'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
It is time the government cast its net wide for seeking expert advice on managing the Indian economy and formed a group to help it navigate the difficult days ahead, advises A K Bhattacharya.
'Sounds familiar? Barring inflation, much else looks, sounds, and feels more than a bit like 1974.' 'A phenomenally popular leader, with a party of unquestioning followers, a broken Opposition, a nationalist high and an economy in free fall, crippling joblessness,' recalls Shekhar Gupta.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was in element at the Gateway of India.
'While high-level interventions may help smoothen inter-State relationships, they cannot fundamentally change the alchemy of such relationships, which are firmly rooted in mutual benefits and mutual interests,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The BJP ignored the principle of the Cabinet's joint responsibility and the adage of the buck stopping at the top, observes Amulya Ganguli.
The Modi government caved in under American pressure without even token resistance. Two countries similarly placed as India with high dependence on Iranian oil -- China and Turkey -- have shown the grit to stand up to Washington, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Chief Minister Rio is holding the Naga Peace Accord hostage with his tacit support to the NSCN-IM, egging them to refuse to accept a solution within the Constitution.'
The BJP's top leadership will drop its MPs found to be facing anti-incumbency, according to its internal surveys -- a pivotal tactic to ensure the party achieves its target of winning 370 seats.
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
'With each ED, CBI raid on us the BJP thinks we will soften down.' 'But every such raid has strengthened the resolve of Shiv Sena leaders.'
Mihir S Sharma gives us a rundown of what could happen, depending on the number.
'The brutal violence of the UP government's first response to the anti-CAA protests suggests that the BJP will test drive the NPR/NRC in UP, where it has both a massive majority in the assembly and a chief minister whose instinct for Hindutva extremism and whose appetite for punitive policing allows a prime minister as darkly majoritarian as Modi to appear statesman-like,' notes Mukul Kesavan.
'Rahul is only making a pathetic public spectacle of his lack of judgment and good sense by hallucinating that somehow, the Congress, or whatever political combine is cobbled together, will displace the BJP at the coming Lok Sabha election by constantly harping on the Rafale deal,' argues retired civil servant B S Raghavan.
'Modi should have trust in us and the minorities should also have trust in him.'
'If they are not, then the Modi government should order a JPC immediately.'
'I don't buy the theory that if the BJP gets less than 220 seats or 200 seats, there will be a change in leadership.'
'The suppression is mounting and people may react.'
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and China's President Xi Jinping expressed their concerns about the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the SCO summit in Samarkhand, the tyrant of the Kremlin has raised the military stakes in the conflict.
'Modi's interview style is distinct, and alas one that is increasingly being followed by others as well, notably by the man who is out to challenge him, Rahul Gandhi.' 'This may appear aggressive and combative to readers and viewers, but the fact is that sometimes it becomes unclear as to who is interviewing who,' discovers Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Bharat is the core value that has to be lived by and if you deny it, then the people will discard you.'
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
Rahul Gandhi was stunned on hearing the senior leader's angry outburst, but soon relented and asked Mukul Wasnik to announce Karthi's name from Sivaganga.
Modi needs to get his act straight and get it straight soon. Five years down the line, Modi may continue to have support from his ardent supporters, but for the masses he would lose the plot on his sudden inability to tell a good story. After all in the end, all that matters is a good story. Even if the man is remarkable and the story simple, it is always a good story that leaves a lasting impression.
'To them, the day may not be far off when the state BJP starts claiming and propagating that Modi is next only to AIADMK's late boss Jayalalithaa,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
On his first visit to Srinagar post the abrogation of Article 370, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that incidents of terrorism have declined and stone-throwing incidents too have ended in Jammu-Kashmir.
J P Nadda is a man to watch in the BJP.
Murli Manohar Joshi makes a rare public appearance.
For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
'Modi is imposing himself as the face of Gujarat to send a message that people should not forget that a Gujarati is prime minister.'
'An important dimension that shone through was the enormous pride in India, a general belief that as Indians we are starting to count globally and we are at the forefront of the world.'
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
What were our political leaders up to on the weekend?
'It disappoints and saddens me no end that Mahua has allowed herself to be carried away by the Goebbelsian onslaught mounted on the BJP and Narendra Modi by certain vested interests which find themselves exposed and thrown out of the gravy train,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
