As United States President Barack Obama's second term draws to a close, Chief White House Photographer Pete Souza shared his favourite images captured over the course of the last year.
'The UPA was never soft on Pakistan, terrorists and even China, but Sonia Gandhi's Congress rightly earned a "soft" image on issues of hard national interest, leaving the field open for Modi to take it and wrap it around with his implicit Hindutva,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'If you put colour-coded internal security maps of India in May 2014 and now, the picture won't be flattering to Modi.' 'Failures on internal security are now piling up and can break Modi's momentum,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The elections were recently postponed.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday commenced hearing to revisit its two-decade-old 'Hindutva' judgement for an authoritative pronouncement on electoral law categorising misuse of religion for electoral gains as "corrupt practice".
'...a dazzling flash, and then, fizzle,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Trinamool leaders have claimed the NRC process and subsequent verification is vote bank politics. Other critics call it as modified ethnic cleansing. But putting poll rhetoric aside, the issue dates back to a time when many of these leaders had no political relevance.
Inscrutable have been the ways of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. She is a political strategist and tactician rolled into one that her unpredictable ways have won the day for her - mostly, says N Sathiya Moorthy
'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.
Fiscal discipline has been maintained but toxic assets worth Rs 7 crore are a massive headache
Despite the indisputable facts demonetisation and its pain is yet to have a quantifiable political backlash. But this is provided the government can limit the damage to the next one week.
And in the midst of it all, Jayalalithaa keeps the guessing game going, on her returning as chief minister and on calling for early assembly polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
I'm still rooting for you, because you may yet be able to do something good for Delhi. But you and your party will have to get a reality check and some discipline, says Mitali Saran.
As doctors treat Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, a different daily drama takes place outside the Apollo Hospitals gates.
Congress gets into the opposition groove but still has miles to go, says Saroj Nagi.
Describing the Narendra Modi-led BJP's electoral victory as a "breathtaking landslide", eminent American think tanks and experts have said the win has given him an opportunity to "redefine" Indian politics.
Despite the incessant disruptions and bitter clashes between political parties witnessed in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, lawmakers from across the political spectrum will display rare unanimity in the coming days to pass two bills aimed at protecting their interests.
We need credible retellings of the times we have lived through, or the events in the immediate past that have shaped our today, says Mihir S Sharma
Tuesday's contrasting speeches -- one by Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and the other by Narendra Modi in Jaipur -- set the tone for the mother of all political battles, reports Anita Katyal.
Not everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is optimistic about the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartaiya Janata Party. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com spoke to Kashmiri pandit organisations to find out how they view the new coalition politics in the valley.
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The 30-share Sensex lost 22 points to close at 27,090 and the 50-share Nifty gained 7 points to end at 8,121.
OPS is just now friendless in the party's second-line, but the situation could change as and when Governor Rao arrives in the state capital, and sets the constitutional ball rolling, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
She needs to find innovative ways to at least match the growth during Gehlot's rule.
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
'It is very important for Indian Americans to understand that we need to have as many seats at the table as we can get. I am going to see to it that I am going to get there," Kumar Barve, the longest-serving Indian-American legislator in America, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
Louisiana Governor Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal may not have been among the top 10 Republican presidential hopefuls at the first GOP primary debate in Cleveland, Ohio. But he sure did make a strong pitch for his candidature, ripping apart President Barack Obama and forcefully putting across his thoughts on contentious issues like immigration and foreign policy.
Chartered accountant and commentator M R Venkatesh on why the GST Bill will cost the BJP dear.
Shreekant Sambrani is confident that today's adversity will make the country emerge even stronger
Forty years after the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi, the Sunanda K Datta-Ray recalls life when civil rights were suspended and press censorship was in force
'You cannot judge a government within a month. Give us five years' time.' 'At times, strict economic decisions have to be made for the good of the poor in the long run.' Dharmendra Pradhan, one of the Modi government's stars, speaks exclusively to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about why the government is forced to roll out 'bitter medicine.'
'Will 'Make in India' be able to harness the demographic dividend so it does not become a disaster?' 'Will 'Digital India' live up to the lofty promises the government and private sector made as part of its recent launch?'
Since 2004 the Congress has hung onto power in a situation in which it was on track to be out of power. In each case, it effectively gamed the system through Constitutional coups, argues columnist Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Sonia is trying to become a politician again. Will she succeed?'
The December elections in Delhi will be the first real test for the Aam Aadmi Party. Manavi Kapur spends a day shadowing its leader on his campaign
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday addressed the first joint sitting of Parliament as mandatorily required under the Constitution after the general elections. The address is the political, economic and foreign policy road map of the Narendra Modi government and covers virtually all crucial areas.
