Banerjee has fulfilled two key electoral promises: Ridding Lalgarh of Naxals and bringing peace to Darjeeling
The climate conference on Saturday came out with an ambitious final draft that will commit USD 100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries.
'The Pakistani denial was the greatest triumph of this strategy.' 'From now onwards Pakistan will always have to factor in the Indian reaction when it decides to back non-State actors like LeT,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
His other big achievement -- of avoiding a partition of South Africa against a determined bid by Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi has not received much attention. He was thus a Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln rolled into one. Preserving a united South Africa against western intrigues was indeed a signal achievement, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
Continued uncertainty or confrontation in the Asia-Pacific is clearly in no one's interest as it will affect major powers' attempts to restructure their economies and revive growth. Conflict would roll back the gains to each of our countries of 40 years of stability and peace, says Shivshankar Menon.
'Traditionally, the US tried to tamp down tensions whenever a crisis situation arose and deputed officials from Washington to travel to Delhi to counsel restraint.' 'This time around, no US envoy flew down to Delhi -- not even when tensions spiked and a flashpoint was reached last week,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We have 200 million families. Parents have the responsibility to make their children righteous -- where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.' 'Only three people can give a good citizen before s/he turns 17. Father, mother, the spiritual environment and the primary school teacher.' President A P J Kalam on India becoming a developed country by 2020-2022, the heroes he admired; how 90 per cent of India's space programme is intended for the people and the individual's potential to become unique.
Iraq is on the verge of collapsing and foreign military intervention is inevitable. But for those who follow the developments in Iraq and the Middle-East will understand the current situation is nothing but a culmination of US and western policies toward the region, says Dr Waiel Awwad
'My final destination is to buy a house in Los Angeles, which means you are such a big star that the whole world knows you!' But for now, Kushal Paul is happy with his Sa Re Ga Ma Pa win.
Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday said he will sign an agreement with India to sell uranium for non-weapon use. "Prime Minister Modi and I will today sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that will finally allow Australian uranium to India," he said while addressing a meeting, organised by industry chambers including CII and Ficci.
'Neither State should take the matter into a terrain that involves tension -- and certainly not war.'
The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a negotiating text by consensus for the long-pending Security Council reforms, setting the stage for talks on the issue at its 70th session beginning on Tuesday, boosting India's bid for a permanent seat in the revamped world body.
India and Pakistan fear that any instability in the war-torn Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops could result in "surplus terrorism" in both the countries, a top US official has said.
'After many rudderless years, India and Japan have prime ministers with a sense of purpose and direction,' says Brahma Chellaney.
In Shujaat Bukhari, Kashmir has lost a journalist, an activist, ambassador, a formidable voice and, above all, a great human being, mourns Athar Parvaiz.
'A dangerous and false binary is now surfacing in Indian political discourse, which must be firmly rejected.' 'It is that we have to choose between freedom and development.' 'For us freedom is neither merely an instrument for development nor to be subordinated to development.' 'It is, as our founding fathers proclaimed early in our freedom struggle, 'our birthright' on which we shall never compromise.' 'Growth, wealth and development are fruits of democracy, not substitutes.' Dr Manmohan Singh's thoughts on democracy: A Must Read!
Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
The time is over when United States President Barack Obama thought he could afford to make a joke about the ISIS.
'When you see Modi standing there at the G20, or in New York or at the United Nations, amongst all the leaders, he stands out in the crowd.' 'He looks different, he sounds different, and he has something about his quality of presentation, his oratorical skills, which clearly set him apart from the crowd.' 'The relationship between Modi and the rest of the world and India and the rest of the world has been reset as a result of the election in 2014.'
'The bumblebees in Par Ek Din may not be flying yet, but even as they dangle in mid-air, their stings hurt.' 'Effortlessly graceful, this is a work of passion that conveys what being passionate about something truly feels like,' says Sreehari Nair.
'The success or otherwise of Modi's foreign policy will largely depend on the equation he is likely to strike with Donald Trump.'
Despite four disarmament section talks and six strategic dialogues between the two foreign ministries, China's intransigence on recognising Indian nuclear status resulted in no confidence building measures in the nuclear field between the two, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Addressing world leaders at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, Obama said if the international community cannot be united against forcing Syria to give up its chemical weapons, "then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws".
Rediff.com presents the gist of the speech delivered by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi on the Foundation Day of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh.
In an interview with Nayanima Basu, the DG lauds the efforts of Indian negotiators in bringing the deal on the table.
'The people of Pakistan and India will begin to understand what the bottom lines are. What India can accept maximum is known to Pakistan. What Pakistan can accept minimum is known to India.' 'In the absence of atmosphere you can't even talk, you can't think of writing agreements and frameworks. You have to have the right atmosphere. With the previous BJP government it had started and I hope the new BJP government will continue with that.'
She indicated that she was not looking for any financial package but the confidence building measures sought by her should focus on political aspect of the problem.
'The Modi government's lurch toward America has not brought it any dividends so far. The Western world is simply not in a position to make big investments in India... India needs to take a leap of faith vis-a-vis China.'
'We have 10 million votes, 15,000 votes per MP constituency. There are certain constituencies who will win by about 5,000 or 6,000 votes. So if we win this case, these 15,000 votes will play crucial roles in at least 50 Lok Sabha constituencies, which can change the dynamics of the entire political system,' Nagender Chindam tells Patrick Ward in an interview.
'ISRO provides a very positive atmosphere. What matters here is your talent, not your gender,' says Ritu Karidhal, Deputy Operations Director, India's Mars orbital mission, Mangalyaan. A fascinating excerpt from Minnie Vaid's Those Magnificent Women And Their Flying Machines, Isro's Mission To Mars.
'The parallels between 1914 and 2014 are striking. The crumbling of American and Russian hegemony, the rise of powerful terrorist groups, ferment in the Middle East and the rise of China... These closely mirror the world of 1914,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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