The statement by United States president-elect Barack Obama regarding American intervention in Kashmir is his first foreign policy mistake, a leading expert on South Asia said on Tuesday. A Kashmir initiative by America, however veiled, can undermine improving India-US ties, Selig S Harrison, director of Asia Programme at the Center for International Policy and a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International, said an opinion piece published in The Washington Times.
The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from the government on whether it has accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir after the United States made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan, and slammed attempts to 'internationalise' the issue and 'hyphenate' the two countries.
US Vice President J D Vance and his wife Usha arrived in Delhi on Monday for a four-day visit. They were welcomed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Vance's visit comes amid ongoing trade talks between India and the US. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for the Vances on Monday evening after holding talks with the US Vice President. Vance and his family will also travel to Jaipur and Agra during their trip.
'India enjoys conventional superiority, but nuclear deterrence imposes clear boundaries.'
'We should not just react when a terror attack happens on our soil.' 'Our approach should be continuous and a launch pad should be destroyed the moment it comes up.'
On Jawaharlal Nehru's 61st death anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recalls how India's first prime minister cultivated a unique role for the newly independent country on the world stage.
A suave and sobre politician, Inder Kumar Gujral belonged to that genre of intellectuals who made a mark in the country's foreign policy and a slice of luck catapulted him to the prime minister's office, though briefly.
'There is no independently verified imagery or battlefield evidence to support Pakistan's claim.'
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
In an op-ed in Daily Beast, former CIA officer Bruce Riedel issued a strong warning to the two candidates that Pakistan is more important foreign policy issue than Libya, the Middle East or the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
Allaying fears on the nuclear deal, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said there was no question of compromise on the national security and independent foreign policy.
Delivering the keynote at a conference on The Future of India's Foreign Policy, organized by the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's Centre for the Advanced Study of India, Sen said this was particularly imperative in the context of today's world that is 'shaped by globalization, inter-dependence, inter-connectedness and rapid changes.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Jitendra Awhad arrived in handcuffs at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Mumbai on the first day of the Maharashtra legislature's budget session on Monday to highlight 'growing attack' on freedom of expression and protest the deportation of illegal immigrants from the United States.
'Unfortunately, India and Pakistan could learn a 'lesson' from this conflict that will make them more likely to use these weapons against each other in the future.' 'Rounds of missile and drone attacks could be more routine features of their hostility, just like artillery fire has become a familiar fact of life along the Line of Control.'
Government representatives told a parliamentary panel that the US has not officially conveyed to India that it should cut tariffs by April 2.
US foreign policy had been 'aggressive in terms of going after challenges, issues,' and the president was 'going to keep moving in this direction,' he said.
'What gives hope is that Modi's own leadership is vitally linked to his capacity to deliver on the economic front. Indeed, if he succeeds, India's foreign policies will have changed beyond recognition,' feels Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the address of the President to the two Houses was similar to the one made last year, and claimed that it was the same 'laundry list' of things the government has done.
Modi has the chance to break out of India's passive mode and firmly tell Russia that in this day and age, India will not support unilateral invasions, asserts Harishchandra Dighe.
"The US was never a friend of India. Friendship with it will bring danger to the country," Dasgupta said.
"Our foreign policy debates in Parliament and the media seem obsessed with Pakistan or with ephemera, or worse ephemera about Pakistan," he said, during the annual convocation of Mangalore University while underlining the need for improving study of international affairs.
The Congress party has claimed credit for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US, saying the Modi government did not initiate the process and merely benefited from the "mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy" begun under the UPA. Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government did not secure any breakthrough to make the extradition possible, nor is it the result of any grandstanding. He added that it was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping. Chidambaram detailed the UPA government's efforts in securing Rana's extradition, citing the registration of a case against him in 2009, diplomatic pressure on Canada and the US, and continued efforts despite legal setbacks. He highlighted the role of the UPA in securing Rana's conviction for other terrorism-related offences and the cooperation between the US and Indian agencies in gathering evidence and securing his extradition. The Congress leader further stated that it was the UPA's groundwork that paved the way for Rana's extradition, even after the change in government in 2014.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated that the US administration under President Donald Trump is moving towards multipolarity, which aligns with India's interests. He also revealed that India and the US have reached an agreement on the need for a bilateral trade pact. Jaishankar touched upon various foreign policy issues including India's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the trajectory of the BRICS grouping, and relations with China during a session at the Chatham House think-tank in London.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance have expressed satisfaction with the progress made in negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. The two leaders met in New Delhi and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including cooperation in energy, defense, strategic technologies, and other areas. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
"From President Trump's perspective, the one big shared enterprise that we have is the Quad, which is an understanding where everybody pays their fair share. There are no free riders involved. So that's a good model which works," he said. The Quad alliance consists of the US, India, Australia and Japan.
An article said Modi's decision to provide e-visas for Chinese nationals is inadequate and it should be extended to business and work visas.
'The policies announced by his administration are implemented faster.'
Perpaps to clear the air on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the safeguards agreement with IAEA will not impinge on India's strategic programme.
In a move sending a strong signal to China, foreign ministers from Quad countries -- India, Australia, Japan and the United States -- in a joint statement on Tuesday strongly opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said the United Progressive Alliance government had dealt a "huge blow" to the basic tenets of the country's foreign policy by delinking terror from talks with Pakistan and asked it come out with a "contingency plan to undo the damage."
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party which performed impressively in the recently concluded Delhi assembly polls, has been named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2013.
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
Obama is signalling much more than a new leadership style of using more carrots than sticks, more ideas and persuasion than threats and sanctions. The bottom line is that now that he won't be running again, Obama wants to really test a values-based foreign policy approach that relies on negotiations, says M K Bhadrakumar.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday called on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed issues of bilateral interest.
Democratic Presidential front-runner Barack Obama has challenged President George Bush and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain to a debate on the foreign policy, saying they have a lot to explain on issues like Iraq war, Iranian nuclear programme and Middle East conflict.
In the crucial third and last encounter between the two, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney fought fiercely over the topic of the future of foreign policy of the United States
Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan has said that the recent disengagement of troops with China in eastern Ladakh has given a small opening to India, but the "big issues" remain. He also stressed the importance of strengthening India's ties with the US for technological and economic growth.
The luncheon meeting took place at the prime minister's official Race Course Road residence.
