December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Only when India's adversaries are convinced that India has both the necessary political and military will and the hardware to respond to a nuclear strike with punitive retaliation that will inflict unacceptable loss of human life and unprecedented material damage, will they be deterred,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'We rarely choose to fight when the threat is still a nascent threat. When we do fight, we fight when the invaders reach Panipat and are preparing to knock on the gates of Delhi.'
In an online chat with readers overseas consultant NNS Chandra offered advice.
As the context of Panchsheel has changed, it is all the more essential that India and China need to reinvent and redefine Panchsheel for a new world order taking into account globalisation, and mutual economic interdependence. The new Panchsheel, in order to be relevant, needs to shed its binary approach of west verses the east recognising the seamlessness of global frontiers, which globalisation has brought in, says Rup Narayan Das.
India has the fourth highest number of malaria cases in the world.
'The fight against COVID-19 is not a hospital fight.' 'It's a community level fight. 'If your community level measures are good, you can decrease the number of people coming to hospitals, or flatten it.'
The govt hiked defence budget by 7.81 per cent over last year's Rs 2.74 lakh crore.
Though growth in China is unlikely to slow down soon, India should prepare to take advantage of a shifting of gears there.
'If Indians are as smart as their counterparts in university, and have equal opportunity, then what is the reason that we cannot produce inventions of quality that are recognised by the world?'
India has been opposing the pact as ITA will only benefit the country when its domestic manufacturing is robust.
Rediff.com present a comprehensive listing of the nuclear nations and their collective and active stockpile.
Bangladeshis are unwilling to give up peace and growing incomes for the chaos witnessed during the BNP-led four-party alliance rule, says Anand Kumar.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
In spite of irritants and hiccups in the relationship, a few deliverables are expected of the prime minister's visit to China, says Rup Narayan Das.
The results are likely to please the Indian government, which has been trying to impress on domestic and foreign investors about its efforts to improve the ease of doing business.
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US wants its trade with India to grow multi-fold, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told lawmakers.
Green vegetables contain a high amount of soluble and insoluble fiber to balance your good and bad gut bacteria.
All the three issues raised by China at the Modi-Xi meeting are either intractable or peripheral to the bilateral relations and suggest conventional methods to placate the other side without yielding much, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Special Economic Zones are likely to be central to realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Make in India agenda.
'We're paying them nothing because that's what they've done to help us. Nothing'
In most cases, the payback on energy saving projects offered by GIBSS are between one and three years.
The study surveyed 545 IT and IT security practitioners in India with an average of 8 years experience in the field, he added.
A delayed monsoon and abundant cotton in the international market could spell trouble in the state's suicide zone.
"The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. Other parties haven't tried to capture India's institutions," he said.
'If you enjoy learning and if you can risk the failures, entrepreneurship can be a rewarding, enriching experience.'
We can learn much from China with regards to making civil service recruitment more efficient, says former diplomat Kishan S Rana.
Even as Chinese troops began withdrawing from the Chumar area in Ladakh, the official media in China accused India of "instigating" incidents on the borders to divert attention during important visits of Chinese leaders.
You may no longer have to rely on international size charts.
'A veiled secret of India's defence and strategic culture is the lack of a serious interest in them by the political class. The Indian National Defence University would fill this void,' feels Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
'Nobody is going to fight India's war.' 'India has to fight its own war against the rogue State and the evil forces nurtured by it.'
'The question remains: Was the Obama visit truly a success? Only the future will tell us if the "breakthrough" in the nuclear liability issue will concretise into electricity.' 'As importantly, it will be interesting to watch how India's relations with China will evolve in the months to come.'
'Infectious disease is a given of humankind. There will always be another around the corner.'
Renowned scientist Prof C N R Rao on Saturday said the Bharat Ratna had come to him as a "complete surprise" and he could not believe that he had been awarded the country's highest civilian honour.
The 606 positive cases includes 43 foreign nationals, the ministry said. On Tuesday, the number of cases was 519.
'He is seeking to harness the power of Indian Diasporas to national (support for India in global capitals) and political (enhance the Bharatiya Janata Party's support base) ends.'
A new version of jihad is attracting "small but steady stream" of Indians to join Islamic State movement in Syria, Former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has warned.
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
