'... to Imran Khan, that there's not going to be any mediation of any meaningful sort given his (Modi's) special relationship with Trump.'
One looks upon the coming new year with foreboding as current wars in Ukraine and Gaza spill over and escalate and new ones erupt in incipient fault lines across the world, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
PM Modi's pinstriped suit monogrammed is the star attraction at an auction.
'Modi is imposing himself as the face of Gujarat to send a message that people should not forget that a Gujarati is prime minister.'
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We don't trust the prime minister's words on repealing the laws because he had promised us that he will implement the Swaminathan Commission report, but he never did.'
Far more important than governance is to ensure how different states get necessary representation a'The pressure to expand the council of ministers will come from states where the BJP has formed a government after ousting the Congress,' predicts A K Bhattacharya.
India laid out the red carpet and accorded a ceremonial reception for one of this country's most valued allies, Sheikh Hasina
'In 2014, he was a relatively unknown quantity, and benefited from the apparent difference that he brought to national politics.'
'Life has been full of rewards, full of sadness.'
'Like in cricket, M S Dhoni was the captain and Virat Kohli played under him.' 'Then Dhoni played under Kohli.' 'Now imagine, having a second switch.' 'That is the analogy here, and I find no other example in Indian politics, or even world politics.'
The BJP's rediscovery of its allies, including the PM touching the feet of Parakash Singh Badal, would be interpreted as the party's efforts to keep its flock together if it falls short of the majority mark on May 23.
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
As the nation heads into a crucial election, we ask you, dear Rediff.com readers, what you think of the government's performance so far, and if it will be re-elected for another term.
The story of India's prime ministers from 1947, told in photographs.
There is no word from the family so far on where will the ashes be immersed.
Ever since he won a second term in office last month, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath -- whose stern face rarely betrayed a smile during his first term -- seems to be more relaxed these days.
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'A unified Hindu votebank -- the creation of the largest and most reliable votebank in Indian politics, ever,' says Mihir S Sharma.
A week from now, October 20, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi will host Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Interestingly, in his entire remarks, Modi never once mentioned regional security, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar points out.
In his capacity as India's First Citizen, the President owns the shares of several public sector enterprises held by the government.
This 14-year-old schoolboy's invention can save lives.
Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off, observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi spent Friday in the company of United States President Joe Biden, first at their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, then at the QUAD Summit.
With an unexpected new turn in Kashmir, an ominous Afghanistan, a reliably unpredictable Trump, and an unfathomable reversal with RCEP, Modi may have to reinvent his character, suggests Ambassador B S Prakash.
'We are seeing an era where only what Modi wishes is going to happen.' 'A clear message has now been sent to others that if this fate could befall on Nitin Gadkari, then just think what could happen to lesser mortals.'
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
This is not an election Budget in the sense that I might target the voter in the coming elections. But if you look beyond this round of state elections, and tilt the periscope to graze at the more distant horizon, see how the Narendra Modi government wishes things looking by the summer of 2024, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The last three phases, the Trinamool gained more than expected due to Covid mismanagement by the Centre.'
'As his party's Supreme Leader, Modi has led India down the wrong road by insisting on friendship with China even as its soldiers went about claiming territory,' argues Harishchandra Dighe.
'You can't make the poor rich overnight.' 'Nor can you fly millions in planes.' 'But remember that word: Empathy.' 'Who in the BJP is speaking in that language to these millions?' 'Someone putting an arm of understanding, warmth, comfort around them?', asks Shekhar Gupta.
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.
It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
There is buzz that the PM, confident of an election victory, will introduce 25 new ministers.
'When Priyankaji's candidature wasn't announced, where is the question of her backing out?'
Yes, India needs desperate measures to kick-start growth. But selling off its lungs to the highest bidder to hack away cannot be the way out, says Sumit Bhattacharya.
On Monday, December 20, Congress MPs produced a telling placard in the Lok Sabha revealing how many days Modi has attended Parliament's winter session.
