We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
Srinu Bugatha, Sudha Singh win Indian Elite category.
'Pakistan has robust incentive to turn heat on LoC.'
Like millions of people across the world, the year 2020 had dealt me irreplaceable losses and the lowest of blows. Like I have always done at such junctures, I had sought the refuge of the mountains. I wanted to end the year on a high, to show the finger to life, says Sumit Bhattacharya after a memorable journey to North Sikkim.
Akhtaruzzaman Elias's The Raincoat describes the effect of the 1971 war on a college and on one of its teachers in particular.
'India-China economic ties are likely to take a hit in the wake of the new situation, but that also provides India with a new opportunity to strengthen its manufacturing base,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Sheela Jaywant invites you to explore The GoaWriters Group's interesting look at the lockdown.
Arundhuti Dasgupta on the anxiety and logistical challenges of caring for elderly parents during lockdown, especially if they are ailing and live away from you.
He was a member of Azamgarh (Sanjarmur) module of the IM and was based in Nepal where he was teaching at a school.
'Long Distance Running is not merely a sport, it's life's breath.' 'While everyone breathes so they can run, runners run so they can breathe,' says Krishna Kumar.
'The UPA was the gang that couldn't shoot straight. The NDA is the gang that can't stop shooting. They (the Modi government) are shooting at anybody, everybody, all directions, shooting themselves in the foot.'
How will the Modi Sarkar's likely return affect other nations?
A glance back at some important events that occurred in 2018.
Thirty one outstanding teachers were invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan for a first-ever in-residence programme.
Do not consume fresh fruits, date palm and other poorly washed fruits/half consumed fruits, says Dr Dr Usha Manjunath.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit is an attempt to move the Indo-Singapore relationship to the 'next level'. Singapore has been one of the top investors in India. India-Singapore bilateral trade has already crossed the $15 billion mark. As per the official records, Singapore has emerged as the second largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in India, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
The vice-president will be the second Indian to be accorded the honour at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Nikhil Lakshman reports.
'Once the military starts to draw up plans for using nuclear weapons, then nuclear weapons could be used earlier in a crisis than otherwise.'
'Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti acted single-mindedly right from day one of the three month-long crisis.' 'She pursued her chosen administrative course, unmindful of the menacing jingoistic drum beating in the coalition backyard.' 'At one point, I asked her if she was willing to pay the price for taking her line of action to its logical conclusion.' '"Yes," was her spontaneous response,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir.
'We are looking at the Budget with the hope that it will address all issues even at the cost of exceeding the fiscal deficit target.'
Dr Behera speaks about how the nationwide positive reaction to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir indicates that the very idea of India is changing. From a diverse, multicultural entity, could India be becoming a place where assimilation is more important than accommodation?
'If Indian armed forces entered Pakistan and succeeded in inflicting major damage on the Pakistani army and occupied territory in the Pakistani heartland, there is reason to think the Pakistani military would use some nuclear weapons against the incoming Indian forces to compel India to stop.'
Most analysts expect growth in the sales of Nifty-50 companies to decelerate, albeit marginally, in the quarter ended December compared to the corresponding period of 2013-14, with metals and real estate companies pulling down earnings.
'How can the BJP give Muslim candidates tickets if they don't have any good Muslim candidates?'
'Xi Jinping is keen that the second Trump-Kim summit happens soonest.' 'Kim is reported to have told Xi that he expects to achieve a result from a second summit that the international community would welcome,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Aadhaar-related schemes and the Aadhaar Act exist on the assumption that Right to Privacy is not a Fundamental Right.
'It is a concocted letter and we suspect the IB (Intelligence Bureau) to be behind this game.' 'All the investigation agencies should have quietly gone about finding more about this alleged plot to kill the prime minister.' 'Why are you leaking such a letter that reveals the plot to the press as well as to BJP spokespersons?'
'If the government had not spent an incredible amount of energy on demonetisation it may -- may, because it had not done anything the previous six months either -- have been able to pay attention to the deeper problems of low investment and job creation.'
'Obama's decision to end the US military involvement in the Afghan civil war needs to be welcomed as a positive development for regional security and stability. India, too, has a great opportunity opening up here if it plays its cards in sync with the spirit of the times rather than continuing to view the Afghan problem in zero-sum terms,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A homoeopathic state of mind pervades our thinking in governance and infrastructure-building. Do it in small, harmless doses, but nothing bitter, sharp, or bloody, says Shekhar Gupta.
The BDCA is yet another dose of insidious placebos administered on the people of India by their own government that has been in perpetual denial over the steady incremental loss of strategic Indian territory, says R N Ravi
SC said to establish a clear link between the convicts and the incident, the police has adduced scientific evidence like DNA, fingerprint and bite mark analysis.
Downplaying the allegations made by the Congress and former French President Francois Hollande's statement that the Indian government played a role in finalising Reliance Defence as Dassault Aviation's offset partner, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that some statements are made to create controversy and these do not have credibility. In an exclusive interview to ANI, Jaitley added that circumstances and fact prove these statements wrong.
Monica Sindhwani left Rangoon for India at 20. Married to a retired Indian Army officer, she relives her memories of the pagodas, greenery and the home she left nearly 40 years ago.
'When sensitive territory goes into the hands of your enemy. he becomes more powerful in military terms.' 'Assuming the Chinese take over the Doklam Plateau they will not stop at that.' 'They will keep ingressing, and it will be easier for them to further expand their territory.' 'I feel the Chinese will vacate that area in two months after it begins to snow.'
'We are rushing to 'develop' without carefully valuing natural areas.' 'With careful land use planning and scientific zonation at least 5 to 10 per cent of the country's land can be secured for tigers and other such species, and another 5 to 15 per cent kept under low-impact uses to support biodiversity that can coexist with human uses.'
'The biggest gainers under this scheme would be insurance companies.' 'If the government is going to route the payments through the insurance companies, these companies will be making nearly 30 per cent of the money.' 'For instance, if the government is paying Rs 100, then Rs 30 will go to these insurance companies.' 'Only Rs 70 will be available for expenditure that will be incurred by the hospitals.'
'You don't want to admit that it is your wife in the video because she said you were arrested on Wednesday (August 19; Shyamvar Rai states he was arrested on August 21, a Friday).'
I have always believed that the Nehruvian vision of giving a separate status to Jammu and Kashmir was a flawed one, says BJP's Arun Jaitley.
