"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received Bhutan's highest civilian award, the 'Order of the Druk Gyalpo', making him the first foreign Head of the Government to receive the honour.
The visitor returns not just with the jewel-like beauty of the country imprinted on the mind, the body rejuvenated by hot stone massages, but also with the captivating stories and myths that are built into every important structure -- whether a tourist magnet or an off-the-beaten track spot.
The Maha Kumbh, billed as the world's largest gathering, concluded on Wednesday after 45 days, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. Despite a stampede that killed at least 30 people, millions continued to visit the Kumbh, seeking salvation through the ritual bath. The event saw a mix of faith, tradition, and technology, drawing pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.
India had invited United States President Joe Biden to grace the occasion but he expressed inability to travel to New Delhi in January.
A list of monarchs who abdicated after 2000.
Pointing out that bilateral ties were based on shared strategic perceptions, President Pranab Mukherjee has assured Bhutan that India will continue to support capacity-building efforts in the neighbouring country.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
How does blatantly claiming Indian territory help to maintain 'peace in border regions', is a mystery that only China can explain, notes Claude Arpi.
In 2013, India had displayed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni V during the Republic Day Parade. The chief guest at that time was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday embarked on a visit to Bhutan, his first foreign destination since he took over, with a focus on making development cooperation with the neighbouring country 'more effective'.
Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, have arrived in Bhutan for the start of a two day visit to the remote mountain kingdom. The couple touched down at Paro International Airport on Thursday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for home from Bhutan, concluding his first foreign trip after assuming office last month. He was given a warm send off by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and several of his cabinet colleagues at the Paro airport.
This is the third time that a Brazilian president was the chief guest at the Republic Day. The last time a Brazilian president was the chief guest was in 2004 when Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the parade.
Bhutan firmly abides by the one-China principle meaning Taiwan and Tibet are part of China and stands ready to work with China for an early settlement of the boundary issue and advance the political process of establishing diplomatic relations, it said.
This quiet assertion of China has allowed various smaller countries of South Asia to play China off against India. Most states in the region now use the China card to balance against the predominance of India. Forced to exist between their two giant neighbours, the smaller states have responded with a careful balancing act, says Harsh V Pant.
We take a look at what other brides wore to their royal weddings.
Vajpayee's ashes will be immersed in rivers in all the districts in Uttar Pradesh -- his karmabhoomi.
The visit by Gen Rawat, Ajit Doval and Vijay Gokhale was the first such high-level trip from India to Bhutan after the Doklam standoff.
'Its aim is to force the Bhutanese government to cede territory that China wants elsewhere in Bhutan to give Beijing a military advantage in its struggle with New Delhi.'
The recent withdrawal of subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene to Bhutan, since revived, has raised the hackles in China, with a state-run daily saying India will not allow Bhutan to freely engage with it.
Three weeks after taking over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Bhutan on Sunday on his first foreign visit to demonstrate the "special token of friendship" for the country.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan will showcase India's hospitality at its very best when the doors of its gleaming new guest wing are thrown open on Monday for foreign dignitaries after it remained unused for over two decades.
Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cortege left the Bharatiya Janata Party's headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
The new PM would be more than unwise to attempt steering away from India into an all-encompassing Chinese embrace that would ultimately swamp Bhutanese identity, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
How much money the Modi government has already spent and is going to spend on all those foreign trips, muses Sunita Iyer
Dr Pinakin Shah visited the Land of the Thunder Dragon and returned mesmerized.
