History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.
India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other 'targeted' officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations.
Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi and Vaishali have trained at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) that the bespectacled chess wizard set up four years ago in Chennai. The 18-year-old Gukesh and the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa have often stated that they would not be where they are without "Vishy sir".
We can make a beginning by openly acknowledging the Russian help in 1971 victory when President Putin visits India on 6 December 2021. Showing gratitude to a friend is part of our DNA, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Declaring that 'enough is enough', President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said it is time for India to wake up to the 'perversion' of crimes against women and counter the mindset that sees women as 'less powerful, less capable, less intelligent'.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India needs to shed its policy of lethargy and inhibitions to engage the Taliban with an intent to maintain its influence in Afghanistan. This would not just put a spanner in Pakistani designs, but also incentivise the Taliban not to be the puppets of GHQ, Rawalpindi, asserts Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd), who served on the Af-Pak desk at the Military Operations Directorate.
The International Cricket Council has come under fire for having different rules and regulations for the two semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
'The Budget will be positive, continuing on the path of growth taken so far.'
'There is a lot of money coming into the business, people are consuming a lot of content, there is no dearth of new films and shows coming out of India and being available worldwide.'
With the burden of captaincy off his shoulders, Rohit Sharma will be able to play with a lot of freedom which will help five-time champions Mumbai Indians, reckoned former Australia T20 skipper Aaron Finch.
'The main worry is lots of new investors coming into the markets in order to make a quick buck/easy money.' 'Those things are happening again and have happened in the past as well.' 'All that has led to problems.' 'We are not there yet, but will get there eventually.'
'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.
Who knows, the moment of truth in Ladakh may also augur for a giant leap toward boundary settlement with China in the fulness of time. The news that the special representatives of the two countries are planning to meet gives a positive signal, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Once the tanks roll back, a zero-based assessment of future equations with China is necessary. Given the conflict situations that China is imposing on India time and again, the red, amber and green lines of interactions with China need to be laid down and communicated in no uncertain terms, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
'China has gone too long as a rogue power, trashing international norms, agreements, and treaties as if they were not the paper they were written on.' 'The ill-advised attack on Ladakh may be the beginning of the end of that nonsense,' advocates Rajeev Srinivasan.
Tata Electronics' Rs 91,000 crore semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat, in partnership with PSMC, will generate over 20,000 direct and indirect skilled jobs in the region and construction of the mega unit is expected to begin this year, according to a statement on Thursday. The planned unit - India's first commercial fab, marks Tata Electronics' entry into the global semiconductor industry. Tata Electronics said it is "proud to lead India's entry into global semiconductor fabrication".
Modi said that for nearly one and a half years he has been putting in place details of new schemes to give new pace to the country's development and curb poverty.
In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building in which she touched on varied issues ranging from insurgency to inflation, Murmu said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats the challenges of the past and puts maximum energy into building the future.
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
She has shown shrewdness, sensitivity, and courage. All of these will be needed in ample quantities for the real challenge that will emerge after the elections, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among first world leaders to condemn the terror attack... India is a very important moral voice in the world and the important countries for us are with us," Gilon said.
The Pakistan cricket fraternity showered the Indian team with praise for their incredible run to the final of the ODI World Cup, with the legendary Wasim Akram saying their cricket "is in a good place" despite the loss to Australia in the title clash.
His loss for even part of the series would be a huge blow to a team already missing so much batting experience because of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill were seen having a laugh during the team photo-shoot on Tuesday, while Chahal jokingly said to the camera: 'Lovely... colourful clothes after two months.'
'There is no holistic picture of our own goals and objectives.' 'For some inexplicable reason, the decision makers find it best to listen to their inner souls in dealing with these issues rather devising a carefully thought-out, structured plan,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
India lose to Iraq in penalty shootout, face Lebanon in bronze medal playoff.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Esports to breakdancing, Hangzhou will set the trend for future of sport
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
Maybe the new methods of measuring GDP helped us get an accurate picture.
Only 21 tonnes of gold have been mobilised in the last eight years under the gold monetisation scheme (GMS) which was announced by the Government of India in November 2015. This could be considered as a failure as the scheme has undergone several changes with a revamped GMS announced in April 2021 to improve collections. This figure was released by the World Gold Council (WGC) on Wednesday in its report titled 'Gold Investment Market and Financialisation, in India gold market series'.
India should put a check on its cheque book diplomacy with Nepal. Nepal must be made to bear the costs of its strategic provocations.
'The Modi government will be wasting its time talking to Nawaz Sharif.' 'It would be better if it were to open a direct channel with the Pakistan army,' says Rajeev Sharma.
India look to ward off Nepal threat and move closer to semifinals
After making history at the 95th Annual Academy Awards, it was time for India to party!
Team India discards -- Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra, and the Pathan brothers -- will get another opportunity to stake a claim in the national team at the annual NKP Salve Challenger Trophy which gets underway in Nagpur on Monday.
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