'By beheading an Indian soldier, the Pakistan army has demonstrated its proclivity for barbaric medievalism.' 'The strategies adopted and the punishment inflicted by India must be made progressively more stringent with every new act of terrorism till the cost becomes prohibitive for Pakistan,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The prime minister's meetings with Abe and Turnbull came a day after he held "very expansive" talks with US President Donald Trump on intensifying overall security and defence cooperation, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region where China is strengthening its military build up.
Nitin A Gokhale, Co-founder, BharatShakti.in and long-time Rediff.com contributor, remembers a most unusual politician.
This comes as IR posted its worst operating ratio (money spent to earn every Rs 100) in 16 years, at 96.9 in 2016-17.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Tuesday suggested that it will take some time before the Narendra Modi government fulfills its development promises, saying the previous United Progressive Alliance dispensation had left behind a 'big ditch'.
Manjit Singh came from nowhere to snatch the men's 800m gold for the biggest medal of his life but finals continued to be a riddle for P V Sindhu
'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).
'In times to come this will be considered a watershed event, but only if the establishment can see the flag which is up and the straws in the wind which are flying,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Important for Chinese President Xi Jinping will be Zhao's discussions on the issues of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and his assessment of the likely results of India's coming national elections, notes former senior RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
'Nobody is going to fight India's war.' 'India has to fight its own war against the rogue State and the evil forces nurtured by it.'
'India does not wish to remain silent in improving its strategic space so that its leverage to counter China's expansionist designs is maintained, besides enabling it to play a responsible role from a position of strength for peace and stability in Asia,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'Only when India's adversaries are convinced that India has both the necessary political and military will and the hardware to respond to a nuclear strike with punitive retaliation that will inflict unacceptable loss of human life and unprecedented material damage, will they be deterred,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The Pakistani denial was the greatest triumph of this strategy.' 'From now onwards Pakistan will always have to factor in the Indian reaction when it decides to back non-State actors like LeT,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India's FIFA U-17 World Cup team coach Luis Norton de Matos on Saturday refused to predict his side's chances in the upcoming tournament, saying that instead of thinking about the results the country should take it as "a first step for the future".
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The lockdown in India has been a timely, graded, proactive and pre-emptive public health measure to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and has been part and parcel of the government's overall strategy, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Chairman, Empowered Group 1, said at a media briefing on the COVID-19 situation.
'A couple of hours before the H-Hour, the Kupwara division opened small arms and mortar fire on posts opposite its area of operation.' 'This was a diversionary tactic.' 'As Pakistani forces began to react to the firing, special forces teams began to slowly cross the LoC into PoK.' Nitin Gokhale reveals how planning for the surgical strikes began hours after the Uri attack.
The US wants action against the existing safe havens of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and demolish its ability to carry out strikes across the border in Afghanistan.
'What does Bhagwat think his militia will do once it is at the border?' 'What does Bhagwat imagine his Sangh followers will do that will protect Mother India?' asks Aakar Patel.
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
Sanjeev Nayyar suggests 16 measures by which we can tackle our unrelenting and untrustworthy neighbour.
Ahead of the crucial talks between President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani, the United States has indicated flexibility in its troop drawdown schedule from war-torn Afghanistan to help it fight the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
'Even if your soldiers are Sunny Deol and Vicky Kaushal, Pakistanis are no Johnny Walkers.' 'The one lot who never takes them lightly is India's professional soldiers.' 'That's why they keep winning the real wars,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'I'm least bothered about the rankings of Kashyap or Srikanth. I want to make it on my own by winning titles.'
India must change approach and have better access to networks to fulfil its digitisation dream.
'India must close the missile technology gap with both China and Pakistan as early as possible, or else the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence will remain suspect,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Donald Trump and General H R McMaster: It is almost like the Chinese monarch Helü with Sun Tzu at his side.
'We must look at the entire question of military preparedness anew, taking into account the new realities,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Chinese observers believe the Sino-US relationship will be impacted by issues in North Korea, Japan, India, Ukraine and Iran and that conflicts with these 'third parties' will without exception ultimately become conflicts between China and the US, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
At the summit, the US is able to play the role of a bully.
New Delhi is quietly reclaiming its space in Asia by forging alliances with China's neighbours. In a way, India is converting its much-talked about Act East Policy to Engage East practice.
Seeking a peaceful and secure neighbourhood amidst threat of terrorism and extremism, India and Kyrgyzstan on Sunday signed four agreements including one on bolstering defence cooperation and holding annual joint military exercises.
'We should not flatter ourselves that China is fixated on encircling India. She has greater goals, becoming the pre-eminent power in the world, and India as a major power is dealt with as part of that strategy.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
Indian Railways to bring on board ready-to-eat food companies
Claiming that India did not want to continue the process of negotiations with Islamabad and reduce tensions, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday warned India of severe consequences in case of a surgical strike on his country.
'The story of how Modi won a re-election in the face of severe agrarian crisis, mounting unemployment, looming economic crisis, is the story of how the power of the message can be put to devastating effect in the hands of a strong leader,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Chinese air force is now a 400,000-person force that flies some 2,000 combat aircraft -- more than thrice the size of the Indian Air Force.