The Supreme Court's directives embody an inclusive package that can play an instrumental role in transforming the police. First by following the directives, and then persuading Congress-ruled states to follow suit, the Union government must set the ball rolling on police reforms, says Devyani Srivastava.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
India's demand for dropping of all charges against its former Deputy Consular General in New York Devyani Khobragade will come for discussion during the proposed Indo-US dialogue to resolve the issues arising out of her arrest in the US, the government said on Thursday.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today met his United States counterpart John Kerry in Montreux for the first time after a row over the arrest of an Indian diplomat as they committed to move forward bilateral ties and return to close partnerships on strategic issues.
'The CIA would not need to engage a maid who has no access to any information. They can buy a politician in India for much lesser cost and have more access to information. Trust me, that happens,' Amar Bhushan, former head of R&AW's counter-espionage section, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
An excerpt from Fitness Secrets of the Stars.
A group of community leaders met Dr Devyani Khobragade on Monday at the Indian consulate in New York and offered the support of the people.
Protestors outside the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, California, tell Rediff.com's Ritu Jha that they are outraged because nobody is speaking for the rights of Sangeeta Richard, the former domestic help of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade
The United States has said that in-person registration of domestic workers of foreign diplomats would be mandatory, an apparent fallout of the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade over alleged misrepresentation of the salary paid to her maid.
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Victims decry Ministry of External Affairs' 'vengeful' decision to stop them from leaving the country if they have a 'T' visa (Trafficking category) affixed on their passports. George Joseph/Rediff.com reports
The US has said that it was committed to work with India to help it get back the Category 1 aviation safety rating "as soon as possible", a day after Washington downgraded India's ranking, bringing it below Pakistan and at par with countries like Ghana and Bangladesh.
A diplomatic passport does not necessarily give one diplomatic immunity, pointed out New York-based attorney Anand Ahuja, while commenting on the arrest -- and subsequent release -- of Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York on Thursday.
Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Obama administration, has strongly asserted that India's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine and Moscow's annexation of Crimea should not be conflated with the row over diplomat Devyani Khobragade.
'When all the facts are known, if they ever are, it will likely turn out that both Ms Khobragade and Ms Richard might have been at fault and so too might both governments be faulted, the US for a needlessly aggressive approach in the first place and India for its ham-handed response in the early stages of the affair,' says Rupa Subramanya.
No theory would ever justify the public humiliation of the acting head of the consulate of a friendly country. Whatever be the eventual solution, grievous damage has been done to her personally and to the relations between the two countries, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The United States has voiced hope that the ongoing crisis with India over the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in December will come to a closure and expressed its wish to get back to business and take bilateral ties forward.
'While the Khobragade affair has "upset and diverted attention, it does not mean there is a fundamental flaw in the US-India relationship",' former American envoy Frank Wisner tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
Against the backdrop of the arrest and humiliating treatment meted out to a senior Indian diplomat, a former Pakistani diplomat to the United States has cautioned the American law enforcers to be sensitive towards the global realities on how they treat foreign diplomats in the country.
Former US Ambassador to India David Mulford, who served for five years in Delhi during the George W Bush administration, has sated that Washington should apologised publicly for the way former New York Indian Consul General Devyani Khobragade was strip and cavity searched last December following her arrest for alleged exploitation of her maid.
'The success or otherwise of Modi's foreign policy will largely depend on the equation he is likely to strike with Donald Trump.'
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's worldview sets him apart
In a significant departure from tradition, the United States has decided to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi by working out a "special gesture date" around the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly meeting that is scheduled to take place on September 26 in New York.
The perfunctory management of external affairs has left India's foreign policy establishment largely unprepared to manage the consequences of dramatic international developments, says Nitin Pai.
Expressing his disappointment with the media over its coverage of the death of Sunanda Pushkar, the External Affairs Minister said the media should set the bar higher for itself and not stoop to such levels. Sanchari Bhattacharya reports.
Is Devyani Khobragade's arrest connected to India detaining an anti-piracy ship owned by a US security firm, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Workers' outfits staged a rally outside the Indian Consulate in New York to show support for Sangeeta Richard, whose allegations of low wages and exploitation led to the Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade. George Joseph reports
Inspections only in domestic authorities' presence, visiting US drug regulator told
"I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life," Bharara tweeted from his personal verified Twitter account, making a reference to his jurisdiction the Southern District of New York.
Margaret A Hamburg, the first commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to visit India officially, will meet heads of major domestic pharma companies such as Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, Cadila Healthcare and Lupin in New Delhi.
With senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade's strip search triggering a major row between India and the United States, the invasive post-arrest procedure is again in the limelight over a year after America's top court ruled in its favour.
Ambitious diplomats continue to be attracted to politics but do they make good politicians, asks Jyoti Malhotra
The two governments have already set a target of increasing bilateral trade in goods and services to $500 billion.
Describing America as India's "vital partner", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday embarked on his first visit to the US confident that his five-day trip will mark a "new chapter" in bilateral strategic ties.
There was no breakthrough in US Secretary of State John F Kerry's India visit, but no breakdown either, says C Uday Bhaskar.
'Crafting a coherent, transparent and consistent policy vis-a-vis our neighbours, leave alone the rest of the world, is unlikely to be high on the priority list of the new Indian government, which will be sworn in before June,' says Ramananda Sengupta.
Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar told Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that it was "a very nice meeting and President Barack Obama was extremely cordial."
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To no one's surprise, the first question directed at Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar -- at the end of his first public address since he assumed his duties in December -- was about the controversial Devyani Khobragade episode.
The major driver of Mod's foreign policy can be gauged from his economic priorities such as creating employment opportunities for the youth bulge. Related to this is emphasis on manufacturing, and infrastructure development, which in turn raises the issue of FDI. He has already articulated his views on all these issues, says Rup Narayan Das.
'Just how strong were the ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies that an incident involving a diplomat and a maid led to anger threatening the relationship itself? Or had the relationship been weakening in the past few years, masked by the empty symbolism of State dinners, asks Devesh Kapur.
Ashley J Tellis, a leading authority on Indo-US relations, tells Archis Mohan in an emailed interview that it is time Washington and New Delhi agreed on the contours of their 'strategic partnership', and that India's elite could learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in how he has put India's interests first and his own sentiments about the Americans second.
