External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a critical view of some of the key decisions made by the Jawaharlal Nehru government, and said one needs to get out of this "cult worship" that the period from 1946 onwards was "great years" and the country did "splendidly".
The external affairs minister also recalled how Pandit Nehru was hesitant in taking assistance from the United States following the 1962 war with China as he was unsure how it would be seen.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of his first state visit to the United States, Modi also talked about the Ukraine conflict, saying some people say that India is neutral but it is on the side of peace.
Very few know of his scintillating mind, the outpouring of fresh ideas, the attention to detail in every endeavour, the extraordinary administrative and organisational skills, and a limitless stamina and energy with which he pursues every interest and commitment, notes Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad.
United States President Donald Trump has said that he will have a "very, very great relationship" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as the two leaders met in the Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago for the first time.
'Just how strong were the ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies that an incident involving a diplomat and a maid led to anger threatening the relationship itself? Or had the relationship been weakening in the past few years, masked by the empty symbolism of State dinners, asks Devesh Kapur.
With the Supreme Court declining to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage on Tuesday, a section of the LGBTQ+ community, petitioners and activists highlighted the positives in the ruling and called for legislative action while others expressed dismay and concern.
Presiding over the third Atal Bihari Vajpayee memorial lecture that was delivered by former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan in New Delhi, Jaishankar also hailed Vajpayee's stint as an external affairs minister, and his role in strengthening India's ties with the United States and Russia.
Scoop seems like they conclude he is but Vaihayasi Pande Daniel recommends that you watch the film to find out for yourselves.
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it the 'largest cooperation project in our history', one that would 'change the face of the Middle East, Israel, and impact the entire world'.
The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
'Three decades of intensive discussions, protocols and Confidence Building Measures were jettisoned one fine morning in 2020.' 'The primary lesson that has been learnt is that that there is no reliability about the Chinese.'
Tensions have dramatically risen on the Korean peninsula after North Korea early this month conducted its biggest nuclear test, which its state-run KCNA news agency described as a hydrogen bomb.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier.
The recent withdrawal of subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene to Bhutan, since revived, has raised the hackles in China, with a state-run daily saying India will not allow Bhutan to freely engage with it.
A group of pro-Khalistan protesters on Sunday made an attempt to set on fire India's consulate in San Francisco, with senior Indian diplomats informing their American counterparts that they anticipate more such protests by anti-national elements in the coming weeks.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
China on Tuesday announced that its Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will visit India this week to attend the meeting of SCO defence ministers from April 27 during which he is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on ending the prolonged eastern Ladakh standoff which has severely strained bilateral ties.
The battle to manage the international environment over Kashmir has just begun, but what is expected to help is the lifting of internal controls. All eyes are now on that exercise. Aditi Phadnis reports.
'One lesson to emerge out of the Modi-Putin summit is that India can be more self-confident that it possesses inherent strengths to leverage its interlocutors to influence Pakistani policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A former top American diplomat, considered to be the architect of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, on Friday urged US President Barack Obama to reach out to India's prime minister-designate Narendra Modi for an early meeting.
India has significantly enhanced military infrastructure, surveillance and combat capabilities along the nearly 3,500 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China since the deadly clashes in Galwan valley in 2020, sources in the defence establishment said Wednesday on the eve of the third anniversary of the hostilities.
'The Americans want to have a good relationship with India. They see it as a counterweight to China. And also American businesses are all trying to get out of China and go to India and Vietnam as well, but India largely.'
In his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping stressed that improving China-India relations serves common interests and is conducive to peace and stability of the region and the world.
As the United States focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its 'downward trend of democratic values and institutions', said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
Jaishankar also said that there is a need to take the disengagement process forward.
The UK government made its first major commitment to support UN Security Council reforms and India's permanent membership within it as part of a refreshed defence and foreign policy review tabled in Parliament on Monday.
Speculation is rife that Xi is likely to make an attempt to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The former Los Angeles mayor's nomination was pending before the US Congress since July 2021 when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by Biden.
Prime Minister Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of US President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
Has the Modi government ensured that the MEA keeps abreast of the times, asks Ambassador Vivek Katju.
'We have vindicated Krittika's honour, Indian diplomats' honour, and India's honour in the United States,' her attorney Ravi Batra said, announcing a $225,000 settlement won from New York City.
India has repeatedly called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and end their ongoing conflict.
India on Thursday said it promotes engagement with Taiwan in several areas including trade and investment and Taipei's decision to open an economic and cultural centre in Mumbai should be seen in that context.
On Thursday, November 6, the Washington Post newspaper reported that controversial American diplomat, Ambassador Robin Raphel, had her office and home searched by the FBI. This most unusual development likely raised much cheer at India's ministry of external affairs, in whose flesh Raphel had been a thorn through much of her tenure in the first Bill Clinton administration in the early and mid-1990s by her anti-India and pro-Pakistan stand. Seventeen years ago, as she was about to step down as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Raphel granted an exclusive interview to Aziz Haniffa and India Abroad, the leading Indian-American weekly newspaper, which is now owned by Rediff.com The July 1997 interview, which provoked a raging controversy in both capitals, Washington, DC and New Delhi, is reproduced here...
In 2017, a retired R&AW officer conveyed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was keen to get monarchy restored in Nepal and suggested that I support these efforts.
To consider Pervez Musharraf a real force for peace is an absurdity, declares Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Anand Mahindra, Apple CEO Tim Cook and corporate leader Indira Nooyi were among the guests. CEOs of Google, Microsoft and Adobe -- Sunder Pichai, Satya Nadella and Shantanu Narayen -- also attended the event.
Over 68,000 Army soldiers, around 90 tanks and other weapon systems were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to eastern Ladakh from across the country for rapid deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley, top sources in defence and security establishment said.
