'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
During a joint press conference with the Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the home minister also said that there is no future for India without Kashmir.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A look into the state of Dalit entrepreneurship in the country.
We suffered worse political degradation during the Emergency. But we emerged resurgent and vigorous because the spirit was not broken. This time around, we face an imminent threat to it, says Shreekant Sambrani
The proposals appeared so far apart that success seemed higly unlikely
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
'There have been happy, sad and frustrating moments but I wouldn't want to change anything. I want to be remembered by at least five films and hope Fan will be among them.' Shah Rukh Khan tells us his birthday wishes.
Bilawal Bhutto's political inheritance is his biggest asset as well as the biggest liability as he tries to make his mark in Pakistan politics. Challenging the Taliban militants is part of that strategy, though it matches with his political ideology. Shahzad Raza profiles the son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
It is important for every sort of development and governance in Telangana that the people identify completely with their governing structures. This identification confers legitimacy on a government -- not just elections and number of votes. That identification has been missing in Telangana for 700 years, says Dr Gautam Pingle in the first of a two-part series on the new state.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by
When Michel Platini revamped the European Championship, turning the finals from a tough, lean 16-team tournament in 2012 into a flabby, 'roll up, anybody's welcome' 24-side affair in 2016, it was not surprising he ran into a blizzard of rebukes.
The minister echoed the consistent message of the Indian delegation as well as other developing countries that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions of all countries should include elements of adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Tubes gone, Irom Sharmila the brand is dead. As long as she was trying to kill herself, she had value to the cynics trying to build their careers over her fast, says Shekhar Gupta.
As the nation heads toward the general election, the Congress fortunes have most likely dipped below the point of no return. The Modi-BJP juggernaut rolls along despite some hiccups. And the meteor that rose in the form of the AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal seems to be disintegrating, says Shreekant Sambrani.
The Centre on Thursday evening took the first significant step towards creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh and decided that Hyderabad will be the joint capital of the two states for 10 years.
The President talked about demonetisation, electoral reforms and disruptions in Parliament.
'The danger today is that out of sheer fatigue and exasperation, the US might cut loose and exit from Afghanistan leaving it to the region to cope with the debris, which it is ill-equipped to handle,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Who will make the most of the disruptions of 2016 this year? Mihir Sharma's list of probables.
RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka thinks aloud about what Vijay Mallya could or should do to get out of the current mess.
Days before Narendra Modi arrives in the US to speak at the UN, meet Barack Obama, gupshup with the likes of Nadella, Pichai, Zuckerberg, and address desis in Silicon Valley, his ministers will help set the commercial and strategic tone for the prime minister's visit.
Aadhaar-related schemes and the Aadhaar Act exist on the assumption that Right to Privacy is not a Fundamental Right.
How will the return of a majority government at the Centre, the new India-US friendship and the Mangalyaan triumph change India?
Premier Li Keqiang highlighted his government's performance in the last one year and the challenges ahead in various fields. Compared to other reports by his predecessors, Li spoke more frankly about the mounting challenges faced by the country. Srikanth Kondapalli on the two recent Chinese parliament sessions.
In 2012 Rediff.com had published a feature on the rare aspects of Hawking's life and work, based on a feature by popular edutainment website HowStuffWorks, which we reproduce.
11th-hour debt restructuring programme offered no concessions to creditors
China has been keeping tabs on the restive Tibet province through a 'grid' system and some 600 'convenience police posts' armed with high-tech equipment that monitor the daily life of the citizens of Lhasa and other Tibetan towns. Worse, 'volunteer security groups' known as 'Red Armband Patrols' are roaming around in order to get more information and 'classify' each and every citizen, says Claude Arpi
'It was Dr B R Ambedkar's foresight which saved us from some marauding state political leaders who could have indirectly disfranchised large sections of our population as we see some attempts even now,' says V Balachandran.
Banks cannot shirk their responsibility in cases of frauds.
A woman was killed and five persons were injured on Sunday as Pakistani troops intensified shelling on border posts and civilian area in Poonch and Rajouri in continued ceasefire violations that have claimed six lives in two days, drawing strong protest from India.
COP 21 is about how much carbon space is left and who gets how much of that space
'There are major implications for India. Though there was a transparently thin attempt to project the troop reduction as intended to promote peace, the downsizing is actually part of plans to streamline and strengthen the PLA, capable of defending China's national interests at home and abroad,' says Jayadev Ranade.
Very few old-style RSS workers-turned-leaders have survived Narendra Modi's political ambush in state politics. Harin Pathak's end closes the chapter for Modi who started his post-2002 riots journey with a new mix of profit-centric development and middle class-pleasing commerce, technology-driven communication with voters, and an unspoken Hindutva that speaks only through posturings and symbols. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reveals the real reasons for the Modi-Pathak rupture.
'Islamic State has declared that the liberation of Islamic Xinjiang from China is an objective. Beijing may well find that Pakistan is unable to assist in any meaningful way,' says China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
It emerges that not only does the CIDR project fails the test of fairness, justness and reasonableness besides the test of not being fanciful, oppressive or arbitrary; it also fails the test of Arthashastra, Hadith and the Bible.
'With folded hands, on humanitarian grounds, if she can get temporary bail on medical grounds so she can get treatment.' 'If she dies, the whole trial gets derailed.'
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
