'Why were they silent when over 128 temples and shrines including Shivlings were broken down at the time of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor?' a Varanasi resident asks Rashme Sehgal.
'Which will not happen.' 'Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has expressly refuted Beijing's statement that normalcy was returning to Sino-Indian relations.'
'The PLA will not voluntarily withdraw from Indian territory.'
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
'When the war against Ukraine that Putin started is not going the way he was expecting it to and his military options are getting onerous, a bit of nuclear sabre rattling is what he hopes will turn things around for him and Russia.'
'Parties which supported me were all threatened. This could hardly have been called a fair election.' 'This is Modi's India.'
'This was Indian land the PLA advanced on and occupied.' 'The Chinese then 'negotiated' a pullback of their troops a small distance on Indian territory even as Indian jawans draw back further into India from the forward position.' 'An apparently satisfied Indian government says this is a great move for peace! How great is that for China!'
'The US will not want to tangle with China landwards.' 'Nor will the US confront the Chinese navy seawards on India's account.'
'The threat of ceding space to China in Afghanistan appears to be one factor propelling our government to get a bit more active now.'
'This is probably why the late General Bipin Rawat, who hails from the Garhwal Himalaya, said that the existing roads are fine with the army.'
'It seems unlikely that a recruit will make a useful contribution as member of a combat unit.'
'There is a sustainable level of residual terrorism that will be difficult to handle as long as Pakistani support and safe havens are available.'
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
'The government is doing away with crucial laws such as the Forest Conservation Act and the Environment Protection Act which had helped safeguard our forests.' 'The President has to show that she will stand in favour of tribal rights.'
'The deaths of the children in the Gambia would batter India's reputation as the developing world's pharmacy.'
'He is not that crazy.' 'He is driven by a deep sense of Russian power have been diminished.'
What is particularly worrying is that the vast majority will not have access to testing or even to proper treatment. These cases could have been avoided if the government had shown the political will to do so, observes Rashme Sehgal.
'Pakistan and the jihadis's capacities have been diminished because of increasing dominance of our security forces.'
'...for three hours to the seven or eight of us who spoke at the meeting.' 'Talking together and allowing us to express our thoughts on these important issues is a good beginning.'
'The MEA, hopefully, made it clear that the Indian PM can't be seen in Xi Jinping's company when China has, for all intents and purposes, annexed over 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, and essentially that the Wuhan spirit and the Mamallapuram spirit have turned into vinegar.'
'The day the power shifts, they will run across to the other side.'
'This reluctance to respond forcefully to Chinese PLA provocations and outright aggression has as much to do with Prime Minister Modi personally, as with the institutional mindset of the MEA or even the Indian Army.' 'They are scarred by the 1962 War and are still cowed by China.'
'When Uddhav Thackeray went in for surgery, he had presumed that Eknath Shinde would have looked after the Shiv Sena for him during this period.' 'He did not imagine that Shinde would use this period to backstab him.'
Mahsa Amini's tragic custodial death in Tehran has triggered protests across Iran. Defiant, jean clad women minus their tunics and hijabs are marching in unison and shouting 'Down with the dictator' Women in Iran have been pushed to the wall and are no longer willing to abide by the restrictions placed on them, explains Rashme Sehgal.
'They will be able to ride over this immediate crisis and carry on, but they need to take corrective steps and these will have to be long term measures which must include working closely with state governments.'
'India enjoys the maneuverability of a coming big power.' 'It is this possibility that has persuaded Moscow to humour India and stayed Washington from getting punitive about India's neutrality on the Ukraine issue.'
Women and children have been given short shrift with these crucial sectors facing substantive budgetary cuts, discovers Rashme Sehgal.
'Why wouldn't so strategically-minded an adversary, such as China, not militarily exploit to the maximum Indian timidity, stupidity, and cupidity all along the LAC and legitimate, as it has done so often in the past, the fait accompli of incremental territorial grabs which, by the way, is its strategy and policy as implemented on the ground?'
'Pakistan has power -- they have the power of terrorism and the reluctance of the world to act against them.'
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
India's water future remains very bleak. The monsoon season, which once extended to 4 months, is now down to less than 30 days of heavy rain.
'By taking over these reactors, it will ensure Ukraine's supply of electricity is cut off.'
'I had emphasised this during our meeting with the PM.' 'Given our location, I had warned that there is a sensitivity involved as this is a frontier state.' 'The atmosphere around us is not conducive. But who listens?'
'From environmental impact assessment to forest clearances, this has turned out to be an unscientific road-widening project with catastrophic consequences.'
'Putin is just flexing his muscles. He is not going to do anything. He is not that crazy.'
'We have not had one discussion on the border incursions or the subsequent report of the building of Chinese villages on Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh.'
'After Uri, the current government took public ownership of surgical strikes.' 'The question they need to ask themselves is did this bring about a change in Pakistan's behaviour towards us? The answer is no.' 'If there had been a change, then Pulwama would not have happened.'
'Economic issues do not matter during elections; it is the emotional connect that helps swing votes.'
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