News for '-foreign-service'

'UAE's role is to encourage India and Pakistan to meet'

'UAE's role is to encourage India and Pakistan to meet'

Rediff.com16 Apr 2021

'The Indian side has realised that not talking to Pakistan has not served any useful purpose.'

'The world needs India'

'The world needs India'

Rediff.com19 Jun 2019

'The world needs India because it needs a voice that speaks of peace, non-violence and peaceful coexistence.' 'This vision and voice, this attitude and belief are what India has stood for over the last twenty millennia,' Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tells trainee diplomats.

China Connection and India-US Ties

China Connection and India-US Ties

Rediff.com2 Feb 2021

'India should not be taken by surprise if the Biden administration seeks China's cooperation at some point,' alerts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Ajay Bisaria India's next ambassador to Pakistan

Ajay Bisaria India's next ambassador to Pakistan

Rediff.com1 Nov 2017

From January 2015, he has served as India's Ambassador to Poland, based in Warsaw, with concurrent accreditation to Lithuania.

What Biden's Quad summit means for India

What Biden's Quad summit means for India

Rediff.com10 Mar 2021

The US has been, historically, a sleeping partner in India-China relations. Today, any attempt by the Modi government to make a bilateral move to improve relations with Beijing could upset Biden's apple cart, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

On trial is not Trump, but Trumpism

On trial is not Trump, but Trumpism

Rediff.com14 Jan 2021

What is the guarantee that another Trump will not arise and reach out to the American people directly? The fact of the matter is that Trump's support base remains the envy of any American politician, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

How Moscow transformed this IFS officer into a poet-artist

How Moscow transformed this IFS officer into a poet-artist

Rediff.com17 Nov 2011

Poet, artist and award-winning diplomat Abhay K whose sixth book Candling the Light was released recently at the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi tells Rediff about his life in the Indian Foreign Service and how he maintains a balance between his career and creative life.

Nepal: How did India lose the plot?

Nepal: How did India lose the plot?

Rediff.com30 Dec 2020

'By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself.' 'A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Biden-Putin tango promises to be riveting

Biden-Putin tango promises to be riveting

Rediff.com27 Jan 2021

Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Go wherever you want: Nitish to Pavan Varma

Go wherever you want: Nitish to Pavan Varma

Rediff.com23 Jan 2020

"They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.

Post Coup Myanmar: India must be careful

Post Coup Myanmar: India must be careful

Rediff.com11 Feb 2021

It will not be to India's advantage to create misperceptions that it is bandwagoning with some Anglo-American project for regime change in Myanmar, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

IAS officer jumped into pool to save female colleague, drowns

IAS officer jumped into pool to save female colleague, drowns

Rediff.com30 May 2017

The deceased, Ashish Dahiya, was a resident of Sonipat, Haryana and was attending a pool side party with friends from the Indian foreign and revenue services.

Why John le Carre will never die

Why John le Carre will never die

Rediff.com18 Dec 2020

He will be remembered not only as a writer but as one of the great chroniclers and interrogators of the history of our times, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Why is Modi pushing Rajapaksa on the Tamils?

Why is Modi pushing Rajapaksa on the Tamils?

Rediff.com2 Oct 2020

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Can Russia help resolve Ladakh stand-off?

Can Russia help resolve Ladakh stand-off?

Rediff.com5 Sep 2020

'Russia is the only country that can act as facilitator for any eventual Chinese-Indian rapprochement,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Getting out of the hole with China is possible

Getting out of the hole with China is possible

Rediff.com14 Dec 2020

China is in no hurry to disengage at the border and the region and international community is moving on. The spectre of a long haul in Ladakh haunts India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

American Democracy in Shambles

American Democracy in Shambles

Rediff.com9 Jan 2021

Biden is best qualified to address the root cause of the polarisation in American politics before it turns into terminal malignancy, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

BCCI goes back on its decision, keeps Subramaniam for West Indies tour

BCCI goes back on its decision, keeps Subramaniam for West Indies tour

Rediff.com14 Aug 2019

"He will complete this tour as I have now accepted his apology," Rai added.

Why did Sri Lanka snub US?

Why did Sri Lanka snub US?

Rediff.com1 Nov 2020

Any form of entanglement with India or the US on the strategic plane will be anathema to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa rulers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Bumpy diplomatic ride ahead for Biden

Bumpy diplomatic ride ahead for Biden

Rediff.com27 Jan 2021

The US is not going to be able to mount a concerted 'Western strategy' against China or Russia in the present international milieu, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Will BECA scare the Chinese?

Will BECA scare the Chinese?

Rediff.com29 Oct 2020

'Analysts see BECA as a 'force multiplier' for India.' 'But China too is known to have such capabilities.' 'The military gap with China will continue to remain a fact of life, BECA notwithstanding,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar

Indian American Atul Keshap, US envoy to Sri Lanka

Indian American Atul Keshap, US envoy to Sri Lanka

Rediff.com27 Mar 2015

Atul Keshap would be 'a superb fit for Sri Lanka as he knows the ins and outs of the politics there and all the political players, including the new disposition in Colombo intimately,' US diplomatic sources in Washington, DC told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com

Ladakh standoff: Breakthrough in sight?

Ladakh standoff: Breakthrough in sight?

Rediff.com16 Oct 2020

'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

US Treasury's David Malpass bags World Bank's top job

US Treasury's David Malpass bags World Bank's top job

Rediff.com5 Apr 2019

The World Bank's executive board unanimously selected 63-year-old Malpass, who is currently Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, as the bank's 13th President for a five-year term beginning April 9.

Sambhu Banik on USAID workers' evaluation

Sambhu Banik on USAID workers' evaluation

Rediff.com22 Jun 2010

Dr Sambhu N Banik, commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Maryland, has been appointed a public member of the United States Agency for International Development's Foreign Service Performance and Evaluation Board for 2010.

Trump is setting the stage to grab power

Trump is setting the stage to grab power

Rediff.com12 Nov 2020

If push comes to shove, Trump is probably planning to order the US army to clear his path for a second term. What if the armed forces refuse to obey their commander-in-chief?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Time for India to fix relations with Kuwait

Time for India to fix relations with Kuwait

Rediff.com6 Oct 2020

'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Spectre of Biden presidency haunts India

Spectre of Biden presidency haunts India

Rediff.com8 Nov 2020

'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Navdeep Suri to be India's new envoy to UAE

Navdeep Suri to be India's new envoy to UAE

Rediff.com17 Oct 2016

Suri is currently serving as Indian High Commissioner in Canberra.

KRN's life was a saga of surprises

KRN's life was a saga of surprises

Rediff.com27 Oct 2020

'KRN's journey from a humble cottage in Uzhavoor to Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi was no less spectacular than that of Abraham Lincoln from the log cabin to the White House'.

Biden's secretary of state will be...

Biden's secretary of state will be...

Rediff.com16 Nov 2020

'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

The American who caught Gandhiji's killer

The American who caught Gandhiji's killer

Rediff.com30 Jan 2020

In the shock after Nathuram Godse murdered Mahatma Gandhi that January evening 72 years ago today, a young American diplomat rushed to capture the assassin. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel traces the memorable life of Herbert Reiner, who History has sadly relegated to a footnote.

What Modi can learn from Abe

What Modi can learn from Abe

Rediff.com31 Aug 2020

Both have been robustly muscular leaders who began as immensely charismatic politicians conveying an impression that they were makers of history, raring to go. Both have been hyperactive on the world stage. But in the final analysis, Abe is departing on a sombre note, unceremoniously and apologetically, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Without Trump, the world stage will be poorer

Without Trump, the world stage will be poorer

Rediff.com6 Nov 2020

Trump was good for world peace. He didn't start a war anywhere, which is not something that can be said for most of his predecessors, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

26/11 set up India-Saudi strategic ties

26/11 set up India-Saudi strategic ties

Rediff.com19 Dec 2020

'The attacks made clear to all the Gulf States that Pakistan was the nursery and sanctuary of extremist violence and that this violence threatened all the countries in the region.'

More Indians have died of covid than all our wars together

More Indians have died of covid than all our wars together

Rediff.com24 Sep 2020

The corona deaths in India so far add up to 91,149 (September 24, 3.26 pm). It is seven-and-a-half times the number of Indian soldiers slain in all the wars (1947, 1961-1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999) in post-independent India's history, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

'Independence for Kashmir is unworkable, unthinkable'

'Independence for Kashmir is unworkable, unthinkable'

Rediff.com13 Nov 2009

No book on South Asia published in recent years has received the kudos veteran diplomat Howard B Schaffer's The Limits of Influence: America's Role in Kashmir, published by Brookings Institution Press, elicited.In an interview with rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa, he explains why the Barack Obama administration should intervene in resolving the contentious Kashmir issue.

War of the maps in South Asia

War of the maps in South Asia

Rediff.com8 Aug 2020

'The Modi government's grandstanding has hardened the reflexes in Beijing, Islamabad and Kathmandu and complicated India's relations with these three countries, which were even otherwise highly problematic.' 'Whatever prospects existed for a fair and balanced resolution of the territorial disputes may also have receded,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Diplomat-politician: Life and times of S K Singh

Diplomat-politician: Life and times of S K Singh

Rediff.com4 Dec 2009

S K Singh stood tall and made his voice heard as a diplomat and as a politician.

Kerala's COVID-19 story is hard to replicate

Kerala's COVID-19 story is hard to replicate

Rediff.com20 Apr 2020

'What the northern Indian states lack is responsive politics based on the principles of development, social justice and equality.' 'A cut-and-paste job cannot make up for such lethal deficiency,' observes says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.