Kashmir's youth are being radicalised. The once-alienated separatists are ready to return to their old haunting ground. The ruling PDP-BJP coalition finds itself on the defensive over almost every issue of governance.
Attired in his trademark half sleeves kurta and sporting a Rajasthani turban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi devoted a bulk of his 90-minute address on the occasion of the 70th Independence Day to presenting in effect a report card of his government's work particularly in boosting economic growth, ease of doing business and welfare schemes for the poor and farmers.
If Team Rajini expected Kaala to carry the superstar's political message off-screen, it may have proved counter-productive. If the not-so-infrequent presence of Muslim residents of Dharavi, including that of Kaala's ex-love Zarina, in many scenes is expected to convey a political message, it is a no-brainer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Indian government has accepted and is a party to international agreements, standards and conventions on religious freedom.' 'We did not force it on them. We are not trying to impose something on them that they haven't already agreed to...' 'India has never allowed us to visit, which is very disappointing for such a wonderful country with such a rich democratic tradition. They seem to be afraid to let us in.'
'The very basis of film censorship lies in the fact that films are considered to be mass medium, and that raw emotions of cinema have the capacity to move you.' 'Which film has moved people into action in the last 40, 50 years?' 'No film.'
Yoga, wellness, meditation, Ayurveda, software and ... toothpaste - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has successfully merged business with spirituality
'Studying History, we come close to all of the messiness of human life -- we understand what motivates people, what makes them get along or go to war, what dreams they had for themselves and their futures.'
'According to me, her finest hour was in 1983-1984 when she neutralised a combined US-Pakistan-British conspiracy to Balkanise India by creating an independent Sikh State of Khalistan,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). A special assessment of Indira Gandhi on her centenary.
They are shaken by the mass molestation in the city on New Year's Eve. But they are not waiting to be rescued. Nikita Puri reports.
'Many who haven't even seen the documentary are claiming that it defames and damages the image of India, makes it sound unsafe, and gives the rapist a forum.' 'This couldn't be further from the truth, and the film shows the best qualities of India and Indians in standing up against evil as much as it shows the unvarnished truth.'
'Once, when I was standing around on the set one day, whining about something -- you know we were gonna work through supper or the long hours or whatever, Tommy Lee Jones said to me, 'Isn't it such a privilege, Meryl, just to be an actor? Yeah, it is, and we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy. We should all be very proud of the work Hollywood honours here tonight.'
'I hope Rahul Gandhi's interventions in Parliament are not flashes in the pan and that he is in it for the long haul.'
Veteran Communist Part of India-Marxist leader Mohammed Salim in an interview with Rediff.com's Indrani Roy speaks about volatile atmosphere in Bengal this election season, the prospects of the Left and more. Edited excerpts:
How many of the 354 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2017 have you seen?
Ananth Mahadevan takes on the audience.
Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street could set a bad precedent, feels Aseem Chhabra.
'The stereotype of an actress is that she's dumb, somebody who will sit on your lap, giggle on stupid jokes, come to the van when she's being called, receive a call at 3am and come over to your house. So when a girl comes along and challenges this, people get uncomfortable.'
'Think about how he would have handled Hyderabad, and JNU. He would have been very cross if he found two of his Cabinet ministers weighing in on the side of the ABVP.' 'And if Rohith Vemula still killed himself, he would have been the first to speak out in anguish and empathy rather than deny he was a Dalit.' 'And JNU, he would have simply said something like, 'let the boys speak, then they will grow up and join the IAS).' 'A good idea, when in crisis, is to apply the 'Vajpayee test' to your actions,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Rediff.com celebrates 40 years of the beloved movie classic.
If this election is about Narendra Modi, then it is also about the RSS, notes Mihir S Sharma.
For more than 23 years, Bhanwari Devi, who was gang-raped for speaking out against the marriage of two babies, has been fighting a lonely battle for justice. Rashme Sehgal traveled to Dausa in Rajasthan to meet the courageous woman, a winner of the Neerja Bhanot Award for bravery, a symbol of Indian women's struggle.
The jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen as the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
'Godse is no more, but the mindset which gave birth to such distorted philosophy is unfortunately still with us.'
'The 17-year-old boy, who pulled out Nirbhaya's intestines, should have got the harshest punishment because he was not human at the time.' 'Instead, he was given a sewing machine and some money to have a new beginning!' 'Are we giving out incentives?' 'Are we telling our unemployed youth that if they do something like this, the government will give them jobs?'
'We have made no effort in recent years to build a national opinion on Kashmir amongst political parties.' 'At least we should speak as one country.' 'It has been a failure of our foreign policy that we have not been able to convince world opinion that something needs to be done about Pakistan.'
When Italy's cash-strapped soccer clubs meet on Monday to prepare for a new deal on broadcast rights, their deliberations will be coloured by the unhappy knowledge that Italian football is in a dismal state and viewers are switching off.
'On both sides of our cultural divide, it roused strong emotions that had very little to do with the language and its literature.' 'I felt Sanskrit had been removed from the realm of thought, and made an object of politics and piety, of oppression, of reverence and contempt.' 'It was my aim to avoid these things, and go straight to the language which, as an object for the mind, is among the most exquisite ever made.'
'Koi Sardar hai? Goli se maar dalenge...' 'The only sardars who were spared in the train were the six with us. And the credit goes to the innate goodness of the passengers in our coach.' Payal Singh Mohanka remembers that horrifying train journey in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination.
Driving a Tata Nano covered with banners about his son's killing by the Mumbai Police, Kundan Prasad Singh is fighting his first election to get justice for a dead son.
It's difficult to say who suffered more these 28 years: The men who survived the PAC shooting and the assaults in jail; or the women who lost their men in these custodial killings.
Indians all over the US are going beyond being human and are learning to be humanitarian and expand their philanthropy activities finds Ajailiu Niumai.
'The BJP had ruled earlier too, but nothing of this sort happened then... I don't say the government is behind the attacks, but they don't do anything to stop the attacks.' 'The prime minister has to tell the perpetrators that it is not in the interest of the government that such incidents happen.' 'When somebody says all Indians are Hindus, responsible people should ask him to stop and assure the country that this is not the opinion of the government. But it is not happening and it is quite unfortunate,' Cardinal Baselios Cleemis tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances