Gianiji had crafted his moves with the meticulous planning of a chess grandmaster. He did not know whether a checkmate was feasible, as his time was running out, but he wanted Rajiv Gandhi to smell the fear of loss. A fascinating excerpt from K C Singh's The Indian President: An Insider's Account of the Zail Singh Years.
Sandeep Pandey salutes women who have contributed to social transformation in India after 1980.
In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
Dubbing the next election a choice between governance and development on one side and chaos on the other, the prime minister cited the example of Karnataka, where the Congress-Janata Dal(Secular) alliance 'stole the mandate' to form government with 'development taking a back seat'.
Why does the army remain embroiled in counter-insurgency, denying itself a peace dividend even after expending blood and treasure in imposing calm?
Because of the treaty, no big dams or power projects can be built by India on Jhelum, Indus or Chenab.
Brahmastra is a work of star-struck ambition and high-octane energy whose razzle-dazzle hits many happy notes, observes Sukanya Verma.
'Since each chief single-mindedly pursues his service's interests in the competition for turf and in core matters such as budget share. The CDS, therefore, must act as an "honest broker" whose decisions serve the broader national purpose, rather than narrow service interests,' says Ajai Shukla.
The roots of the problem lies in the alienation of the tribals. Extreme sensitivity is required to tackle the issues involved. Rough and ready methods of using force may prove counterproductive in the long run, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
Apart from Kerala, the northeast perhaps is the only region where Congress can expect a decent win in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. K G Suresh looks at what the elections hold for the northeast.
'When you start delving deeper into these disappearances, you have to face the question: Was it a policy at the State level?' 'It surely couldn't have been random officers acting on their own.' 'Was it planned? What does it mean if the State allows its police to become lawless and act with impunity?' 'Perhaps the NHRC, for the 21 years that it has been seized of the matter, avoided these questions.'
"I want to tell India that war is not a solution to any problem. The winner in war is also a loser. War gives birth to host of other issues," said the Pakistani prime minister.
5 states that contribute just under a fifth of the Lok Sabha's seats will go to the polls early this year.
'It is purely based on real-time hard intelligence.' 'Timing is important. When you are attacking at 3.30 am, then everybody will be in the academy of terrorists.' 'If you attack at 10 am then someone will be out, so timing is very important.' 'Therefore, 3.30 am is the time when every terrorist is sleeping.'
'Counter-insurgency operations cannot be conducted by following inflexible SOPs.' 'It is unwise to enter jungles with a large body of troops without precise intelligence,' asserts counter-insurgency expert Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Not everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is optimistic about the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartaiya Janata Party. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com spoke to Kashmiri pandit organisations to find out how they view the new coalition politics in the valley.
The law, which dilutes the Indian capital's autonomy and emasculates the elected local government's powers, will be a political millstone for the party for the next elections, reports Aditi Phadnis
The two countries also asked all nations to stop cross-border movement of terrorists and asserted that a decisive collective response from the international community without 'double standards and selectivity' was required to combat the threat of terrorism.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The stage on which the Jammu and Kashmir flood disaster played out is littered with protagonists, most of whom did not receive the attention they deserve, says Ajai Shukla
Kashmir's youth are being radicalised. The once-alienated separatists are ready to return to their old haunting ground. The ruling PDP-BJP coalition finds itself on the defensive over almost every issue of governance.
The woman whose lone fight against the establishment all these long years has only the state machinery to keep her safe from the public whose cause she championed all this while.
To expect that these past decades of grief, inter-group killings, anxiety and fear will be brushed aside because of the Naga peace accord is being unrealistic. Memories are built on old wounds and they heal slowly. So, it is important to be cautiously optimistic, says Sanjoy Hazarika.
'It is time India thought big not only about its global clout politically and diplomatically, but also act its size against pin-pricking by anti national elements,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
There is no better way to address the security threat emanating from ISIS and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan than by co-opting the Taliban, asserts 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.
With the removal of Singh's SPG cover, the top notch security cover will now be given only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Gandhi family -- Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children, Rahul and Priyanka.
"When the people of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) talk of Article 370, they talk of technical integration. We have to make them understand that we also want that Jammu and Kashmir should fully integrate with India emotionally," she said.
'The Chinese media was beside itself with rage that how can a country with one-fifth of its economic power and maybe one-third of its military power stand up to them.'
Major General Sujan Singh Uban, a legendary veteran of the Second World War, was a natural choice to raise, train and command the Special Frontier Force and mould them into a well oiled fighting machine, recalls his son Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd), who led SFF troops during the Kargil War.
The Assam-Mizoram violence is an outcome of BJP trying too hard to 'integrate' distinct northeastern states, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Irom Sharmila's decision to end her 16-year-old fast against the AFSPA continues to be hotly debated and contested in Imphal.
'I feel that any terror strike at this juncture is not on the cards.' 'The reaction would most likely be military in nature and possibly using their special forces or attack helicopters,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd), who spent four years at our embassy in Islamabad.
Tubes gone, Irom Sharmila the brand is dead. As long as she was trying to kill herself, she had value to the cynics trying to build their careers over her fast, says Shekhar Gupta.
'The Kashmiri wants freedom, the dignity that comes from it and the intellectual versatility that flows from the combination of the two,' says political historian Siddiq Wahid.
The Centre also justified the abrogation of Article 35A of the Constitution which "enabled the then State to make laws giving special rights and privileges to permanent residents, while imposing restrictions upon others".
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
A Delhi court Monday awarded death penalty to Ariz Khan for the murder of decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in connection with the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case, saying the offence fell under the 'rarest of the rare category' warranting the maximum sentence.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
