India has handled the West Asia crisis with finesse so far and it should not be abandoned for a false sense of having to stand up to the West. We should strive for gradual and peaceful change with the necessary flexibility in our approach, says T P Sreenivasan.
'As India's involvement in the growth of the US deepens, the search for the soul of India gains momentum. India's smart power gets projected in the US in very many ways.'
'Those who know China would not be complacent enough to think that the Chinese threat is an illusion.'
We should not rejoice over the loss of face that the US has suffered on account of the leakage of its cable traffic. This can happen to any country, says former Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'We should dream not about a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table in the United Nations, but of a mature balanced and beneficial relationship with the US.'
'He made three highly exaggerated statements. He said Pakistan is "enormous", it is strategically important not only for the US, but also for the world and that the people of Pakistan has tremendous potential.'
'Those who criticise him for not identifying Pakistan as the source of terrorism appear to have missed the nuances in the speech. It was not the occasion for him to name any country even indirectly, particularly as he had stated earlier that Pakistan should punish the guilty urgently.'
'When we urge you to complete the task of eliminating terrorism, we are not suggesting that we are ready to fight the battle to the Last American. Indians, Americans and humanity itself have a stake in ridding the world of the scourge of terrorism. There should be no more Headleys to perpetrate terrorism.'
Unless the ministry for external affairs and the ministry for overseas Indian affairs work together, many NRI problems cannot be ironed out, feel T P Sreenivasan.
'Tharoor has demonstrated that the public and private lives of politicians should remain separate and that personal happiness should take precedence over the exigencies of politics.'
The best they say about him is that he is a man who attends to details and carries out instructions from the Security Council and the General Assembly, 'a carpenter rather than an architect.'
The strongest argument for the creation of Pakistan was that Hindustan, the undivided India, could not be trusted to take care of the Muslims of the subcontinent. If trust breaks out between them, the whole rationale for the existence of Pakistan will be called into question, says T P Sreenivasan.
While India is waiting to begin nuclear trade with the US, Pakistan may well have two nuclear reactors constructed on its own soil.
'The Washington summit is as much about nonproliferation and arms control as about nuclear security,' says T P Sreenivasan.
'Pakistan has received assurances that no dispensation in Afghanistan will be inimical to Pakistani interests and that Pakistan will have a say in the determination of the future of the region. India would definitely not be part of the new order if the US could help it.'
S K Singh stood tall and made his voice heard as a diplomat and as a politician.
'The US appeared to be looking for Indian concessions for favours received, not to go the extra mile to meet Indian aspirations,' says T P Sreenivasan.
'China is not a disinterested observer in South Asia. It is in possession of part of Jammu and Kashmir and has been an unscrupulous supplier of arms and war-like nuclear material to Pakistan.'
'Dr Santhanam's crossing over to the side of the sceptics will be a serious challenge to the scientific establishment.'
President Obama is sensitive to the criticism that he is willing to dilute his commitment to non-proliferation for the sake of commercial advantages, says T P Sreenivasan.
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