'An elephant has to behave like an elephant and not shy away from confronting the jackals,' argues Colonel (Dr) Anil A Athale.
A new report says Indian jihadis, including the Indian Mujahideen, are significantly more lethal as a result of external support, primarily from Pakistan. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Strongly opposing Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan's suggestion on the deployment of armed forces in Kashmir with the consent of the people, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday hit out at his party for taking a "weak" stand on issues of national security.
'It is ironic that General Rawat, an infantry officer who the government chose because of his expertise in counter-insurgency, has made his first bold statement in the realm of warfighting and mechanised operations,' points out Colonel Ajai Shukla (retd).
'Pakistan may feel emboldened to give an upswing to the proxy war in J&K, having secured a better international consensus on its strategic importance.' 'The raising of Pakistani flags by separatists in J&K is an attempt to win psychological space and more of this can be expected as we go into the summer.' 'Pakistan should remain warned that pushing India on this issue will be dangerous.'
'The situation in the country is very scary.' 'There is an increasing attack on the Constitutional democratic rights of our people.'
United States President Barack Obama will convene a meeting of the UN Security Council next month on the threat posed by foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, the White House has said, amidst reports that another American jihadi has died in Syria fighting for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
India needs to consider whether the Donald Trump administration can actually deliver, observes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
An influential Hindu organisation in the United States has slammed a group of lawmakers for introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on record of India's religious freedom arguing that it is grossly inaccurate and aims to provoke.
The shooting took place at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
'The real challenge cannot be underestimated considering that this is still very much a "boutique relationship" -- a transactional relationship at its core based on its utility value to both countries -- but enveloped in an aura of romance,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The Modi government's pusillanimity vis-a-vis Pakistan makes almost certain that India will, in the coming weeks and months, be confronted with cross border terrorist actions of increasing intensity,' warns Satish Chandra, former deputy national security adviser.
Terrorism, Kashmir and funding of non-profit organsinations dominate Home Minister Rajnath Singh's first IB briefing. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A classic example of a leader who has chosen to risk everything for his vision.
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
In related findings for India, the FATF in a report brought out last month, chronicled the use of banking channels to fund the activities of the banned terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
'If you put colour-coded internal security maps of India in May 2014 and now, the picture won't be flattering to Modi.' 'Failures on internal security are now piling up and can break Modi's momentum,' says Shekhar Gupta.
With ambitious generals knowing that political patronage might be rewarded, a worrying era of politicisation of the military looms ahead, observes retired Colonel Ajai Shukla who has known Generals Rawat, Bakshi and Hariz for a long time.
The next big destination for IS in South Asia could be India. In India, the SIMI-IM network can provide the logistics for an IS staging area, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The question really is whether the US can be persuaded to embark on a path of calibrated and stronger sanctions on Pakistan.
'We could crack IM modules in the country because one arrested member would spill beans on the other.' 'With ISIS, every module is different and is possibly being handled by different operators abroad.'
'Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be able to continue political engagement with Pakistan against the inevitable upsurge of negative and hostile public sentiment?'
Two suspected operatives of Al Qaeda have been arrested in New Delhi and Odisha and Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a module of the terror group's Indian sub-continent wing operating out of the country.
That it's the day his daughter was brutalised, raped and died as a result of her horrific injuries does not weigh heavily on Badrinath Singh. 'We remember her every single day. In fact, we try not to think of her today, of what happened to her today,' he says.
'It is strange that a country like India, which had gone through crisis after crisis resulting from militancy, insurgency and terrorist attacks, should still be practising ad hocism in managing its security imperatives,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and former member of the Joint Intelligence Council.
'The government has sent a clear message to Pakistan: It is no longer business as usual.' 'The rules of the game have changed and a new game is at play,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The rise in India's relative attractions lie in the precipitous decline in safety of the more popular destinations, notes Kanika Datta.
'NSA Doval and the PM are known to admire Israel's tough response to cross-border terrorism.' 'However, New Delhi's situation is far more complex than Tel Aviv's, which enjoys military superiority over all its neighbours,' says Ajai Shukla.
'For every act of terrorism on Indian territory for which there is credible evidence pointing to the Pakistan army and the ISI's involvement, carefully calibrated military strikes must be launched against the Pakistan army,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
'His secretary of defence nominee, General James Mattis, says he expects Pakistan to take action against terrorists operating from its soil.' 'Any pressure the US can bring on the Pakistani regime terror-wise would pay dividends for India.'
Bangladesh on Monday banned an Islamist militant outfit that is believed to be behind the gruesome hacking deaths of three secular bloggers.
The Sheikh Hasina-Narendra Modi summit put India-Bangladesh ties on a firmer pitch. Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) takes stock.
'Imagine a scenario where a terror strike by Pakistan-supported jihadis causes thousands of deaths in India. India in retaliation destroys terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.' 'There is a clamour for revenge in Pakistan and that country begins to fuel its missiles for a nuclear strike against India and that is detected by Indian satellites.' 'No sane government in India will then wait for the nuclear bombs to fall on Delhi before launching its own strike. To be effective, this may well involve nuclear weapons.' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) says the change in the 'No First Use' pledge in the BJP manifesto is long overdue.
Nearly 30 IM members are an active part of the terror group behind the suicide attack at Wagah, which is worrying Indian security agencies.
Everything about ISIS had indicated that this would be a violent Ramzan. A violent, divisive Ramzan sends out exactly the message that ISIS wants to send to religious Muslims outside its folds: It plays on their faith and fears, says writer Tabish Khair.
During last week's Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama asked the media to leave and then screened videos depicting plausible scenarios pertaining to nuclear terrorism.
Soldiers fighting the enemy will receive state-of-the-art assault rifles, other soldiers will get 'Make in India' rifles.
Much of the pre-2014 peace in our hotspots is diminished. Kashmir is on the boil and the Northeast is anarchic, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Do the students who chanted pro-separatist slogans and their teachers/supporters want the army to withdraw from Kashmir or not fight the terrorists?
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