Plus there's Javed Akhtar and Shatrughan Sinha.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for Kailash Mansarovar yatra in Tibetan Autonomous Region of China through a new route via Nathu La pass.
'The Himalayan people may not represent a large or politically influential section of the population, but India's security depends on them.' 'Let us hope Sikkim remains a beacon of stability,' says Claude Arpi after a recent visit to the picturesque north eastern state.
'I'm 79 + now, and I've been doing all this since my late 20s.' 'Sometimes the ideological war extends to the home as well.' 'Many nights I couldn't sleep when someone close to me uttered the smallest insult.' 'It would cause me a lot of pain. But one has to be honest to oneself.'
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Ten days later, with the Indian Army in full control of the area where the incident took place, New Delhi has signalled a face-saver for Beijing.
work on the proposed custom station in the Chumthang belt, the gateway to Chinese Tibet, has already begun, says the Daily Times.
India's ambassador to China is on a rare visit to Tibet to make preparations for the opening of a new route through Sikkim for Indian pilgrims to travel to the holy site of Kailash-Manasarovar which was agreed during last month's visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.
The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra began on Friday as the first batch of 58 pilgrims was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat from Almora.
On the shopping list: Light tanks, anti-tank guided missiles, UAVs, assault rifles, fighter aircraft.
China has not limited the 'battle' to the diplomatic field alone; the People's Liberation Army has become aggressive on the ground too. The recent 'fights' in Northern Sikkim and Ladakh are part of the pattern, asserts Claude Arpi.
The yatra will continue for the next four months.
Claude Arpi salutes Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, India's most decorated general, who passed into the ages recently.
Both India and China should respect each other and resolve issues through dialogues and join hands together for peace and prosperity, Sitharaman said.
The Global Times, in an editorial, titled 'Sitharaman greeting sends warm signal', said that the Indian defence minister's traditional 'namaste' greetings to the Chinese soldiers conveyed her hope for peace along the border and "unwillingness to see a new stand-off," adding that this was an attitude of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre.
'The choice of Dhoka La for the intrusion by Chinese troops is significant and suggests a twin objective of pressuring Thimpu to allow Beijing to establish an embassy there and reinforcing Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh,' warns former RA&W officer Jayadev Ranade.
We should have anticipated it on August 5 last year, when we made the big changes in J&K. Amit Shah left nothing to chance when he told Parliament that 'we will bring back Aksai Chin even at the cost of our lives'. 'Then, there were the new maps, objections to the CPEC going through Indian territory, the weather reports.' A broad territorial status quo had existed in Ladakh-Aksai Chin since 1962. India made its intention to change this public, notes Shekhar Gupta.
It also dismissed Jaitley's remarks that India of 2017 is different from what it was in 1962, saying China too is different.
'Does the Indian army's new assertiveness risk a clash escalating into shooting and possibly skirmishes?' asks Ajai Shukla.
'They cannot use firearms.' 'They have to be restrained.' 'It is a game of patience and chess board moves.' 'It is not like India and Pakistan where bullets get fired and people get killed.'
'It is pure luck that we did not have any body bags, otherwise things could have been nasty.'
The landmark move comes days after the government approved women fighter pilots for the Indian Air Force.
This is her first visit to Beijing after she took over the office last year.
You wouldn't want to miss these unexplored, mesmerising snow hamlets in India.
'You have been surrounded from all directions, if you want the safety of your troops and your personal safety, we will give you eight hours to make up your mind to surrender.'
In heart-wrenching scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, coffins of soldiers arrived in several states for the last rites with full military honours.
The 16th round of India-China border talks will be held in Beijing on June 28 followed by the visit of Defence Minister A K Antony a week later as the two countries are set to resume top level contacts to build on the recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi.
'India in 2020 is a lot better prepared than in 1962.' 'It is no longer a pushover; and anything other than a crushing Chinese military victory will be a major loss of face for China,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan in the first of a three part column.
'Clearly, there is a wide gap between the stated intentions of China's top leadership to improve relations with India and the PLA's aggressive border management,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The reason why we don't have an escalation of war like in 1962 is because in 1962, we didn't have this connectivity.' 'Whereas today, we have lots of incentives to stay stable and connected to China even though we still have that political rivalry.'
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday
The stakes are high and it is not certain that slow-moving foreign office bureaucracies can measure up to the challenges being thrown up, says Hardeep S Puri.
BJP president Rajnath Singh has said that if the party comes to power in the next general election, its foreign policy wouldn't be much different from that of the Congress government. Aziz Haniffa in Washington
Gautam Gambhir scored the 43rd and final first-class century of his career as Delhi ensured at least three points by virtue of first innings lead against Andhra on the third day of their Group B encounter in the Ranji Trophy.
China is spending billions of dollars to improve infrastructure in Tibet and other parts of its border with India. Claude Arpi explains why New Delhi can't afford to ignore Beijing's plans.
'Often reviled, mostly ignored, sometimes venerated, he has taken it all in his stride.' 'He has stood by the nation through thick and thin,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
'He deserved to be field marshal because he carried the air force and navy with him in '71. Remember we were fighting on two fronts -- east and west. He stood out.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, February 20, irritated the Chinese government so much that it summoned the Indian ambassador to register its protest against Modi visiting a territory China claims as Southern Tibet.
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