All stories by RASHME SEHGAL
'For AMU, minority status is a life and death issue'
Rediff.com5 Apr 2016'The HRD minister said AMU was not a minority institution. I told her the matter would be settled in court.' 'The prime minister did not say anything so categorical. He heard me out very sympathetically. His body language was very different.' 'AMU has ABVP. I did receive a letter from them asking why you are constantly brandishing your service to the country. My reply is: Why shouldn't I?' 'I served the country for 40 years and I am very proud of this service performed for my country.'
Saving the girl child, one village at a time
Rediff.com30 Mar 2016Sarpanch leaders are changing Rajasthan for the girl child, says Rashme Sehgal.
'The BJP has behaved disgracefully'
Rediff.com29 Mar 2016'This is about demolishing all that we have stood for as a nation after Independence. This is an attack on the nation's very foundation.'
Did Cabinet okay Pak JIT visit to Pathankot?
Rediff.com26 Mar 2016'Will Pakistan allow R&AW and Indian armed force officers access to roam around their strategic bases?' 'Is there any precedent anywhere in the world of such permissions being granted?'
2 weeks later, how serious is the Kakrapar nuclear leak?
Rediff.com25 Mar 2016Sustained campaign forces NPCIL to issue statement on Kakrapar fuel leak. But there is still not clarity on what went wrong.
Changes the World will see soon
Rediff.com22 Mar 2016'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'
Changes the World will see soon
Rediff.com21 Mar 2016'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'
'Tell us what happened at Kakrapar'
Rediff.com19 Mar 2016Residents of Surat, who fear for their lives after the heavy leakage at the nuclear plant, have started an online campaign to know about the incident.
More than 100 hours later, Kakrapar nuclear leak not fixed
Rediff.com16 Mar 2016'The leak is likely to continue for some time before it becomes stable, but this is something that NPCIL, who is the plant operator, will have to do. For this, we have to plan very carefully.'
'They cannot silence me'
Rediff.com16 Mar 2016'The police go into villages, kill villagers, rape women, burn homes, file false cases.' 'They want to empty Bastar of the tribals so that corporate houses can be given a free hand in our land.' 'My father was killed by Naxalites. This is very ironical because the police accuse me of being a Naxalite. If I had been a Naxalite, would I not have been able to prevent my father's death?'
Is Art of Living damaging the Yamuna floodplains?
Rediff.com8 Mar 2016'Does the government help ordinary citizens like you and me with our marriages, birthdays and anniversaries?' Rashme Sehgal reports on the controversy over the the Art Of Living Foundation's plans for a cultural festival on the Yamuna floodplains.
'The war is going to intensify'
Rediff.com4 Mar 2016'Under the guise of Maoism, the State is presently determined to clear out the whole Bastar area of its tribal population.'
'We will lose millions of girls', Maneka Gandhi!
Rediff.com2 Mar 2016'The minister is not concerned about our daughters' well-being.' 'Just when the sex ratio for girls is showing an improvement across every district, the minister wants the onus to be on the women knowing very well that decision making in India is in the hands of the male.'
What exactly happened in Murthal, Haryana?
Rediff.com29 Feb 2016'Some men and women did seek shelter in our dhaba but not one of them disclosed that they had been raped. They were in our dhaba for over two hours till such time as the cops arrived. If they had been stripped and raped, or had been lying the fields for a long period of time, they or the male members of their families should have spoken about it.'
Jat agitation does not mean well for India
Rediff.com26 Feb 2016Unprecedented violence... Mobs determined to teach Delhi a lesson... An incompetent chief minister... Losses of over Rs 200 billion. Haryana's Jat agitation has a somber message for the nation.
Why we must join Bhanwari Devi in her fight for justice
Rediff.com19 Feb 2016For 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 Centre is trying to silence JNU'
Rediff.com16 Feb 2016'If they succeed in silencing this great university, it will be a tragic day for the nation.'
'If it loses its minority character it will be the end of AMU'
Rediff.com9 Feb 2016'AMU is a secular university with an Islamic ethos.' 'We do not discriminate on the basis of religion. Let me tell you Muslims do not need reservations. They need affirmative action in education.'
Why did 24 Indians die off the Panama coast?
Rediff.com3 Feb 2016Lack of opportunities coupled with a desire to get rich quick in the West is fueling Punjab's human trafficking problem.
Modi open to DNA test on Netaji's ashes
Rediff.com1 Feb 2016'The extended Bose family is insisting that the Japanese government must release all the information they have on Bose's ashes. It cannot be forgotten that Bose was in Japanese care when his 'death' occurred. Ultimately, it is the Japanese who hold the secret about what happened to him.'