'It was a mission undertaken in darkness in every sense -- literally, because Afghanistan had no electricity at that time; and, metaphorically because Delhi historically dealt only with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the foreign ministry's vast archives had nothing to offer on the culture and politics of the northern tribes in the Hindu Kush.'
The deep depression in North Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood intensified into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast on October 12.
Former Union minister GK Vasan's decision to revolt and float a separate outfit in Tamil Nadu serves as a deadly blow to the Grand Old Party, which is already struggling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
India will be informing Sri Lanka about an official working with the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo who was allegedly playing a key role in planning terror strikes at the behest of ISI on the US and Israeli consulates in the southern part of this country.
'It is the government's most important duty to ensure that when war breaks out, the armed forces are absolutely ready to face the adversary -- well equipped, well trained and in high spirits,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Top actors came to me while Kabali was being shot, to ask me to cast them in at least one scene with Thalaivar -- even if it required them to clean a table on the side while Thalaivar is in the shot.' Kabali producer Kalaipuli S Thanu tries to explain the Rajinikanth phenomenon.
Pakistan, which has propped up the new Taliban leadership, would be keen to use its influence over the group to neutralise India's presence in the region.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi on Monday renominated former telecom minister and 2G scam accused A Raja for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. He also sent a strong message to rebels in the party by denying a ticket to his son M K Alagiri.
At least 155 people have lost their lives and over 80 lakh people affected in fresh floods due to excessive rains in worst-affected Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Odisha.
Hein Kiessling has the kind of access in Pakistan that journalists (and spies) would die for, says Kanika Datta.
'If we play our cards right, we may even benefit from the competition between the US and China as seen from increased investment from each of these countries into India.' 'The size of our market gives us an important lever of power which we shall have to play adroitly and intelligently,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's envoy to China -- in the Professor V M Dandekar Memorial Lecture 2019, delivered on March 8, 2019 in Pune.
This time however, the poll panel did not share the overall polling percentage at its briefing.
'It is certainly time for New Delhi to open up. Not only should it go ahead at full steam with the roads to the LAC, but the government must also allow tourists to visit these stunningly beautiful areas of Indian territory.'
As Cyclone Hudhud is closing in on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, about 1.11 lakh people in five coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.
P B Chandra finds out if the 'Modi wave' is sweeping the desert state as party workers have been claiming since the Bharatiya Janata Party's thumping victory in the assembly polls last year.
>What happens when two teenagers -- one Israeli and one Palestinian -- discover that they were accidentally switched at birth? The Other Son is a wonderful vision of Israel and Palestine. There is no positive future for the region and its people without this vision, feels Aseem Chhabra.
On display was India's military might and cultural diversity.
Rampant corruption by Congress ministers must be counted as the single biggest factor to prompt the electorate to hand over a thumping mandate to the Communist parties, says M K Bhadrakumar.
Rajeev Srinivasan on whom the Congress might put forth as its leader in 2014.
Even without Shah's TN visit and the rest, the increasing bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK factions in the state have become more visible than ever in the post-Jaya era, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Missile's range to cover China, West Asia, South East Asia and large parts of Africa
'Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets hammered into the wall. Then he bounded up the stairs leading to the other set of doors opening into the Palm Lounge. It was a terribly risky move because he didn't have a buddy to cover him.'
'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.
'We should hit Pakistan, continue to prepare for surgical strikes, continue to punish Pakistani posts in the proximity of the LoC and we should start adopting counter terrorist measures.' 'That should be India's action without escalating it to a full-fledged war.'
Top 21 images of all the events of the week that was.
'India and China are at new inflection points, domestically and internationally. India needs to throw up a new leader whose vision is clear, experience laden with wisdom and articulation brimming with restraint and tolerance,' says Ambassador K C Singh.
Incisive Editor, brilliant scholar on Islam, and now BJP leader, M J Akbar is at his intellectual best when he dissects the Muslim world and its problems, and offers up a solution from his unique perspective, as he did in this recent speech at the 10th R N Kao Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Friday
Any attempt to defang Islamic State must first cut off its main sources of funding, especially its revenue from oil sales, extortion and crime, ransom payments, and support from foreign donors. This will also be need to be backed up by efficient forces on the ground.
Eager to make a comeback to the Indian Test team, Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh claimed a sensational six-wicket haul to skittle out Odisha for 205 in their first innings on the opening day of a Group A Ranji Trophy match in Mohali.
Eight years ago Subhashini's husband Colonel Vasanth was martyred fighting militants in Kashmir. Today, she offers hope to widows of army jawans who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Though the Chinese find it necessary to oppose the visits of Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh, they want to keep the objections at a moderate level lest it cast a shadow on Narendra Modi's visit to China in May, says D S Rajan.
'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.'
"Though Sonia Gandhi was not a member of the Congress in 1984, she later became president of the party and now she shields the perpetrators of the genocide of Sikhs in 1984," alleged attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser to Sikhs for Justice, which has filed a civil suit against Gandhi in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Having burnt his fingers with MGR very badly in the past and later with Vaiko, it suited the DMK chief, when disgruntled cadres upset with Stalin's choice for lower-rung party positions, began gravitating towards another member of the DMK's 'first family', says N Sathiya Moorthy
India's nuclear establishment is continuing its march of folly at the expense of safety in the false belief that atomic power is the energy of the future. It's not. Nuclear power is in relentless global decline, says Praful Bidwai.
Sri Srinivasan, the first Indian-origin federal judge in the United States, is India Abroad Person of the Year 2013
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