The armed forces continue to be upset with the government over a defence ministry circular regarding rank parity vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts at the Service headquarters even though the ministry issued a statement on Thursday, saying no downgradation had been done.
'Had Sam Bahadur not dictated the timing of India's military intervention, Bangladesh would not have been created without a prolonged battle.' 'Manekshaw's strategy won the war for India in just 13 days,' says Sudhir Bisht.
'Oh what a beauty Akshay's performance is. Old-school gallantry, contemporary tone, his measured delivery is the soul of and savoir in Airlift,' says Sukanya Verma.
The recruitment of babus during the Akhilesh government's tenure allegedly favoured applicants from one community -- the Yadavs.
'Narendra Modi knows how to calculate and remain pragmatic. Take the unexpected Rafale deal - perhaps the first time a PM has considered the country's defence procurement as a priority, over the considerations of the babus... and over his own pet project 'Make in India',' says Claude Arpi.
The Delhi Cabinet on Friday decided to call a special session of Assembly to take up the Jan Lokpal Bill, which seeks life term as maximum punishment for corrupt babus, on February 16 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium instead of historic Ramlila ground as announced earlier.
'Non Resident Indians know that India's problems are the combination of many factors over the centuries, including foreign rule, lack of resources and the ever-growing population, among other things. Yet, India has achieved many things and even looks at Mars as a neighbour.'
In the looking glass world of India's governance, banning something is a good way to promote it
Defending Nagal, who has been dropped from the team for the upcoming New Zealand tie due to serious breach of discipline, and criticising AITA for publicly humiliating the player, Devvarman wrote in an open letter in the Indian Express that AITA could have dealt with the player privately.
Jaspal Bhatti's feel for the grime, the confusions, and the madness in our system was so complete that he could take on every kind of woman or man God ever gave to the institutions of India, feels Sreehari Nair.
In all the time he has spent in bank and ATM queues, these are the 10 arguments that were being thrown at him constantly by those supporting the demonetisation, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Being authoritative is one thing -- Nehru was that -- but being authoritarian is quite another -- the current prime minister is clearly one.'
'Perhaps the greatest curse that modern technology has inflicted on the people during the pujas is powerful public address systems that blare out songs which you have no option but to listen to,' says Subir Roy.
'I've always figured that it's the people who don't get laid enough, or well enough, who feel compelled to constrain and tear down anyone who looks as if they're having a good time.'
Parrikar's statement did not go down well with the protesters who said they are "disheartened".
M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant turned political commentator tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi's war is not against the opposition parties or the Congress but against the bureaucracy and the establishment.
Devendra Fadnavis -- who completes a year as Maharashtra's chief minister this weekend -- knows his rivals in the party remain hungry for power and want to seize every opportunity to pull him down, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'People don't want to watch a screaming channel if given a decent alternative.'
One can expect significant changes at India's banks in ensuing months.
'Tilting at the Government in English in front of India may make him feel like Joan of Arc, but without a feel for Bharat he will merely be Don Quixote,' says S Muraleedharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.
In the World Bank's rankings on the "Ease of Doing Business" India stands at 139 out of 189 economies surveyed in 2014; its position has in fact dropped from 131 last year.
We're behaving like frogs in warm water. We swim around untroubled, cooled by our faith in Indian liberal democracy. We are blind to the bubbles popping around us, the bubbles warning of fundamental changes, says Mihir S Sharma.
'In the last one year, it looks like there were bad things that didn't take place, and there were good things that didn't take place,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The new tax regime proposed by the Modi government may not have acceptance from all corners.
Rather than focussing on manufacturing, Indian companies need to concentrate on conceiving, designing and branding products.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered a clean-up of all central government offices. Mahesh Vijapurkar laments the pervading culture of shabbiness in government offices around the country.
Then chief minister Jyoti Basu once told an industrialist that capitalists were class enemies and he should expect no sympathy.
'A bit of marketing, a bit of positioning, and a lot of strategic thinking is required, and all this should be in aid of India's strategic intent: Becoming the third pole in a global G3 and aiming for Numero Uno,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Like Indira Gandhi, even Narendra Modi seems to be relying on directing public-sector banks through ministry of finance supported by party cadres, says Debashis Basu.
The Union government is keen to ensure financial security for unorganised sector workers
Mudra Bank will be a Rs 20,000-crore institution, which would "primarily be responsible for refinancing all micro-finance institutions.
It's not Mr Sinha's analogy (if that's what it really was) that disturbs me but the fact that it was a completely normal thing for him to say. This is the head of the country's leading investigative organisation. What kind of opinions do the ones below him hold, asks Paloma Sharma.
In all the noise surrounding the Dok La confrontation, Claude Arpi focuses on a crucial issue that has hardly been covered -- the construction of roads for the armed forces and the local population to reach the most remote border posts.
While filled with startling insights and questions, and buoyed by terrific performances throughout, Newton suffers from a lack of end-to-end clarity. It is a near-great film but one that for some reason doesn't express itself fully, feels Sreehari Nair.
'We have not seen even during Vajpayee's time what Modi and the BJP has adopted now.'
The civil services seem to have gone sour under the NDA government. Ministers exercise executive power in a partisan manner. Consequently, a regime of favouritism holds sway over the corridors of power, feels Ram Ugrah.
With the Rafale fighter deal stuck over price negotiations, can the prime minister step in and find a way out for both countries?
Pre-election campaigns -- this one particularly -- are always about personalities, never about issues. Bashing one another is the best political parties can do. Or pandering to their constituencies -- religious, caste, economic or whatever. Best to just enjoy the show without expecting any electrifying performances, feels Sherna Gandhy.
Tapeshwar Ram, has hand-pulled a rickshaw on the streets of Kolkata for 30 years. He works 7 days a week and plans to call it a day soon - and that's when he plans to take his wife for her first-ever holiday.
