All stories by Syed Firdaus Ashraf
'He Will Always Be Gafoormama, The Indulgent Uncle'
Rediff.com6 Sep 2024'The intellectual A G Noorani and A G Noorani the family man sound like a contradiction in terms, but both aspects were integral parts of the individual.'
'This Isn't About Rejecting Our Heritage'
Rediff.com27 Aug 2024'...but subjecting our heritage to rigorous evidence-based understanding.'
'Rahul Gandhi Is Stabilising India With Caste Census Demand'
Rediff.com27 Aug 2024'Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of a caste census though his party has been doing injustice on this front from the 1950s.'
'No One Has Seen Cheetahs In A Year'
Rediff.com20 Aug 2024'Not disclosing information to the public indicates that there is something wrong with Project Cheetah.'
Goodbye Guruji, Pradeep Bandekar
Rediff.com12 Aug 2024'I want to die with my finger on the click button of the camera,' veteran photographer Pradeep Bandekar, who passed into ages early on Sunday morning, told Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The Waqf Bill Is Very Dangerous'
Rediff.com9 Aug 2024'Under this amendment, in any dispute over Waqf properties, the Waqf Board cannot approach the court.' 'This is very surprising because the government instead of protecting Waqf properties they are snatching it away and not allowing them to go to court.' 'The third biggest landowner in India is the Waqf Board after the Indian Army and Indian Railways.'
'Discrimination Is Present Among Scheduled Castes Too'
Rediff.com8 Aug 2024'All of these guys who are opposing the Supreme Court judgment are from dominant scheduled caste communities and none of them come from the scavenging community.' 'Not a single scavenging leader will oppose this Supreme Court judgment.'
'India Must Not Give Sheikh Hasina Asylum'
Rediff.com5 Aug 2024'At this moment you cannot give her asylum because if you do, then you are directing public anger against India.'
'Risk Of Such Disasters Has Increased In The Last 10 Years'
Rediff.com1 Aug 2024'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
'RSS Has Never Told People To Vote For The BJP'
Rediff.com31 Jul 2024'No one is propagating RSS ideology as a government officer.'
'Middle Class Won't Be Affected By Indexation'
Rediff.com26 Jul 2024'For me, if I want to buy a house to stay, I don't care about indexation because I don't want to sell that house.' 'The only thing that matters to me as a buyer is that the home price should be within my reach.' 'Any market, when speculators and investors go out, it will benefit the middle class.'
'I Would Have Even Defeated Modi In Ayodhya'
Rediff.com22 Jul 2024'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
'I Won't Allow Kedarnath Temple Replica In Delhi'
Rediff.com19 Jul 2024'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
'Bollywood Won't Revive!'
Rediff.com18 Jul 2024'People have got into the habit of sitting at home (and watching films).' 'They don't want to watch movies in theatres because they do not want to waste as much as Rs 1,000 on tickets.' 'They feel there is no point in watching a film on the big screen because it will anyway come on OTT in a month's time.'
'Pathaan, Animal Earning Rs 1,000 Cr Is Bogus'
Rediff.com18 Jul 2024'Ranbir Kapoor has only one film as does Salman Khan.' 'Hrithik Roshan only has War 2.' 'Ranveer Singh has no film on floors today.'
Why Builders Won't Drop Home Prices
Rediff.com12 Jul 2024'What happens in the real estate market is that once the prices go up it goes on to stay at that level.' 'It might not increase and at the same time the prices will not come down too.'
'Rich Families From Deprived Castes Will Give Up Reservations In Future'
Rediff.com1 Jul 2024'If a Brahmin child by birth is poor then he must get reservation benefits rather than an OBC child who is rich and born in a rich family.'
Dr Dhruv Chauhan: 'There's No NEET Gadbad But A Scam'
Rediff.com26 Jun 2024'Aspiring doctors have put in years of their lives to study in preparation for NEET exams as they start studies from Class 9 to get good marks.' 'And today, after the NEET paper leak, these students even after getting good marks are unable to get admission in any good medical college (because of inflated merit marks due to the paper leak).' 'They are thinking, was it worthwhile to study so hard for the examinations to become a doctor?'
'Imagine Getting 720 Out Of 720; And 67 People Getting Such Marks!'
Rediff.com26 Jun 2024'They made so many toppers in NEET that automatically the paper leak issue got exposed.' 'The first mistake they did was announcing 67 toppers in NEET. No way this figure was possible.' 'The maximum numbers of toppers that you can have are two or three at best every year.'
'Lotus Won't Bloom In Kashmir'
Rediff.com21 Jun 2024'The BJP claims they have eight lakh cadres in the Kashmir Valley so why can't they contest elections from Kashmir?'