rediff.com
rediff.com
News
      HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS

NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
US ARCHIVES
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

'Ninety per cent of Kutch is homeless'
This calamity has affected about 1,200,000 people affected. More than 100,000 homes need to be built.

How Prakash was brought to life
Ramesh Menon reports on a rescue operation conducted by the Swiss team.

'If my daughter is dead, he said let me look for my wife'
'For the first few hours I only had one needle. It was the most valuable thing I had.' Dr Gyaneshwar Rao, a surgeon in Bhuj who saved the lives of many victims, relives the fateful day the earthquake struck.

The Aftermath: An insurance ready reckoner
At least, 3,000 claims from earthquake victims have already been lodged. Overall, the insurance companies may end up settling claims worth Rs 10 billion.

'I have no money left. Everything in my village is destroyed'
Yet, S P Gandhi finds solace in the fact that his photograph has appeared in a newspaper.

Standing as one to help Gujarat
They were celebrating India's Republic Day and the sister-state relationship between California. Until news of the earthquake began to trickle in.

Earthquakes: A ready-reckoner
'The origin of an earthquake is called the Hypocentre. It is also called the Focus. It is the point within the earth from where seismic waves originate...'

Does the hope of a Nobel Prize haunt those responsible for extending the cease-fire beyond January 26?
'We know the second largest group of jihadis operating in India are from amongst the Taleban. Who will win them over? The Hurriyat leaders? Have the cease-fixers of India reckoned with this question?' asks lawyer P N Lekhi.

Unjust Peace: Just War
'Fulfillment of the unfinished agenda of the partition in Kashmir is the core issue to the Pakistan establishment. Peace, despite India's unilateral cease-fire, appears to be a chimera,' feels former IB joint director Maloy K Dhar.

Cease-fire or cease-fixers? Story of many betrayals
'I wonder if the cease-fire will be of any assistance to maintain my country's integrity and sovereignty,' wonders lawyer P N Lekhi.

Children of Courage
Meet some youngsters who won this year's National Bravery Awards.
Henna Bakshi: 'I jumped on him and caught him by his legs'
Mukesh Kumar: 'I want to fight the militants'
Prince Kumar: 'All children should act brave when the need arises'
Hanboklang Nongsiej: 'I ran through the flames'
Lalniliana: Someone who believed in compassion, courage and life
The National Bravery Awards: A ready reckoner

'I feel more inspired than ever to fight'
Bana Singh. Sanjay Kumar. Yogendra Singh Yadav. The only Param Vir Chakra winners still serving the armed forces. True heroes who made India proud with their courage.

End this uncertainty
'Under tremendous pressure from the jihadis, Musharraf needs more concrete initiatives from India than just a cease-fire extension,' feels Dawn columnist M H Askari.

The rock stars of Hinduism
Wilful. Capricious. Prone to sudden bouts of friendliness and equally inexplicable fits of rage. Meet the Naga sadhus of the Juna Akhara.

Ayodhya: A legal reckoner
Notwithstanding the vociferous claims and counter-claims over the disputed site, the Hindu community first attempted a legal claim over the 16th century Babri Masjid only after Independence.

No Coke. No Pepsi. No palm oil
Kerala embarks on a unique campaign to save its coconut plantations.

Dinosaur Pradarshini: Stephen Spillburg ne cinema mein dikhaya
'Those in search of entertainment at Kumbh Nagari face no stint. In fact,' says Prem Panicker, 'both forms of entertainment, the spiritual and the temporal, are available in plenty here.'

Goodbye, Mr President!
Bill Clinton, by those who met him in India.

The price of salvation: Rs 4,612
'To make doubly sure -- after all, some sins, such as constantly nagging the BCCI, take quite a bit of purification -- I got myself purified twice. And this being the age of 'buy one, take one free' type package deals, purification comes with some enlightenment thrown in for free.' Prem Panicker reports from the Kumbh Mela.

'Our future has been destroyed'
Over a hundred people have been murdered in the last few weeks in Assam. Blood has splattered the countryside and the tears have not dried up. Every few days, more massacres punctuate the landscape.

Assam's killing fields
The recent killings, intelligence sources say, have been committed by a group kept away from ULFA cadres. These are cold blooded killers, they claim, who just follow orders. That is not good news for Assam.

Pay up or die!
ULFA is now seen as a group of bloodthirsty killers whose only ideology is to make quick money.

Dial M for Murder
Everyone knows mobile phones leave better digital footprints than the largest clod-hopping shoes. Still, criminals in Bangalore seem to have a penchant for using them!

'Indian brides look very beautiful'
Aparajita Saha attended Jhumpa Lahiri's wedding reception in Calcutta on Monday. A rediff exclusive!

The Kukri Factor
In a three-part series, Josy Joseph looks into the recent mayhem in Nepal.

The Negotiator
Who is the woman whose feet Prime Minister Vajpayee touched recently? Meet Chinnapillai who quietly organises poor agricultural labourers in Tamil Nadu.

'She's paranoid that the media will take over her wedding'
Calcutta is in a tizzy over the Jhumpa Lahiri wedding. There are, of course, those who harrumph at the fuss and have something to say about the more than usual buzz.

'I feel my life once again has a purpose'
'Life does not stop after the loss of a loved one. Ripan's parents and I have to go on.' One year after the death of her husband, Ripan, on the hijacked flight IC 814, Rachna picks up the strings of her life.

Sino-Indian relations: Burying the hatchet in the new millennium
'The first step towards a realistic China policy can only be taken when the people of India discover the truth about the 1962 Chinese disaster,' says Colonel Anil Athale (retd), co-author of the official history of that October war.

The Carat Czars
Gita Piramal on how Bharat and Vijay Shah became among the biggest diamond traders in the world.

MCOC has the same set of claws as TADA!
What is the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act under which diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah was arrested on Monday? Wellknown lawyer Shrikant Bhat provides a ready reckoner.

India must take advantage of Beijing's 'sweet amiability'
When Indian leaders begin discussions on the border problem with Li Peng, they should certainly not miss the opportunity presented by China's new open-ness, says Claude Arpi.

'Nobody in Assam takes ULFA lightly'
'ULFA survives on the dissatisfaction inherent in the Assamese psyche. It is not a simple case of a few disgruntled and misguided youth. Rather, it is the case of a disgruntled people,' says former ULFA publicist, Sunil Nath.

'A ban on lotteries would create social and economic havoc'
The sales tax imposed on the lottery trade provides funds for not just the cash-starved northeastern states, but also states like Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. This is why many of them do not want to ban lotteries.

'Lotteries are ruining families'
The lucky ones get a consolation prize of Rs 20. The luckier ones win Rs 100. Rarely, though, does anyone who buys a lottery ticket become a millionaire.

'The lottery business is the single biggest financial scam in India'
Senior Associate Editor George Iype steps into this murky world to find out how government-run lotteries ruin the poor and make the scamsters rich.

Back | More Specials

HOME | NEWS | BUSINESS | MONEY | SPORTS | MOVIES |CHAT | INFOTECH | TRAVEL
SINGLES | NEWSLINKS | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | GIFT SHOP | HOTEL BOOKINGS
AIR/RAIL | WEATHER | MILLENNIUM | BROADBAND | E-CARDS | SEARCH
HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | CONTESTS | FEEDBACK