The fact remains that in the present-day Tamil Nadu, GenX and GenY voters, born and/or growing up after the end of 'Kamaraj rule' in the '60s and 'MGR rule', respectively, constitute an absolute majority of the electorate. If they still vote for a Rajini or Kamal, in preference to the established 'Dravidian voters', it is despite the MGR imagery, not because of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The move was aimed at 'reaffirming China's claim over the state'. China claims the state as 'South Tibet'.
It does not stop here, though. According to field information, state ministers, AIADMK candidates and campaigners are asking BJP cadres accompanying them not to carry party flags at common rallies and also avoid their saffron shawl on those occasions. BJP cadres are also asked to stay out of the common campaign when it enters a minority-dominated areas, especially of Muslims, and re-join later, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The HC closed both the defamation suits against Kejriwal and four AAP leaders after a joint settlement plea was moved before it.
"We Ram-bhakts, today, as part of this programme, take this pledge that at the earliest, the Ram Mandir be constructed. Jai Shri Ram," the video showed him saying.
Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, claimed that India is provoking China because it wanted to prove to the United States that it could contain China while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the US.
Two first information reports were registered by the police at Siyana police station in Bulandshahr -- one over cow slaughter and the other on the mob violence in which a village man was also killed.
The jury is still out on whether the Indian Super League (ISL) can wake the world's second most populous nation from its football slumber but the first week of the eight-team competition has at least made people sit up and take notice.
'In the present era of strategic uncertainty and rapidly changing threats, no military professional now disputes the unavoidable necessity of a joint planning staff for the planning and conduct of joint operations so that integrated operations can be planned 'top down',' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
Rajinikanth's visible electoral strength is his constant mouthing of the term, 'aanmiga arasiyal', or 'spiritual politics', without he having to explain what it is. By implication, it is all that what Dravidian politics is not about. It may imply anti-corruption, being against Periyar's forgotten anti-god, anti-Brahmin dictum, but also ends up covering 'Tamil pride', which begins with Tamil language where, as a Maratha from Karnataka, he has more to defend himself. However, in the contemporary national context, aanmiga arasiyal is seen as a front for Rajini to market his brand of 'soft Hindutva' but identified even more with the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in political terms, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The government and the farmers must come back to the negotiating table with only the interest of the country in mind, suggests Vivek Gumaste.
When Junaid and I asked why they were pushing, they pointed to the skull cap on my head, Junaid's brother Hashim said.
"we're talking about Kashmir and the relation to what's going on with Pakistan and India. And if we can help, we certainly will be helping," the President said.
A spirited turn at the mic by Mahua Moitra, first-time MP from Trinamool Congress, in which she listed the "signs of early fascism", has been hailed as the "speech of the year" on social media.
Experts share their views on the steps that will help businesses become GST-ready.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But through social and political reformers, not by courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
"A Meryl Streep or Jimmy Kimmel can speak their mind, and stay assured that they won't be harmed. That does not happen in India," say Manavi Kapur & Ranjita Ganesan.
Experts say Dhoni will continue to be relevant.
While he has plenty of critics at home, Rajan is a favourite among foreign investors and has been credited for bringing inflation under control.
Even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014, Subramanian Swamy was agitating for Rajan's removal.
'It does not appear to me that the campaign of 2019 will be positive. By that I mean it is unlikely that there will be an 'achche din' style slogan either from the government or the opposition.'
Three youths, who allegedly molested two girls on a moving bus, have been remanded in judicial custody by a local court. The three youths -- Kuldeep, Mohit and Deepak - were arrested on Sunday night and remanded in judicial custody until December 6.
With Tamil Nadu's economy getting increasingly debt-ridden with each passing budget, any concession to the Centre on the tax front, the state government has argued, would only help forgotten 'minor parties' to start hoping of a revival, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What will this supposedly more business-friendly government do if it gets a second term?' 'Important labour law and land reforms remain off the table.' 'Witness the arm-twisting of foreign players in e-commerce and all but one player in telecom -- and it is very hard to justify this perception that the BJP is business friendly.' 'There will also remain the real risk of ideas seemingly gleaned from the pages of Amar Chitra Katha, overlaid with PowerPoint presentations,' predicts Rahul Jacob.
In the space of two days, top batsman Smith has gone from Australia's cricketing golden boy to national pariah and it looks likely that he has played his last Test as captain.
The readouts by the Indian and Chinese sides on the meeting on Monday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow bring out that divergences are crowding into the centrestage of their relationship, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Congress on Saturday claimed that Narendra Modi's campaign would soon peak as he has nothing new to say and keeps making 'mistakes'.
'Gods of different religions haven't warred, so we shouldn't either.'
The media has given the PM and his government a far easier time than it probably deserves.
While the BJP believes that Muthalik will help the party secure more votes in northern Karnakata, many of the party's supporters in urban areas are uncomfortable with his induction, says Vicky Nanjappa
Girls in the Kashmir valley hurling defiance at the security forces will detract from the legitimacy of India's response and its standing in the world, says Ajai Shukla.
'It all runs on sugar-coated lies. If I like something, I will want to believe it.'
Workers' attitude is changing and they want to work more and demand more wages. They want more productivity.
'No government should be viewed as authoritarian, rather as a collective institution of people,' says Pinarayi Vijayan.
Public interest centres on whether the two leaders might make headway in resolving the Sino-Indian boundary dispute.
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
"We should make it clear to Pakistan that any LeT attack upon our homeland, they will bear responsibility for that because of their close relationship between ISI and LeT," Congressman Peter King said during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.
'For Muslims, India is now a Hindu Rashtra, no matter what kind of Constitution is still in place,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
