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
AMU has once again been pulled into a crossfire of crass political opportunism. In these post-truth times, that the university also had political stirrings not subscribing to the Muslim League is chosen to be forgotten, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'It is clear that Britain is a country with a limited future,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The Congress has collapsed and is fighting for survival. Other parties carry no weight in comparison to the BJP. This situation does not augur well for democracy,'
Let Bihar be damned under its contradictions of having gone 'dry' and then having been submerged under flood, which is a recurrent phenomena? After all it is a godforsaken land, having lost its promises of overcoming its problems, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Sharad Yadav, President of the Janata Dal (United), is one of the architects of the proposed merger of six political parties who trace their roots to the erstwhile Janata Dal. Yadav tells Archis Mohan how the grand alliance with Left parties and even the Congress is the need of the hour.
As football fans arrive to watch Euro 2016, France's trade unions have undertaken a series of strikes to provoke a make-or-break situation. Claude Arpi encounters both Gallic beauty and ugliness in the country of his birth.
That's how our politics is with no inner-party democracy. That's why we should listen to British MP Hilary Benn's speech, says Shekhar Gupta.
'LIC's proposed investment will come out of what is technically called the 'policyholders funds'.' 'As the name implies, these monies belong to policyholders; that is, you, me and 25 crore others who have taken a total of 30 crore policies from LIC.' 'It is not the government's or LIC's money to play poker with,' says S Muralidharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.
The 64-year-old Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era, will soon become history.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the demonetisation move, the united opposition hit back at the government over common man's suffering.
'Who would have thought that Brexit would take place or Donald Trump would become US president or Kim Jong-un's madness could bring the prospect of nuclear war over Asia?' 'It is the time of the unexpected; the French elections should perhaps be seen in this perspective,' says Claude Arpi.
We take a look at Time magazines top world leaders.
'The year in pictures' treks across the globe, looking back on the moments that shaped 2016. From the United States presidential race, to demonetisation in India to the refugee crisis, the news has kept pouring in. Here are our top 50 moments from the world.
'Castro's huge appeal lies in the fact that he stood up to the Americans.' 'However, it becomes difficult to be judgmental about his legacy, because there are huge uncertainties about the future of the Cuba that he built,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Sharad Yadav says that reports about disquiet among the factions are 'sponsored'.
The greatest challenge before India is how to strike a fine balance of its relationship between its neighbour and strategic rival China, and the US.
Smart cities are really about clustering smart people and institutions.
'Gujarat is number one in public relations and marketing. Gujarat's PR is strong, it washes like a strong washing soap... The third phase is ours. It is our family and household elections, let him come there... Banaras and UP have taken on the challenge.' Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com contributor Neeta Kolhatkar how he plans to keep Narendra Modi at bay.
To expect that these past decades of grief, inter-group killings, anxiety and fear will be brushed aside because of the Naga peace accord is being unrealistic. Memories are built on old wounds and they heal slowly. So, it is important to be cautiously optimistic, says Sanjoy Hazarika.
For the philanthropy, we wanted also to have big impact, a kind of a new dimension.
'The diplomat's arrest has led to a major diplomatic spat, the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly three decades of covering the US-India relationship, says Aziz Haniffa. 'The knee-jerk reaction by the powers-that-be in Delhi was myopic to say the least.'
Deadline to submit convincing reform plans is this week.
The truth is that few ministries in the Modi sarkar are working on new and updated legislation of any kind.
'The Reserve Bank's independence has remained a work in progress, an enduring challenge that the nation has been grappling with on an ongoing basis,' says RBI Deputy Governor Dr Viral Acharya.
'It is not impossible that there will be some arrangement with the Congress in West Bengal after the ongoing local body polls.'
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