If you are serious about countering the Chinese threat, then the best weapon is investing in real freedom, plurality, elections and democracy. Unfortunately, it isn't an approach all Indians currently seem to agree on, asserts Shyam G Menon.
'Those who have not lived and imbibed the social and cultural patterns of Kashmir cannot quite fathom the importance of inter-personal communication in Kashmiri society,' says David Devadas.
Priyanka goes golfing... Kareena spends a day with her 'world'...
He also said that India was a parliamentary democracy and the decision to abrogate Article 370 provisions, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was taken after detailed discussion in Parliament and with the support of majority of the members.
While the BJP alleged that the arrest of its leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was part of Kejriwal's vendetta politics, the AAP rejected the charge and said that Bagga has been arrested for trying to stoke communal tension and violence in Punjba.
as journalists active in Pakistani media have been quick to point out, with Ghafoor at the helm in Balochistan, no one will take seriously any claims by the civilian leadership to use the velvet glove to work for peace there, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.He did not hesitate to pejorate developments in India at the slightest opportunity, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the Top 10 movies of 2000.
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'We have tried to get in touch with the embassy as well as the Ministry of External Affairs. We have not heard from them yet but I am confident that the government must be putting efforts for our safe and quick evacuationfrom Kabul'
The images with the 'very special friend' collected thousands of likes within moments.
"We are feeling quite uncomfortable over some of your actions and undesirable utterances especially which hurt patriotic sentiments," read a letter to Mufti signed by three leaders.
Why did RA&W hire a man with a questionable record, wonders David Devadas.
How Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa deals with the ensuing reshuffle of lieutenant generals would be interesting to watch, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Military officer Trilokchand Raina's mastery at making bombs in an ordnance factory was only getting him a measly salary of rupees ten thousand a month. Not enough to give wings to his son Suresh's cricketing dreams. But, more than two decades after those days of struggle, riding hard work, determination and luck, Raina ended his professional career as an international cricketer recently with plenty of success.
As the Congress vehemently opposed the scrapping of the Constitutional provision that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, some party leaders raised voices of dissent and supported the government move.
Matondkar, 46, who quit the Congress in September 2019 after five months in that party, joined the Shiv Sena in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his residence Matoshri in suburban Bandra.
What is it that China seeks and why has the Ladakh border become and remained hot for two years and what is going on in Arunachal Pradesh?, asks Aakar Patel.
What the election demonstrated is that the BJP has a stranglehold on most of the Hindu votes in the Union territory, observes David Devadas.
Kerala has again emerged as the top ranking state in terms of overall health performance among larger states, while Uttar Pradesh is the worst, according to the fourth Health Index launched by Niti Aayog.
The charge of graft was brought up against Sayeed, by a sitting legislator, Shoaib Lone, on Friday last on the floor of the assembly, presently in session in winter capital Jammu.
The ruling coalition between the Congress and the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir may split amid indications that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was considering resigning following sharp differences between the two parties.
Apart from Urmila Matondkar, the names of Marathi actor and Shiv Sena leader Aadesh Bandekar, singer Anand Shinde, BJP-turned-NCP leader Eknath Khadse, farmer leader Raju Shetti are also doing rounds.
Reeling under strict restrictions with no access to communication since August 5 when the Centre announced its decision to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories, the people in the Valley have been facing a hair-raising challenge of finding a hairdresser to have their unkempt beards trimmed and unruly locks chopped.
'I am confused about which one to choose.' 'All the girls are really beautiful.'
We'll need to wait a couple of years to see how many restructured loans turn bad and whether some banks fall victim to their obsession for growth, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations on November 3, 1947.
The former CM of the state also lashed out at the state government saying the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party ruling alliance was a failure.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government has no other option but to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission wants to hold assembly elections in the state by the end of 2019.
The former IAS officer said the main reason for not contesting the polls was to focus more on the mass contact programme.
'The response to savagery and mass injustice is never a persistent howl.' 'There will be, among the victims, those who choose to forget the scars, those who go on living, those who challenge the overall environment of sentimentality.' 'And the more effort you put into including these other voices, into assimilating these spoilsports, the more balanced your depiction of the tragedy in question will be,' observes Sreehari Nair.
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A lot of the factors towards which the government has pointed to justify its moves on Jammu and Kashmir are in fact valid. Only, most of them have little to do with Article 370, says David Devadas.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
I got to know that every referred case for angiography and angioplasty got a kickback of Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. Seeing this trend, doctors started paying referring doctors Rs 1 lakh in advance and adjusting it as and when patients came in. This menace slowly spread its tentacles all over the medical field, including radiological diagnostics and biochemistry laboratories. For every test ordered, 20 per cent of the bill was given back to the referring doctor. This led to doctors recommending unnecessary tests. The pharmaceutical companies also saw burgeoning business. Acclaimed doctors were given televisions sets, refrigerators, air conditioners and cars depending upon the prescriptions. General practitioners would prescribe unnecessary drugs, and were given returns in cash. A fascinating excerpt from Dr Upendra Kaul's When The Heart Speaks.
Admiral Samuel J Locklear III, Commander of the US Pacific Command, has not ruled out militants fighting in Afghanistan today switching their attention back to Kashmir post-US and NATO withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, and expressed concern over the recent terrorist attacks across the Line of Control that has exacerbated tensions between India and Pakistan.
'This kind of poisonous and anti-national activities happening in the country and the economic failure of the Modi government may boomerang in the form of a Congress revival.'
Keshav Prasad Maurya's election from Sirathu in Kaushambi will be among the keenly watched contests in UP. If he and the BJP win, will he be luckier this time?
However, the consultant cautioned that security concern may keep prospective property buyers at bay for now.
India will need to watch carefully and understand the new round of instability and uncertainty in Pakistan, while charting the course of its future diplomatic initiatives, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
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