China may accord recognition to the new government in Kabul at an early opportunity, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
As the US readies to withdraw from the Afghan battlefield, it is moving closer to Pakistan to manage the post-withdrawal scenario. For India, it is a dangerous development fraught with serious security implications. Delhi needs to draw up contingency plans to deal with the situation, says retired Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
How should one interpret the new bonhomie between the two nations?
How does India take to the mellowed Dr Kissinger? India's elites may have dropped their earlier allergy toward him, but they are on guard still, feels Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Western powers appear to regard Delhi as the most logical destination in the region in these extraordinary times -- as a counterpoint to the ascendance of political Islam and a rising red star over Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Indian diplomacy should be allowed a free hand and politicians should step aside. It is difficult to see that happening, but it can happen -- and it should in the spirit of a mature democracy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Biden administration expects the Modi government to continue to remain as its loyal camp follower even as Washington continues to act in self-interests, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russia's main gain will be that in geopolitical terms, Ukraine regains its sovereignty and ceases to be a de facto American colony, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Delhi has come to accept the Taliban takeover in Kabul as a reality and seems increasingly unsure of its dogmatic view of the Taliban as a mere proxy of the Pakistani military and security establishment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The alacrity with which regional States responded to Delhi's invite signals that expectations are high regarding an Indian role in the efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The big power struggle in faraway Europe erupted at a most critical juncture when India has been increasingly sceptical about American policies and statesmanship,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a clutch of ice-cold words Dr Singh conveyed a great deal outright rejecting any third party mediation and disabusing any Pakistani notions to the effect that India was coming under US pressure over the Kashmir issue.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This visit has ended on a vastly different note in comparison with Modi's previous visits. Call it a rebuke, call it a censure, call it a distancing from Modi, the sharp message would have gone home, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It is entirely conceivable that Modi began realising at some point that it will be a liability for India if he is seen as Trump's fellow traveller, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Frankly, India has no role to play.' 'This is a showdown between the US and NATO on one hand and Russia on the other.' 'That said, the outcome of this titanic struggle in Central Europe will remould the world order and affect India profoundly,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by US Congressmen if the US had explore the possibility of northwest India for counter terrorism capabilities in Afghanistan. Blinken's remarks on India assume great importance, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
American analysts and their camp followers in India are talking absolute rubbish when they try to establish that India is facing a Hobson's choice in regard of Donbass, called upon to take sides between Russia and the West, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The Obama administration must show the sagacity to cooperate with Karzai's strategy,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
The US is not in a forgiving mood for being humiliated in such a manner by an insurgent force and made to look 'loser' internationally, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'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.
The flawed Indian policy toward Afghanistan is missing the woods for the trees. The Modi government doesn't have a 'big picture', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Without doubt, India's success story will come up for close scrutiny when Modi's prime ministerial legacy is summed up in history.' 'A failure is simply unthinkable.' 'And the success will largely depend on national unity,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The overall India-US relationship is entering a mature phase where the two countries can have different perceptions or specific interests with regard to regional or global issues and can still talk about an enduring economic partnership to mutual benefit.'
'Clearly, Washington has all but given up hope following US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells's stormy visit to Colombo last month where she read the riot act to Sri Lankan leaders to sign the pending status of forces agreement allowing American troops to use Sri Lanka as a hub for operations in the Indian Ocean,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
To mark Prime Minister Modi's seventh meeting with Obama and his historic joint address to US Congress -- the sixth Indian PM to do so -- India Abroad, the newspaper published from New York and owned by rediff.com, reached out to diplomats and strategic thinkers in New Delhi and Washington, DC, to assess the current state of the US-India relationship and suggest a road map for the future.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'It may serve the interests of the rule of law if the Supreme Court were to appoint the UNHCR as amicus curiae in the CAA case,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Pakistan is determined to garner the peace dividends.' 'On the diplomatic front, this will be, principally, in terms of a revival of Pakistan's relations with the US,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is once again becoming a frontline State in big-power rivalry. But this time around, Pakistan stands to gain out of its geography, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
What can be more seductive to lure a populist politician than a mass rally? Modi understands Trump well like few people can, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
She was capable of a level of human compassion that is rare today among politicians, recalls Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who knew the Communist legend K R Gowri, who passed into the ages on May 11, from his childhood.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
