For Sikhs, they say, honour is the bottom line; and whatever the state of the SAD's political fortunes today, arrogance will not be helpful in the negotiation.
'The 2017 Doklam stand-off in Bhutan, the 2018 Maldives crisis, and the 2020 Nepal Kalapani border dispute shows how Beijing has shot off these countries' shoulders to target India.'
In Karnataka, the BJP lost the elections because of multiple poles of power, a problem the central leadership could not sort out in time. Could the same happen to the Congress in Rajasthan? asks Aditi Phadnis.
'We will likely never know why Xi decided not to travel to New Delhi. One possible explanation could be his desire to avoid a meeting with US President Joe Biden.'
If the corruption issue doesn't claim Mr Baghel, the Congress's chances in the assembly election later this year are good, observes Aditi Phadnis.
All the current political upheavals in Maharashtra are with the 2024 elections in mind and there is a degree of white-knuckle tension in all parties.
A rotating chief ministership as a way to appease factions can work only if there is a credible guarantor, explains Aditi Phadnis.
Panthic politics came easily to Parkash Singh Badal. But he was quick to abandon it when it became a problem, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The two main factions in Karnataka's Congress party -- one led by Siddaramaiah and the other by D K Shivakumar -- are both contenders for the chief ministership. Both groups have fought hard to get their choice of MLAs the party ticket, notes Aditi Phadnis.
When a former police constable was appointed Gujarat unit chief, everyone was surprised. Now workers are laying bets on when he will be elevated to the Union Cabinet, notes Aditi Phadnis.
He staked everything to ensure the BJP returned to power; and now that it has, he stands to lose a lot, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'It's not that the Opposition has to search for common ground.' 'The government is handing the common ground to the Opposition.'
'Nearly 13,000 individuals have been charged for sedition since 2010.' 'If the Supreme Court stay ever gets vacated, arrests will follow immediately.'
India's youngest chief minister is trapped under layers of influences and is proving ineffectual, but author finds him impossible not to like during an unusually personal interview.
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
'Some of his ministers have performed abysmally, and Bommai has faced an unwanted campaign of religious polarisation imposed by national BJP leaders.'
A section of VHP is looking at the growing NaMo fever with increasing disfavour and could prove a spoiler for the Gujarat chief minister. Aditi Phadnis reports
It is premature to write the Congress' epitaph in 2014 because 10 years of incumbency have also seen some sterling performance, insists the Gandhi family confidant, says Aditi Phadnis
A country in which all general elections are unique, 2014 polls promises to top the list. In 2014, India's political story will be told by five people -- Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, J Jayalalithaa and Pranab Mukherjee, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Despite small hiccups, Tamil Nadu is a state with an urban outlook on life and where laws still work.
In this election, the number to watch is not the seats the BJP gets - but how many the Congress gets. That will define it as an opposition, says Aditi Phadnis
The overreach of the judiciary can be attributed to one, the inability of the executive to deliver; and two, the tendency to issue judicial pronouncements for national good. The second element is dangerous because that's the function of the government, says Kapil Sibal.
The state contributes 30-plus MPs -- a fatal number for the Congress to lose at the Centre, says Aditi Phadnis
A political meeting can make or break political careers. Aditi Phadnis explores how politicians plan and execute these meetings
After nine years in power, the United Progressive Alliance faces the question of credibility, says Aditi Phadnis
Realpolitik is at work in the Bharatiya Janata Party, says Aditi Phadnis
Shivraj Singh Chouhan is a man to watch. He could give Modi a run for his money on the acceptability index, writes Aditi Phadnis
With friends who are now turning away rather than recognise them on the street, Pakistan is also trying to prepare itself for inevitable domestic leadership changes, says Aditi Phadnis
Pranab Mukherjee, the United Progressive Alliance's presidential candidate, has friends across the political spectrum, in the Left as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party, says Aditi Phadnis
The best option in 2014 is the formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP government based on alternative policies, says CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury
This article was written in 2006 by Aditi Phadnis and Makrand Gadgil in Of Cabals and Kings: Political Profiles published by BS Books. It has been updated and is being reproduced here
The intersection of economics and politics will be crucial to assembly poll verdict in Himachal Pradesh, wites Aditi Phadnis
Overcoming insurgency through development in Tripura secures CM Sarkar's re-election, says Aditi Phadnis
Dalit activist Ram Kumar critiques Mayawati's five years in office and tells Aditi Phadnis what went wrong
The BJP was leveraging Hindu religious leaders who'd banded under the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for building a Ram temple at the site of a masjid, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
The brutal killing of two Indian Army soldiers in the Mendhar sector along the Line of Control may have triggered anger across the country, yet it did not evoke the 'war with Pakistan' rhetoric, writes Aditi Phadnis
With the tide in favour of Narendra Modi, his shift to Delhi is inevitable. Aditi Phadnis examines
With all its satraps pulling in different directions, the Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership seems to be standing still, says Aditi Phadnis
In the home ministry headed by him, you have to look hard to see success, says Aditi Phadnis
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