Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 72nd Republic Day.
'It could have moved from the use of small arms to artillery fire.' 'Anything could have happened like what happens on the LoC.'
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
'Our strategy should be to 'hold the line' in the north on the Sino-Indian land frontier, but maintain and, if possible, enlarge India's current edge in the maritime south.'
'Open conflict would be a disaster for both China and India.'
'One must remember that a dragon has a forked tongue,' warns Vivek Gumaste.
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
When China protested strongly over the August decision on J&K -- not once but twice -- we ignored it. And to compound matters, we simply turned our back and walked over to the 'Quad' alliance with the US, upgrading it to ministerial level, and thereafter began following the American footfalls on Taiwan and COVID-19 to taunt and humiliate Beijing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
