.
A senior Congressman from Uttar Pradesh explained that there was a clear attempt by the BJP to underplay the Hindutva sentiment so that they could appeal to the Indian youth, who doesn't want riots and seek to move on.
The end of an 'ugly episode' revolving around Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and Hyderabad girl Ayesha Siddiqui is a great relief for the country and the Muslim community, says senior politicians and powerful community leaders of Hyderabad city. Reports Sheela Bhatt.
Kapil Sibal, union minister of Human Resource Development, believes that higher education offered by US-based universities is much better than that offered by universities in the United Kingdom.
What India projected at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, says Sheela Bhatt, was a huge Indian mela in all its old shades.
Parmesh, brother of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, spoke to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt about his personal experience of natural calamities in a telephonic conversation from Tokyo.
The latest Wikileaks revelations will make many believe that the UPA government mustered a majority in Parliament in July 2008 in an unscrupulous manner and the Americans were prime witness to that crime, says Sheela Bhatt.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley elaborates his party's traditional belief on the Kashmir tangle and spells out its future position.
'Mamata needs the Congress more than the Congress needs the alliance,' says a Congress leader. 'If the Trinamool and Congress fight the election together, a party survey claims the Trinamool will get around 165 out of 294 seats, but without us, the Trinamool could get somewhere around 130. It will be a few seats less than a majority.'
The urgency to understand and decode the possible impact of the Ayodhya verdict is so high that the Bharatiya Janata Party and many Muslim organisations are not even participating in public debates, reports Sheela Bhatt. They want to play it safe by not inciting the public before the verdict and they want to ensure that all options are kept open after the highly anticipated judgment.
No Indian function is complete without a sumptuous spread of food. Fortunately, the controversy-ridden Commonwealth Games Organising Committee will maintain that tradition when guests descend in New Delhi for the October 3-14 extravaganza.
Amit Shah's fall has dented his boss Narendra Modi's eligibility to some day lead non-Congress centrist parties at the Centre. Here lies the real win for the Congress, as this will play as an advantage for its future leadership, says Sheela Bhatt.
'On January 1, 2010, I didn't imagine Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be fighting a political battle to save his famed credibility.'
'If Parliament had not been obstructed, even the Indian media would not have realised that such a monumental scam had taken place,' says Arun Jaitley.
Former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra, during whose tenure India-China relations had improved significantly, has said that China's present threat to India is more dangerous than in 1962, when the countries clashed in a war, and that Indian politicians were to blame for India's weak defence position.
'The Emergency showed the Congress'level of commitment to democracy, freedom of the press and all the other attributes regarded as imperative for a sound democracy,' says L K Advani in a special feature to mark the 35th anniversary of the Emergency.
The cable in which Rahul Gandhi tells the US ambassador Timothy Roemer that radical Hindu groups pose a bigger threat than the LeT could haunt the young leader, says Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt reveals the inside story on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's revelations to India on the Headley-Rana case, and of how the findings have changed the 26/11 investigation in India.
A controversy -- described as climategate -- has broken out regarding the authenticity of the data provided by the prestigious East Anglia University of the United Kingdom that formed the basis of the United Nations report on climate change.
While the arrest of Kanimozhi in the 2G scam is a good development, there is still a long way to go for the CBI in the case. Sheela Bhatt on the repercussions of the arrest.
'The way Congressman feared her, they don't fear her now. That is why you see how she took time to take action in Andhra, Maharashtra and corruption in the Commonwealth Games,' says Arun Shourie.
The Mumbai police was aware of its mistake much before it came to light. They knew that it was a highly sensitive issue so they made a tremendous effort to locate the jacket.
India, says a senior diplomat in the Ministry of External Affairs who is a member of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's team to Washington, DC, is looking forward to the visit with anticipation.
'If the prime minister was really serious, then he should have removed Raja long back,' says Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
'See how he uses the CBI, allows telephone tapping, sustains corrupt ministers, ignores indisciplined ministers, had the cash for votes scam and used the Election Commission. Which institution has not been damaged by his government?' asks Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley.
'The overall India-US relationship is entering a mature phase where the two countries can have different perceptions or specific interests with regard to regional or global issues and can still talk about an enduring economic partnership to mutual benefit.'
Historian Ramachandra Guha on what the Congress means for India today, what could lurk for the party in the future and the importance of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
India's 8 percent-plus growth has opened up opportunities where India is, for the first time, in a position to offer unprecedented opportunities to US businessmen in the nuclear power, space and manufacturing sectors.
If Kasab's lawyer K P Pawar argued with vigour on Tuesday, then public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam was tenacious in seeking the highest possible punishment for the Pakistani terrorist. Nikam argued that it would be a travesty of justice if noose is not awarded to justice. Sheela Bhatt and Prasanna D Zore tracks Tuesday's court proceedings.
During Tuesday's hearings in the high-profile 26/11 case, key accused Ajmal Kasab's counsel K P Pawar went full throttle, steadfastly arguing why minimum punishment should be given for his client. Sheela Bhatt and Prasanna D Zore, who were in the court through the day, bring the dramatic day's proceedings alive.
'If India does not succeed in making the US recognise the combined threat of the China-Pakistan alliance, there is nothing left in the visit,' says Brajesh Mishra, the former National Security Adviser.
The first thing that struck Sheela Bhatt, in Thimphu to cover the summit, was that whiff of fresh air -- opulent and serene. Here are her first impressions on the eve of the summit.
Sheela Bhatt analyses India's election to the UNSC after 19 years.
Digvijay Singh's indictment of Home Minister P Chidambaram's strategy seems to be a preamble to the party's stance on Maoists which will differ from the government's plan, says Sheela Bhatt.
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