Despite receiving so much love from Gujarat, Modi didn't bother to visit the bereaved parents of those 22 children who lost their lives in Surat, points out Jyoti Punwani.
Various Maratha organisations had held massive 'silent marches' across the state last year for various demands, including reservation.
'If this is the India you're talking about, where there is no space for minorities, where you have hate, where people can enter universities and beat students up, let me be anti-national.' 'I'll carry that as a badge of honour.'
'Benares has always encouraged healthy debate where disagreement and dissent was never frowned upon. Today, the people are faced with a situation where a political opponent is not being allowed to give election speeches and is being physically attacked.' 'We are going to hand over power to a person who has a reputation of being dictatorial, who does not brook dissent and is known to be vindictive to his opponents,' author Kashinath Singh tells Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
Journalists from across the country gathered and demanded justice amid call for standing up to "forces" trying to the "muzzle" the voices of dissent.
'The BJP should avoid escalating every local issue and minor provocation into a national crisis and claiming a 'holier than thou' monopoly on patriotism.' 'And the Opposition should avoid paying the government back in the same coin by crying wolf about intolerance at the slightest provocation.'
'In the hands of a majoritarian government, with utter contempt for the cultural plurality and diversity of our great nation, the pipe dream of making Hindi the sole official language takes on nightmarish proportions.'
Freedom of speech and expression does not merit debate; it exists with conditions to regulate its use. However, a citizen's rights end where another citizen's begin
India's majoritarian regime is now making a dangerously fast-paced move towards theocracy, like its western counterpart did a few decades ago, warns Mohammad Sajjad.
'Of course, I would like a world in which candidates don't ask for my vote on religious (etc) grounds.' 'But will we ever live in a world free of such appeals?' 'More important, will a Supreme Court verdict, by itself, ever deliver such a world?' asks Dilip D'Souza.
'The valiant upholder of national honour is strangely silent when African envoys are complaining about the insecurity of blacks in 'tolerant' and 'incredible' India,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The SC in its judgment said that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression. "Sexual orientation of an individual is natural and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression, Supreme Court," the court said.
'From the evidently pre-selected questions to the promotional slides on a screen redolent of the official audio-visual department, the choreography was palpably intended to present the prime minister in as good a light as possible in a 'safe' environment insulated from uncomfortable questions,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The referendum will have long-term implications for Indian companies, which earn a substantial portion of revenue from the region.
Jaishankar said that the resolution on Kashmir introduced by Jayapal in the House is not a fair characterisation of the situation in J-K. And also said that he has no interest in meeting the Congresswoman.
This Teacher's Day, we chronicle the stories of such amazing teachers who inspire by example. Some of them you have perhaps heard of. Others are much more obscure.
'Many people thought that a Hindu nationalist party's government would take bold steps vis-a-vis Kashmir. But sadly their approach has been led by military and security priorities.' 'We would suggest to India that she initiate the dialogue following the Vajpayee model. That is the way forward. Otherwise, there is a looming threat. We are seeing educated youth joining militancy.'
Every time a filmmaker wishes to explore history or religion on his or her terms, self-appointed experts and limelight-seeking zealots swoop in to protest, says Sukanya Verma.
Known for his witty one-liners, Naidu said "after all, the culture of India is agriculture."
If you were horrified by the report of the two medical students who flung a dog from the terrace of a five-storied building and filmed the grisly act, here's another story that is equally -- if not more -- shocking, since many of us may be unwitting participants, says Supriya Bose.
Union HRD minister says women in the country are not told what to wear, whom to meet and where to go.
Our generation got independence too easy, we take our freedom too lightly, we treat our country and environment like toilet paper and take the easy way out because we have no sense of pride or self worth except when it is an India-Pakistan match. We need to be broken more so that we may rise, says film director Suparn Verma.
'The brutal violence of the UP government's first response to the anti-CAA protests suggests that the BJP will test drive the NPR/NRC in UP, where it has both a massive majority in the assembly and a chief minister whose instinct for Hindutva extremism and whose appetite for punitive policing allows a prime minister as darkly majoritarian as Modi to appear statesman-like,' notes Mukul Kesavan.
The various meat bans across the country are an attempt to attack civil liberties, says civil rights activist Kavita Srivastava.
'The judge said that anybody who does not believe in the RSS ideology is not acceptable to you. You have terminated his contract because he thought differently.' 'The Modi government has no accomplishment to show. Therefore, they are using the tool of nationalism to divert the country's attention from very serious things like farmers suicides and the water crisis.' 'You cannot simply dismiss anyone because they are not willing to raise a slogan and not think like you.'
Crackdowns on bloggers often signal the ominous rise of religious fundamentalism
'These protests are not just about the CAA. It is against allowing fascism and religious discrimination to creep into our legal system.'
MUST READ: The speech Nayantara Sahgal was not allowed to give.
'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.
In an era when the misguided youth of today are trying to build political careers by subscribing to divisive ideologies, they need to look to independent thinking icons such as Acharya Kripalani, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'In Bastar, as in Delhi, being branded 'anti-national' in the eyes of the government now seems to have acquired new meaning,' says Aakar Patel.
'Swaraj Samvad sees itself in the role of a watchdog in Delhi,' Professor Anand Kumar tells Rediff.com.
When powers vested by the Finance Bill 2017 begin to get mildly used, fellow Indians living in the corporate bubble will get a faint whiff of what life can be like when you run a grocery store in the streets of Kashmir or the North East.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'The blood that runs in the veins of our family can never be anti-national.' 'They called Kanhaiya a traitor for questioning the Indian Army. Do they know that our cousin was killed by militants in Manipur while serving with the CRPF?' Archana Masih/Rediff.com travelled to the land of Lal Salam, Lal Sitara and comrades to find out what moulded India's most talked about student leader, Kanhaiya Kunar.
'Children should be brought up connected to our culture and should be introduced to characters from our mythologies. What is this Baa Baa Black Sheep?'
The decision to take to the streets and demonstrate support for beleaguered former PM Manmohan Singh could be a turning point for the Congress.
'I cannot conceive of any reason than my unsparing criticism of government policies that the government picked me to send a message to many who dare to take it on.'
'The vocal pacifists who monopolise the media in India need to answer a simple question: Would they have the Taliban or ISIS take over Kashmir or the rest of the country or let the army do its duty so that we are safe in our beds and free to demonise the soldiers in our cozy drawing rooms and television studios,' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Assembly elections in Assam used to be a quiet affair and people outside the state would take little interest in the outcome. This time, even in faraway Delhi, people are keeping tabs on political developments in Assam.
