Ambitious diplomats continue to be attracted to politics but do they make good politicians, asks Jyoti Malhotra
With the launch of the first indigenous aircraft today, India will join a club of nations like the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France that possess nuclear-powered submarines
Delhi's inability to open up a new canvas with Pakistan and Sharif is symptomatic of its sluggish thinking. Jyoti Malhotra analyses
India exhaled a huge sigh of relief in the weekend as Bhutan's opposition People Democratic Party defeated the incumbent Druk Pheunshum Tshogpa in polls, setting the stage for a renewal of ties that had come frayed in the recent controversy over removal of subsidies for liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene.
Developing the Chabahar port in Iran addresses India's geopolitical as well as economic challenges, says Jyoti Malhotra
As Afghanistan enters the endgame of its 13-year-long partnership with the United States, President Hamid Karzai has added a new twist to its reliable relationship with India by presenting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a "wish list" for military equipment.
From rejecting the mercy petition of Afzal Guru to allegedly disapproving of the suggestion to send former West Bengal governor Gopal Gandhi as India's next ambassador to Myanmar, President Pranab Mukherjee continues to assert himself as a notable player in Delhi's political parlour.
The recent Chinese takeover of Pakistan's Gwadar port, bringing Beijing right into the heart of the Indian Ocean and within hand-shaking distance of Delhi, can be explained by a still-evolving strategy called March West by the senior leadership of the Communist Party of China.
The appointment of Salman Khurshid as India's new external affairs minister is the best thing that could have happened to the foreign office. Khurshid is articulate, exceedingly bright and comfortably grounded in the liberal school of Nehruvian politics.
Shaida Abdali, the 33-year-old ambassador to India believes that Delhi and Kabul have to do much more to secure the region, says Jyoti Malhotra
India's first NSA Brajesh Mishra's combination of hard-headed realism and outspokenness ensured that he always spoke up for India -- not necessarily for the BJP, notes Jyoti Malhotra.
Once again, the Indian subcontinent is astir with the possibility of change. Over the space of this month, as the Monsoon Session of Parliament winds down, the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of External Affairs are gearing up to showcase their strengths in the neighbourhood. All sides are hoping that India's foreign policy initiatives will be able to rescue the prime minister and the Congress party from the morass of apathy, indecision.
As China continues to wobble from the global recession -- with real estate as well as the entrepreneurial index considerably down, especially around the Pearl Delta -- new windows of opportunities are opening for India to enhance its own market leverage over China, analysts say.
The ministry of external affairs allowed the Dravida Munetra Kazhagham to hold a pro-Tamil Eelam meeting in Chennai on Sunday on the condition that it did not issue any declaration or outcome that questioned the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of any foreign country with whom India has diplomatic relations, namely, Sri Lanka.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party must understand the importance of the east, says Jyoti Malhotra
India and China are sparring over the opening of consulates in Lhasa in exchange for Chennai, in what amounts to a second round of diplomatic confrontation between Asia's largest powers, in the wake of their recent disagreement over an oil block in the South China Sea that is controlled by India, owned by Vietnam and counter-claimed by China.
By letting Delhi keep an open line with Tehran, the United States seeks to balance its dependency on Pakistan in managing Afghanistan, says Jyoti Malhotra
India goes into Monday's Siachen talks with its army's hardline position in Islamabad, but if it makes some effort to probe attitudes over there, it might be surprised, says Jyoti Malhotra
In its hurried recognition of the new government in Male, has India lost sight of the ground realities in Maldives?
The crisis is not upon India immediately, as the US sanctions give a six-month breathing space for countries to act.
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