If Indian PM boycotts the CHOGM, it is likely to add to Sri Lanka's bitterness. This would not help India's desire to add more depth and content to its relations with Sri Lanka but its ability to influence Sri Lanka's decision making process on the both strategic issues and on Tamil minority issues, says Colonel (retd) R Hariharan.
Dr Singh has written a short letter to Rajapaksa informing him of his decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit (CHOGM), sources said.
Breaking his silence over India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled at Colombo next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a decision would be taken only after considering all relevant factors, including sentiments of Tamil people.
Expressing anguish over India's decision to participate in the upcoming CHOGM in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Assembly today passed a resolution at its emergent session demanding "complete boycott" of the summit, as Congress and two other parties kept away from voting.
Prime Minister Modi addressed the second plenary of the executive session, during which he reiterated India's focus on small island developing nations of the organisation and delivering 'demand-driven, rather than donor-driven' assistance to the organisation's smaller member states.
Britain's King Charles is on a personal visit to Bengaluru where he is staying at a sprawling integrative medical facility near Whitefield, sources said on Wednesday.
The bilateral talks took place as the formal heads of government meeting got underway in London on Thursday, following a formal launch by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
No meeting or interaction has been requested or scheduled with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi so far.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided against attending the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting summit as he was pressed by "competing sentiments" in India about outstanding issues with Sri Lanka and domestic compulsions like polls in five states, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
Brushing aside the demand of political parties in Tamil Nadu for a total boycott, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrived in Colombo on Wednesday to attend the CHOGM this week saying India remains committed to the welfare of the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lanka and that "we have to remain engaged" in "enlightened national interest".
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
The All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam on Monday joined hands in Rajya Sabha to demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not attend Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka in November.
Amid indication that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unlikely to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Sri Lanka, the external affairs ministry on Saturday said no decision has been taken on the visit, which has been opposed by parties in Tamil Nadu as well as a section in Congress.
The papayas from Mumbai were too squishy, the chef raced through the streets of Goa in a police jeep to look for fruit ripened just right only to have security personnel puncture many a hole through them... a new book recalls in detail the struggle to procure and plate perfect papayas for Indira Gandhi during a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1983.
Seeking to assuage the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu opposed to India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting meet in Sri Lanka, Centre on Tuesday detailed its relief and rehabilitation efforts for minority Tamils in the war-torn island nation.
Congress on Monday left it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a call on attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka amid a political controversy over the issue in view of the alleged atrocities against ethnic Tamils there.
In the wake of stiff opposition, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unlikely to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka.
No decision has been taken so far on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the of Commonwealth Heads of Government meet in Sri Lanka on November 15-16, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday, asserting it will be taken after considering all aspects including "national interest" and "international obligations".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to attend the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo was a loss for Sri Lanka as his absence reflected a breakdown of ties between the two countries, the main opposition said on Monday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a triple blow following crushing defeats for his Conservative Party in two important by-elections that also prompted the resignation of the party's chairman and one of his close allies, raising another major challenge to the embattled premier's leadership.
Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on Thursday, was the first British monarch to accede to the throne after India's Independence from colonial rule in 1952 and admired the 'richness and diversity' of India where she made three State Visits over the course of her reign -- in 1961, 1983 and 1997.
Queen Elizabeth II made 3 State visits to India -- in 1961, 1983 and 1997.
Opposition leaders urged Modi to use the opportunity for the country's benefit.
According to sources the proposal has been scuppered by the British commerce ministry, which was not consulted, and which is the sectoral ministry for trade and investment.
After quitting the United Progressive Alliance coalition on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam on Monday demanded that India should boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo in November.
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on a one-day visit to India, said he was open to meeting all elected leaders including Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Cameron explained why he was not meeting Modi during this visit.
There is a split in the United Progressive Government over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on November 15 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Some Union ministers including Finance Minister P Chidambaram want the PM to skip the session, said sources.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to take part in the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka in view of opposition by political parties in Tamil Nadu.
With political parties in Tamil Nadu stepping up pressure on Centre for boycott of CHOGM at Colombo this month, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram met DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Saturday and said no decision has been taken as yet on Prime Minister's visit to the meet.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Colombo has once again put the focus on alleged cases of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
A defiant President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday once again rejected demands for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the military campaign against the LTTE, saying countries should not "dictate" to Sri Lanka.
Growing foreign travel is one sign of the radical change in rising India's vacation dynamic.
Taking serious note of the travel advisories against it, India on Wednesday raised the issue with Australia, New Zealand and Canada asking them to withdraw issuance of such notices which have "disproportionate" language and were contrary to the current tourist trend.
Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, a Sri Lankan man, who migrated to Australia, has filed war crimes charges against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a Melbourne court. Rajapaksa is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne to participate in the CHOGM to be held at Perth. Jegan Waran, a retired engineer who migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, said before the magistrate that he was still haunted by what he saw in the hospitals.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh arrived on Thursday afternoon from Washington, DC to attend the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain.
Colombo seems to be veering to the middle path between China and the US on global matters, but in regional matters of strategic security, it is increasingly identifying with India, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Some 80 presidents and premiers are expected to attend the final days of the conference on December 17-18. Obama might use his December 9 drop-by at the Copenhagen conference on his way to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway to announce a US offer on financing.
Triple Olympic gold medalist sprinter Usain Bolt will take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi said in Port of Spain.
The meeting between Dr Singh and Sarkozy on climate change assumes significance as it came just ten days before the Copenhagen Summit on the issue.
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