'He still has to deal with party norms and traditions and has been careful to follow the order of seniority,' points out Claude Arpi.
'Vajpayee was the first prime minister to visit the battlefield at the height of conflict,' recalls Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Chinese Communist Party's all important 19th Party Congress is just months away, and President Xi Jinping finds himself confronting unlikely challenges to his pre-eminent position, says former RA&W officer and China watcher Jayadeva Ranade.
The hike in the budget is the lowest increment in recent years apparently due to the heavy disruption caused to its economy by the COVID-19, according to the official media.
Apart from meeting members of the Royal Family, US President Trump is expected to discuss climate change and Chinese technology firm Huawei during his talks with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday.
We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
'Shastri told General Chaudhuri, 'I want to reach Lahore before they enter Kashmir'.' 'Today, many regard this initiative of Shastri as the first surgical strike.' A revealing excerpt from Dr Sandeep Shastri's Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics And Beyond.
'The men in black suits and hair dye in Beijing have not only completely blown the cover story of "peaceful rise," but have managed to antagonise regional powers in the Indo-Pacific.'
World No. 3 Sindhu beat World No 8 Chen, 21-15, 21-18 in a 58-minute contest at the Sheikh Hamdan Indoor Stadium in Dubai.
In bilateral interfaces relations with China have also to be given due weight, opines Premvir Das
Very few today realise that without Brigadier John Dalvi's courage, we would never have known what really happened during those tragic days of October/November 1962, reveals Claude Arpi.
Multinational search teams were racing against time to locate the black box of the crashed airliner, as Malaysia revised the account of the critical final communication received from the jet.
'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
'Bolstering India's conventional military capability against China is in America's strategic interest,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
China is distributing millions of controversial updated maps to its military in the first upgrade in 30 years, reportedly reinforcing its claims over Arunachal Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure the top rank in handling domestic and international affairs in a global survey conducted by a Chinese firm.
JD-U sources conceded that the BJP's "Bihari martyrdom" line will give the coalition an edge or "at least help us combat anti-incumbency if the Opposition makes an issue of Nitish's governance".
The White Tiger makes a stinging commentary on New India's half-baked vision, but Ramin Bahrani isn't telling a Slumdog fairy tale here, observes Sukanya Verma.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China needs closer scrutiny, says Rup Narayan Das.
While we have to hiss loudly and do the lunging bit to keep our foes on their toes, that's only a tactical matter. What is the strategic goal? What is the end game? In my opinion, there is only one possible end game: the unwinding of Pakistan into several pieces: Balochistan, Sind, Balawaristan (Gilgit, Baltistan, the rest of PoK), the Pashtun area Khyber Pakhtunwa which will merge with Afghanistan, and the rump Punjab, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The BJP's use of nationalism was a major factor in its likely victory,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Giving economic aid to Kashmir is like giving TB medicine to a patient suffering from cancer and expecting it to work, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Another rejection of mediation between India and Pakistan will leave Mr Trump disappointed.' 'In that case, he is likely to point out the war-like situation on the border and press for direct talks which have been stalled on account of continuing terrorism from Pakistan,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Rediff.com tells you all you need to know of some of the major ships from different countries that will participate in what is being described as 'Indian Navy's biggest event'.
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
The White House said it has 'a large body' of evidence indicating that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 7 chemical attack in Duma.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Monday said it was now "highly unlikely" that any debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane will be found on the ocean surface, as he announced a more intensive underwater search
The visit and the agenda is mainly to re-emphasise the traditional connect between India and Sri Lanka, particularly in the context of Buddhism, which is a shared heritage.
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
The best available recourse to keep the defence sector healthy, is to source most of our requirement within the country so that procurement outlays under both the Revenue and Capital heads flow within the country, recommends says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The search for the crashed Malaysian jet on Friday dramatically shifted to a new area 1,100 km further northeast in the Indian Ocean after authorities received "the most credible lead" of radar data suggesting the plane flew faster and ran out of fuel more quickly than estimated.
He blamed policies of the Congress-led governments for the Kashmir issue remaining unresolved.
'What has changed is the desperation of Pakistan proxies and the separatists in their failure to foment violence and civilian casualties in Kashmir.'
'With two nuclear neighbours, how likely is it for our armed forces to battle in a contaminated environment that could include nuclear, biological or chemical attacks by the adversary?' 'Are we prepared for the threat?' Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) explains the meaning and significance of Operation Vijay Prahar.
'If Myanmar falls to China, let it.' 'Sooner or later the rulers of the country will have to call New Delhi.'
'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.'
A UNSC designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances