'Kulbhushan Jadhav is a very sad case.' 'I think Pakistan handled this issue very clumsily.' 'They gave too much of publicity and also said that they will hang him.' 'Now obviously, they are not going to hang him.'
'Install the app for yourself and your family.' 'Make sure that everybody you come in contact with on a daily basis -- your drivers, your maids, your colleagues at work -- make sure they too are using the app.' 'Also encourage people who carry some influence, like office managers, to convince their employees to do the same.' 'This only helps in improving your safety levels.'
'Indian diplomacy is once again being saddled with the heavy burden of a Pakistan-centric foreign policy. It is something grossly unfair at a crucial juncture in India's trajectory as an emerging power on the global stage,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Neither Modi nor the BJP have lost control over the minds and votes of their original supporters due to their tremendous political ability to play upon baser communal instincts.' 'But this buoyant support will melt away if the economic scenario remains depressing.' 'That makes 2020 an interesting year to watch out for,' notes Sheela Bhatt.
Ajit Balakrishnan on mapping the Business Serengeti.
Since the change in administration in the US, Indian leaders have publicly and privately identified with American objectives in Afghanistan.
'Any 'de-escalation' that brings down tensions will deprive the BJP of a plank with seamless possibilities to project PM Modi as the 'Iron prime minister' and hype up jingoism in the upcoming election campaign,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The Chinese have taken to telling their Indian interlocutors to bear in mind the 5:1 disparity in the sizes of the two economies.' 'The message from Beijing, says T N Ninan, is clear: Acknowledge superior Chinese power, and behave accordingly.'
S Jaishankar turned out to be a chip of the old block and that too, in modern parlance, a fully loaded chip. The father laid down the precepts of Indian strategy and diplomacy and the son put them into practice. T P Sreenivasan on India's new foreign secretary.
'The coming two months could unfold unpredictable results or unpredictable consequences or both at the same time,' says Rajaram Panda.
The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu aligns priorities, funding and organisation to shape a transformation agenda.
'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.
'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).
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday tore into Narendra Modi government, accusing it of bulldozing the federal structure and running a Presidential form of government, drawing sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'India should stop claiming that a united Pakistan is in India's interests.' 'Pakistan's break-up is a necessity for peace and progress in the region,' says Major General Mrinal Suman (retd).
No theory would ever justify the public humiliation of the acting head of the consulate of a friendly country. Whatever be the eventual solution, grievous damage has been done to her personally and to the relations between the two countries, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'On a new kidney, her immune system still getting used to it, she took on the Pakistanis at the UN, held meetings with her counterparts from across the world, and presented a picture of incredible poise and dignity,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
China is on the lookout for investment pastures where its money is welcome, safe and earns a decent return. India also needs vast investment - about $1 trillion over the next 10-15 years - in infrastructure, green energy, transportation and heavy industry, says Ravi Bhoothalingam.
In the past year, Beijing has hosted at least 70 delegations from India as part of its outreach to the Indian business community, youth leaders and Sangh Parivar affiliates
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
'The India-Canada relationship has suffered benign neglect. Its full potential has not yet been realised,' says Rup Narayan Das.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said the two neighbours needed to inject informality in their relations, as is the case in many places of the world like the EU and ASEAN.
Should India engage Pakistan's generals directly, bypassing Imran? Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan, ponders Delhi's diplomatic dilemma.
Former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday attacked Home Minister Rajnath Singh accusing him of resorting to a completely distorting Hindu terror remarks to blame the former UPA government.
'Any conventional conflict could trigger a nuclear war with results that neither India nor Pakistan could survive easily.' >A revealing excerpt from Shuja Nawaz's The Battle For Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship And A Tough Neighbourhood.
Gopinath Munde came up the hard way and never forgot his roots. Just when he seemed destined for bigger things, death snatched him away.
Factionalism has been made bitter by the level of personal attacks that warring senior leaders indulge in. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
'There are all sorts of characters moving around acting as unofficial representatives of the government and engaging in their own personal foreign policy initiatives. Clearly, the government needs to shut these characters down if it wants to continue enjoying any credibility, both domestically and internationally,' says Sushant Sareen.
North Korea considers Assad's Syria an ally, so it views Donald Trump's decision to strike Syria as a message to Pyongyang as well.
Just for a moment, says Kamaraj Gopalan, consider the possibility: Dawood Ibrahim captured a few days before the next general election. It would be Dr Singh and the Congress's Osama moment. What answer could Narendra Modi possibly have to that?
'The two NSAs, who have been mandated to address mutual concerns on terrorism, will need to devise credible and irreversible measures to see that the likes of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar do not ever get a free hand to run riot again,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner in Pakistan.
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Modi government must push reforms at a fast pace to restore growth.
Pakistan has taken too much of a chance with Pulwama - with the wrong government in India, and at the wrong time.
'Modi's abject capitulation will play out badly in his core constituency.' 'The bulk of our strategic community is under the impression that India under Modi has already become a superpower.' 'They don't even want to look at the country's emaciated limbs or its asthmatic problems,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rediff.com takes a look at some personalities who are likely to win the prize this year.
The Indians felt that if they acceded to Chinese claims in Ladakh, Beijing would simply be emboldened to press for further concessions in the future. A revealing excerpt from India And The Cold War.
There are signs of China's external behaviour becoming more aggressive in the coming years. If that happens, strategic implications for neighbours having territorial disputes with China can become deeper and imperatives can rise for the former to counteract, says D S Rajan
Narendra Modi's diplomacy and persuasive prowess has ensured long-term investments from China and Japan.
