'Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I would write a book one day.'

The Gyanvapi issue has been at the centre of a long-drawn legal battle with the Hindu side arguing that the Gyanvapi mosque was allegedly built on the remains of a pre-existing temple, while the Muslim side has contested the claim.

Madhya Pradesh's Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has claimed that America was discovered by "our Indian ancestors", and not by Christopher Columbus as taught to students.

A senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader has blamed an 'ecosystem of former diplomats, bureaucrats, politicians, and think tanks' for creating a 'bogeyman' to mislead the Indian establishment into believing that Indo-Bangla relations would deteriorate without the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League.

The fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.

Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

A priest at the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland, Bhatt hails from Bengaluru. He is a Madhwa priest trained in Rig Veda and Tantrasaara (Maadhva) Agama, under his guru, Pejavar Swamiji of Udupi Ashta Matha.

Bangladesh's newly-appointed Home Affairs Ministry adviser has vowed to take swift legal action against those who attack or abuse minorities, stressing that there is no place for violence, conflict, or hatred in the country.

'My father died in the liberation struggle. Bangladesh is our Motherland. This is home,' says Monindra Kumar Nath, a Hindu who has lived his 74 years in Dhaka.

The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre located in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area was damaged by the unruly mob, according to eyewitnesses.

One of the world's oldest seats of learning, the ruins of Nalanda University are a true wonder!

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that comprehensive development of Vishnupad Temple corridor at Gaya and Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar will be supported by the government to transform them into world-class pilgrim and tourist destinations. These corridors will be modelled on the successful Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, she said. Vishnupad Temple is one of the most ancient Hindu shrines located next to the Falgu river, while the Mahabodhi Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'

Electoral setbacks and thwarted ambition can have an unpredictable effect on leaders,, observes Aditi Phadnis.

'What my Labour government will seek with India is a relationship based on our shared values of democracy and aspiration. That will seek a free trade agreement (FTA), we share that ambition, but also a new strategic partnership for global security, climate security, economic security'

Occasional lovers' tiffs have marked the history of RSS-BJP relations. To think that Nagpur will bring about any change in leadership is a misreading of both its intent and its power, points out Shekhar Gupta.

It looks like Stree 2 has been granted a bigger budget for VFX and sound, bringing with it a promise of more chills, observes Deepa Gahlot.

He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.

To tell us about your father, just mail us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: My father) along with your name, the place where you live, your father's name and picture and your message about him.

'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.

The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Akhilesh Yadav's stock rose dramatically on Tuesday with his Samajwadi Party cutting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party down to size in Uttar Pradesh.

'The policy focus of the government should have been on creating more good quality jobs but that was not their focus.'

Modi also alleged the opposition grouping will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC and give all of it to Muslims.

Clash of the two richest titans, a celebrity and a 'royal', is on the cards in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, known for electing erstwhile 'royals' maximum number of times.

Utkarsh Mishra's impressions of the Narendra Modi roadshow in Varanasi.

If you have an appetite for crowds and the visual spectacle of many focused on one task or activity, a pooram will engage you, notes Shyam G Menon.

'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'

This is Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya's maiden Lok Sabha election, but political experts and voters feel he can easily win Porbandar seat in his home state Gujarat, despite the electorate facing some key issues like unemployment.

'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'

The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.

Asked about the BJP's claim that its performance in southern states will be exemplary, Tharoor said, "The claim of an 'exemplary' performance is yet another product of the BJP's propaganda mill."

Nationhood is constituted by people who share a "common sense of their history" and a "common vision of their future", National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said as he released an 11-volume book series that charts different phases of the history of ancient India and its accomplishments.

'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'

'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.

Barring 2004 and 2009 when Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar seat as a BJP MP and 1998 when Daya Singh Sodhi from BJP was elected as the MP, it has essentially a Congress bastion.

Although the BJP has never been ballistic about the BJD and Narendra Modi has avoided being critical of Naveen Patnaik, the BJP is optimistic that the party can improve its electoral fortunes in Odisha on its own, notes Rup Narayan Das.

We need not spend much time going over what this government has done and is doing to the Opposition, by misusing the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. There is a daily update on that, notes Aakar Patel.

Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.

If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.