The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The government of India was suspected of using proxy agents to provide "clandestine financial support" to candidates from three political parties in a federal election, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, has sharply criticized Pakistan, calling it the "global epicenter of terrorism" and accusing it of providing state support to cross-border terrorism. Harish's remarks came in response to Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Ishaq Dar's comments on Jammu and Kashmir during a UN Security Council meeting. India highlighted that Pakistan harbors over 20 UN-listed terrorist entities and has a history of supporting groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat Ul Mujahidin. India also emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that Pakistan's misinformation campaign does not change the reality on the ground.
It is also the first time that TRF has been mentioned in any UN document. This marks the first mention of the LeT and any other Pakistan-based terror group in the report since 2019.
"Its time for India to lift these restrictions and afford Kashmiris the same rights and privileges as any other Indian citizen," it said.
The Odisha government is working to secure copyright for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions, following concerns over untimely celebrations by ISKCON and the declaration of a temple in Digha as 'Jagannath Dham'.
The Kanimozhi Karunanidhi-led delegation is visiting five European nations to garner support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism.
Waltz after being elected as the Co-Chair of India Caucus in January last year had said that India is the world's largest democracy and an important strategic partner for the United States.
The MEA said that Pakistan had been stonewalling India's requests for a government-to-government negotiation over the treaty due to changes in the ground situation since it was signed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks focusing on economic ties and global stability amid trade tensions and the aftermath of the Ladakh border row.
The founder of KIIT, Achyuta Samanta, and other top officials of the private engineering college were questioned by a government committee about the alleged suicide of a Nepalese girl in her hostel and the assault on students of her country. The incident sparked outrage in the Odisha Assembly, with opposition members demanding a judicial inquiry. Samanta was questioned for two hours, along with the institute's Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Dean, and two suspended women officials. The committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the student's suicide, the alleged high-handedness of the institute's administration, and the decision to suspend specific students and shut down the institute for them. The Odisha government has assured Nepalese students that it will cover their travel expenses, arrange remedial classes, and reschedule their mid-semester examinations if necessary.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Monday met with the leaders of several countries and highlighted India's resolve to combat terrorism, which they stressed must be eradicated in the interests of all humanity.
A UN Security Council report states that The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack and published a photograph of the attack site. The report also cites assertions that the attack could not have happened without the support of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
Pakistan's record on terrorism is "very clear" and the Pahalgam attack is only the recent example of cross-border terrorism, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
India briefed envoys of the US, UK, France, China, Russia, Germany and several other countries on the Pahalgam terror attack and its link to cross-border terrorism. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri apprised the diplomats about various aspects of the dastardly terror attack on innocent civilians and India's firm policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism. The briefing was held a day after India announced a raft of measures against Pakistan including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post. The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmed up the punitive measures against Pakistan in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. Diplomats of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Norway, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia were also part of the briefing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish terrorists behind the strike and said India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A delegation of a Meitei civil society group from Manipur has conveyed its concerns to the Centre over an incident where the state's name written on a bus windshield was covered with white paper. The group, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), expressed its commitment to peace and its willingness to cooperate in efforts to restore normalcy. They also raised concerns over the growing threats posed by narco-terrorism, cross border illegal immigration, and widespread illegal opium cultivation in the state.
Dr Jaishankar, right, appears to look away from Wang Yi, second from right, at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, July 14, 2023.
The announcement for the QUAD Caucus came from Congressman Ami Bera, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, Congressman Rob Wittman, and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Pete Ricketts, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
'I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains'
The government nominated Tharoor, who serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, to lead one of the seven multi-party delegations abroad for putting across India's stand against Pakistan for supporting terrorism.
Tharoor said that though India's case might not be at the top of the agenda for the US media, India can get its message across easily.
If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'As Prime Minister Modi said, our ties are no longer just another partnership. It is a far greater and closer relationship'
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
Abuse of power, financial misconduct, and the never-ending turf wars are now coming to light as Boxing Federation of India's officials jostle to escape blame for the shocking turn of events.
Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly agreed to consider lifting parts of a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a vote on Sunday in Budapest.
Led by Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney from New York, lawmakers on Wednesday announced that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to declare Diwali, festival of lights, a federal holiday.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
e of them requires MPs to follow the norms including the Code of Ethics, which mandates them not to take gifts that may interfere with honest and impartial discharge of their official duties.
The Congress leaders maintained that Indian defence forces had attained complete superiority and dominance over Pakistan before the sudden "ceasefire" was announced by US President Donald Trump.
A group of top United States lawmakers have urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to release Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who allegedly helped to track down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
An Indian journalist, who testified before a United States committee discussing human rights situation in Kashmir, said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been completely overlooked by the world press for the past 30 years, evoking a sharp reaction from a US Congresswoman who questioned her objectivity while reporting.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
The Sri Lanka deputy high commissioner's office in Chennai is coordinating the efforts, it added.
Government representatives told a parliamentary panel that the US has not officially conveyed to India that it should cut tariffs by April 2.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
