Reality

A true admirer of Chanakya's tactics, BJP's general secretary Amit Shah has now established himself a prominent player in the saffron party politics. Under his supervision, BJP won with an overwhelming majority in Uttar Pradesh, bagging 71 seats in the state, leaving other major players biting the dust.   The victory in UP was nothing short of a miracle. The state’s politics driven by caste was mostly dominated by regional outfits - Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Therefore, ousting these two political heavyweights in their own game deserves commendation. Shah’s grasp in ground level politics and his relentless work in the remote areas of the state swung votes in BJP’s favour. He made most out of Narendra Modi’s wave and ensured that people gave his party a chance to bring change in the state.   From being a state-level leader, Shah has now emerged as the second most important man in the BJP. He calls the shots in current scheme of thing. Ruthles...

Many would call him the weakest Prime Minister India has ever had and a lot more will blame his famous silence as the cause of UPA's defeat this general election. Having resigned from the position on 17th May 2014, Dr. Manmohan Singh was one of the longest serving PM of the nation. He has described his tenure in office as an 'Open book'. So, let's go through some of the chapters, shall we? I am an honest man In 2004, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power, its chairperson Sonia Gandhi under pressure from the Opposition had to relinquish the top position to Manmohan Singh. In a book written by Sanjaya Baru, the Media Advisor to Dr. Manmohan Singh during UPA-1, he stated "why Sonia Gandhi chose Dr Singh to be the Prime Minister, his answer is simple: “she needed to bury the controversy over her Italian birth and retain control of the Congress Party till her son or daughter was old enough to take charge. She required, therefore, ...

“It has always been like this for us. We generally tend to ignore minor incidents of racial discrimination on a daily basis,” said Apamee Barua, who is from Guwahati, Assam, and works in Delhi. Her words deserve attention. When discrimination becomes something people expect and learn to ignore, the problem extends well beyond any single incident. What some dismiss as harmless teasing can become a daily reminder to others that they are treated as outsiders in their own country. The death of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, brought that prejudice into sharp focus. He was assaulted in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar on 29 January 2014 following an altercation reportedly involving remarks about his appearance. He was found dead the next day. His death prompted protests and demands for justice, raising urgent questions about the safety of people from Northeast India in the capital. But why should it take a death for everyday discrimination to command public attention? Barua’s account poin...

My father has always been a man of faith. Prayer is a part of his daily life, and he takes an active role in church activities. Growing up in a Christian household, I saw how much his belief meant to him. I did not share the same certainty. After graduation, I moved to Delhi to study journalism and later began working. Away from home, I had more room to decide what faith meant to me. I was not a regular churchgoer. I believed God could be found anywhere, and I did not feel the need to prove my belief to anyone. Yet I often found myself praying when I was in trouble. That made me question my own relationship with God. Why did I turn to Him most readily when I needed help? Was it faith, fear or simply the comfort of feeling that someone was listening? I did not have a clear answer, but I could not dismiss what prayer meant to me. There is something comforting about sharing your deepest fears and secrets with someone you cannot see. Saying those things in prayer sometimes helped me under...

I confess that I don’t have anything to confess. I am a movie lover and most of my lines are stolen from movies. I don’t know what kind of testimony people want me to write; I am not a religious person. Maybe I haven't been enlightened yet, I believe in almighty but I cannot go on preaching religion. I want to serve the people but it has to be on my terms. Why does one have to prove his faith to anyone? Why is there a need to be spiritual to get into the life of providing community service? Humanity and religion are two very different things. I am not questioning the existence of God; however I do h ave a problem when it becomes a criterion of selection. I was told that ‘you just need to have the will to join this profession’ and I completely agree with it. Nevertheless, if all you need is will and determination to get anywhere then why it is necessary to submit a testimony which speaks about your encounter with the divine. Anyways, this is really frustrating because I do...

It was their match against fierce rivals Manchester United FC in the 2008-09 season, where I saw, my favorite striker Fernando Torres getting the better of United's rock, Nemanja Vidic. He scored the goal and I was jumping with joy in the bed. Liverpool won that game with a scoreline of 4-1. It was great to see the camaraderie between Liverpool's talisman Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. The duo created magic on the field. It was their best season under Rafa Benitez. Liverpool finished 2nd on the league. However, in later years, the club suffered massively due to internal problems. Old owners were let go and Fenway Sports Group were given the charge. The present England manager Roy Hodgson was made the head coach but he failed to deliver, then came Kenny Daglish. But Sadly, it was not enough to convince one of the best strikers in world. Torres left Anfield for Stamford Bridge in search for silverware. Wasting no time, he immediately broug ht Andy Carroll from N...

My father asked me over the phone. “Yeah,” I said, reluctantly. He asks me questions like this quite often. I suspect he can hear the hesitation even when I think I’ve hidden it. I am working. I am independent. More often than not, I pay my own expenses. These are things I wanted, and I’m glad I have them. But whenever he asks that question, I struggle to give him an answer I believe. Usually, I say whatever comes to mind first. It gets me through the conversation. Afterwards, I’m still thinking about it. In films, people abandon comfortable lives to pursue what they really want. I find those stories inspiring. I also wonder who pays their rent while they are discovering themselves. It is difficult to make a bold choice when other people, bills and responsibilities are involved. You may want something badly and still have good reasons to stay where you are. I don’t think that makes the desire less real. It does make it harder to act on. Then again, responsibility is a convincing explan...