Ironically, it was the members of the BJP (which the Indian press loves to dub as fascist) who resisted the assault on democracy and were jailed for 18 months. The RSS too played a stellar role in the resistance movement during the Emergency. Yet by some strange warped logic, the Indian media deems the Congress party with an established record of authoritarianism as a standard bearer of democracy while damning a true champion -- the BJP, says Vivek Gumaste
According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who spent 19 months in prison during the 1975 Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, it is not possible for anybody to convert a democratic India into a "dictatorship" in this day and age.
Highway isn't merely concerned with cataloguing the virginal, versatile landscapes of Northern India. Often it's the only ray of cheer to offset the grimness concealed within two wounded souls, feels Sukanya Verma.
Gunvant Jain chose to take the road less travelled.
M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant turned political commentator tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi's war is not against the opposition parties or the Congress but against the bureaucracy and the establishment.
"Everyone knows me because of that terrible tragedy. My memories of Mosul only bring me sadness. How can I be proud about my fame? I lost everything there," Harjit Masih told Rediff.com's Swarupa Dutt over the phone.
Advait Chandan decodes Aamir Khan.
Roger Federer began his 63rd consecutive Grand Slam tournament with a majestic 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over little-known Bosnian Damir Dzumhur at Wimbledon in London, on Tuesday.
Cracks are widening within Bihar BJP with more party legislators coming in the open and alleging lack of inner democracy with one MLA openly vouching for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying he would serve as a better prime minister.
A summary of the matches from Day 9 at the French Open.
'India is my country and we will raise our voice against anybody who harms the interests of Adivasis, be it the state government or the Maoists.'
I am not ruling out possibility of joining Cong again, says Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra.
This post is for those who think they can't travel with less money and for those who have money but want to travel on a shoestring budget for the sake of constraint and the adventure it brings with it.
"The mountains I climbed, the butterflies I counted, the streams I swam, the jungles I walked along, all called me back. The urge to go back to nature was very strong," says Tibin Parakal from Trissur who quit a lucrative engineering job in Delhi to start a restaurant but then ultimately became a farmer.
'She adds value to life in many commendable ways. Apart from her many contributions to our consumer products business and Godrej Properties, she dedicates her energies and resources to charity, to philanthropic causes and most of all how she has managed her time as a wife, mother and entrepreneur brilliantly,' says Adi Godrej.
The writing is on the wall -- and it is written in the blood of the women who 'died', 'ran off' or 'committed suicide' under mysterious, carefully unexplained circumstances -- that the only life that matters is one that belongs to an upper class, upper caste, politically connected male.
'As Rai spoke, in an unbelievably dead pan, almost off-the-cuff tone, about helping plan the murder of two youngsters, drugging them with vodka and whiskey spiked with dava (medicine), smothering one, dragging a body in rigor mortis out of a car, burning a corpse, destroying evidence, and so on, it felt like he was discussing nothing more surprising than the intricacies of the weather.'
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
Following is the full text of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speech at FICCI's 86th annual general meeting on Saturday:
'The scenario today, whether in 'Everybody is concerned only with 100 crore films... If our starting point is going to be "How much money will it make? Will it go into the 100 crore club?" then I am not interested.'
'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'
Dani Alves has blamed the media for Brazil's unsuccessful World Cup campaign but conceded that the team did not prepare properly ahead of the humiliating 7-1 defeat by Germany in the semi-final.
