'Ashok the Great did not slaughter foreigners or Muslims when he conquered Kalinga. It was Oriya- speaking Hindus whom he butchered by the tens of thousands. But Ashok is called Great, and his lion emblem is the official symbol of the Republic of India.' 'Why do we honour Ashoka and not Tipu, when both men are accused of the same crime?' asks Aakar Patel.
Both sides will discuss the ongoing incidents of ceasefire violations at the border, the resolution of which will be given topmost priority
An invitation by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to all the Kashmiri separatist leaders "for consultations" in Delhi ahead of Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks has touched off a controversy with the Bharatiya Janata Party calling it "most unfortunate" and "old tactics".
'The Modi government has turned the basic fundamentals of its Pakistan policy on its head.' 'It means an admission that its hands-off-Hurriyat policy was flawed and it is ready to engage with Pakistan without minding if the Kashmiri separatists talked to the Pakistani government,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'The Pakistani side was so cocksure of itself that it had come to the table with a pre-set agenda -- an agenda of unilateralism, knowing full well that nothing was going to come out of these talks,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'We have never had a policy regarding Pakistani artistes working in India.' 'We welcome them with open arms and that remains the official policy of the Indian government, including the current dispensation.'
'Elected representatives have won elections in the past on the basis of money power received from the central government.' 'This fact has been highlighted by former army chief V K Singh who boasted of crores of rupees being distributed to Kashmiri politicians in order to buy their loyalty and win votes.' 'All the Kashmiri politicians have been co-opted by the Indian State,' says separatist Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
