The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no 'quockerwodger' -- a word he introduced into our lexicon which means someone acting on the instructions of an influential third party.
'It is flabbergasting to think that this heavenly region has, for decades, been coveted by India's aggressive neighbours,' says Claude Arpi after a recent visit to Ladakh. 'Wanting to use the newly created infrastructure to defend the borders after the clash of 2020 with China and the resulting standoffs, the home ministry is keen to boost border tourism to show that these areas are controlled by India.'
Norway's Carlsen wins World Chess Championship for fourth time
The world is seeing an "explosion" in seizures of power by force and military coups are back, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Tuesday, lamenting that geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation as he called for strengthening global governance and re-igniting multilateralism.
Perhaps it says something more deep and profound about the time we live in and how it has shaped us, observes Aakar Patel.
'I recall an encounter I had with a US Congressman of Cuban origin, who was hostile to India because of our continuing goodwill for Cuba.' 'He asked me why India was still friendly with Cuba and I gave him an honest answer that it was rooted in historical and friendly ties.' 'He took it as an affront and spread the word that an Indian diplomat had defended Fidel Castro in his chamber!'
Amidst escalating tension in ties with the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that disputes among countries 'need to be handled through dialogue and cooperation' and urged world leaders to eschew 'confrontation and exclusion.'
If only you had thought ahead, you would have stocked snacks and biscuits, bread and cake, and vegetables suited for Amma or pondatti to make your favourite bajji and pakoda, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Captain Shiva Chouhan is the first woman army officer to be deployed at 15,632 feet in the Siachen Glacier. 'It has been a memorable journey,' says the 25-year-old who has gone where no women officer has gone before.
Will Empire strike back to prevent a game changing election result, asks T P Sreenivasan.
Outwardly, Sooraj Barjatya and Salman Khan seem to have rediscovered their mutual love and respect but insiders say there is growing dissent between the two.
'This is in its own interest.' 'Only the State must have the monopoly of power in the country.'
'Militias have no place in democracies,' says Shuja Nawaz, Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, the Washington, DC-based think-tank.
Any Indian government at this juncture would have voted and spoken exactly this way. It isn't just about the vast Indian dependence on Russian-origin military equipment. It is also about trust, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The chapters were dropped by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) for the 2020-21 session, as part of the 30 per cent reduction of the syllabus, keeping in mind the loss of academic schedule that the students had to face because of the pandemic.
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From rescuing tiger cubs to rescuing a crocodile to admiring spring in Kashmir, here are some interesting videos for your viewing pleasure.
Warning India of "unbearable damage" in case of a war, Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif has said his troops are ready to tackle any long or short misadventure by the "enemy".
There is no better way to address the security threat emanating from ISIS and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan than by co-opting the Taliban, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Nuclear Security Summit is being hosted by US President Barack Obama on March 31 and April 1.
China is now the most significant strategic concern in Washington, as in most of the world's capitals, especially the democracies. Today, strategic autonomy has acquired a sharper definition: To ward off the Chinese challenge to India's territorial integrity, sovereignty and regional stature, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'India-US relations seem to have soured when the US expected India to not only balance China in the Asia-Pacific, but also make concessions to Pakistan as a price for US technological help,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Obama and Putin discussed the necessity of countering the Islamic State and the situation in Ukraine, the White House said.
The highly-anticipated summit, which began early Tuesday, is the third engagement between Xi, 68, and Biden, 78, since February.
US President Barack Obama is likely to make a historic visit to Cuba next month, the first sitting American president to go to the island nation in 80 years, as the two cold war-era foes make efforts to normalise their ties, a media report has said.
DRDO's latest test towards developing an anti-ballistic missile shield, to protect Indian targets against nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles fired from Pakistan or China will provide a technology that is akin to striking a bullet with a bullet, say Ajai Shukla
As chilly weather approaches, Norbert Skrobek, the chimney sweep, gets to work in Berlin. Skrobek says he is facing enormous demand from Berliners seeking to use coal or wood to heat their apartments as an alternative to natural gas due to skyrocketing energy prices.
Asking the people of Bihar to bring their own government to power, the post made a veiled reference to the alleged high handedness of bureaucracy under the JD(U)-BJP rule but fell shy of a frontal attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his arch rival, or the near hegemonic saffron party which considers him a bete noire.
'The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is Pakistan's number one preoccupation today -- and tensions with India and the $46 billion projects simply do not go together,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In terms of plot, Season 4 matches Season 1. It is grim, fast-paced and engaging, recommends Deepa Gahlot.
The unconventional music of the Nobel Laureate might have nothing connecting Indians to it, but there is a reason he has a following here, notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
Tenet is both incredibly obfuscating and feverishly magnificent, says Sukanya Verma.
'The fatal mistake for the USSR was the invasion of Afghanistan.' 'Quite possibly the fatal mistake for the Chinese empire is the assault on Ladakh,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'If you invest your entire capital in talks, you cannot abruptly change gear and decide on war.'
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
The ministry of external affairs urged Indian students to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
Karnataka BJP MLA Arvind Bellad has said the body of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagouda, who was killed in shelling in Ukraine on March 1, would occupy space that could be utilised to evacuate 10 to 12 stranded people from the war-torn country.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea of the wife of an Indian Army officer seeking repatriation of her husband and other Army officers believed to be held under illegal detention as prisoners of war by Pakistan since the 1971 war.
'When economic policies were attacked by people on his own side, he went ahead despite all the criticisms in the coalition, within the party and the Sangh Parivar.'
'This, together with Chinese revisionism, will constitute the major test of the international system.'
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