Nikhil Lakshman writes on global and current affairs. You can e-mail the author at nikhill@rediff.co.in
Rediff.com's Editor-in-chief Nikhil Lakshman, who is traveling with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the BRICS summit in the Chinese town of Sanya, offers an insight into what the Indian delegation can expect during the visit
'I am the chief minister of Gujarat, and I believe I will not be removed as CM,' Narendra Modi told rediff editors in an exclusive interview.
Nikhil Laxman, in Colombo, analyses 15th SAARC summit's opening day
He also complimented the United States for making it possible. The civil nuclear initiative was good for India and good for the world, he said in a statement.
At the At Home hosted by President Pratibha Patil, the diminutive French leader was something of a rock star as guests vied with each other for his autograph.
New Delhi's move is expected to encourage Beijing to grant long-pending clearance to Air India and Jet Airways to launch flights to Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai, respectively. Air India already operates to Shanghai.
Forecasts of a frosty, rough patch in India-China relations, observers in New Delhi and Beijing told rediff.com, may be inaccurate, at least for now.
By hosting an informal dinner ('restricted private dinner' as it was described) for Dr Manmohan Singh -- the first time such a courtesy has ever been extended to an Indian prime minister -- Beijing informed the world that it could do business with India and its leader.
Speaking to media persons aboard Air India 001, conveying Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Moscow, Menon said, "This is one relationship without any wrinkles or difficulties." The foreign secretary was reacting to an inquiry whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's refusal to meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the latter's visit to Moscow last month.
Sources insisted that no information on these subjects could be shared as they are "out of the public realm."
'Social networking is a scientific tool that was not used so much in intelligence until recently,' the national security adviser added, 'We are now using it fairly extensively.'
The nation, which had the information, did not see it as important enough to pass it on to Indian intelligence agencies until it recognised its significance after the blasts had occurred.
On Saturday, the Congress leader had said the government had kept the Left and Opposition informed during the negotiations of the nuclear deal.
'Terrorism creates suspicion among neighbours, suspicion among communities, which could be a major blow to India's otherwise widely hailed and widely recognized society'
'There is absolutely no reason for India and China to even contemplate a conflict! Yes, but we are rivals.' says National Security Adviser M K Narayanan.
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