Claude Arpi's fascinating account of the Dalai Lama's arrival in Tawang in March 1959.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet with United States President Barack Obama at the White House next month, where the two leaders will chart a course seeking enhanced bilateral ties and defence cooperation between the two countries, US officials have said. Dr Singh will visit the White House on September 27.
Admiral Sam Locklear heads the US Pacific Command, making him the most powerful military commander on earth. With 60 per cent of the US Navy under him, PACOM oversees 52 per cent of the planet. Locklear is America's military pointsman for 36 countries, including India and China.
Could Mumbai have been saved from terror on November 26, 2008? Perhaps, had the intelligence agencies of India, United States and Britain worked together.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who expressed regret over the arrest and strip-search of Devyani Khobragade, was aware of the senior Indian diplomat's arrest.
'We are witnessing a spectacle of breathtakingly creative diplomacy at work, riveted on the firm foundations of the country's strategic autonomy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
There's still little indication of forward movement in Indo-US defence relations.
India must present its demands of America confidently, instead of fearing that its pocket will somehow be picked, says Ajai Shukla.
'Those who follow the workings of the establishment believe that Indian diplomacy has managed more by the individual flair and brilliance of a few individuals than its systemic strength or organisational excellence.'
NSA Menon's wisdom says that the idea to be superpower is not really desirable, it is better to be different. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The United States has ruled out acceding to either of the two Indian demands --withdrawal of charges against its diplomat Devyani Khobragade, and an apology for alleged mistreatment, after her arrest in New York last week.
'India's military posture has become significantly stronger than China's on the 3,500-kilometre Line of Actual Control.' 'This is enhancing confrontation between the two sides,' points out Ajai Shukla.
India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
'We have a common way of looking at the world, a common way of thinking, and a common set of values that predispose us to be partners. And our interests overlap greatly,' Dr Ashton B Carter, America's next defence secretary, told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
'After more than 20 years of understanding, nothing much seems to have been achieved. What the two countries have been trying to do is to manage the recurrence of border incursions. The two sides must address the disease, and not the symptom of the disease,' says Rup Narayan Das.
'If the Americans believed that India is as strong as China or Russia, would they have shown this scant respect for us,' asks Tarun Vijay, MP. 'An economically strong and militarily powerful India would never have had this experience. Not just the Americans, everyone in this world respects might. China receives respect, India gets the law book.'
'If at all,' says Suhasini Haidar, Foreign Affairs Editor, CNN-IBN, 'Devyani Khobragade is to avoid facing a full trial, the process of that negotiation must start immediately, for which the current acrimonious atmosphere must be improved. It is no more than the US was willing to do for Raymond Davis; the Italian government for its sailors; and India for Captain Sunil James and Vijayan in Togo. Devyani Khobragade is not accused of charges anywhere as serious they were, and whether Preet Bharara's office recognises it or not, she is a diplomat who represents a proud country that has taken the insult to her as a personal insult to the country.'
Claude Arpi gives a fascinating firsthand account of the Dalai Lama's arrival in Tawang in March 1959 and explains why he will once again receive a grand welcome, whether Beijing likes it or not.
'If, as appears to be the case, India is on way to 'mending fences' with China, and China is equally desirous to 'reset' the relationship, this could be a self-reflexive moment in India's positioning vis-a-vis not just the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan issue and China as a whole,' points out China expert Alka Acharya.
The compulsions of domestic politics notwithstanding, India and Bangladesh script a new story in bilateral relations, say Nayanima Basu and Aditi Phadnis
'Pakistan's capacity to carry a normal relationship with India doesn't exist.' 'The relationship with Pakistan is less important than several others.'
Who are the men the prime minister relies on to execute his impressive agenda?
'It was almost as though there was widespread relief that the defence bureaucracy, and the minister, could find someone willing to shoulder the blame for everything that had gone wrong with the services under Antony's charge -- the poor preparedness of the forces, slow acquisitions caused by indecision, cancellation of contracts and whimsical blacklisting of defence contractors over the tiniest suspicion that they may have paid speed money or kickbacks.'
A sensational interview on India-China ties, with the man most qualified to answer.
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