'Is Trump going to play a mediating role? Can he play a mediating role? It's out of the question.' 'Kashmir is an Indian responsibility.'
If eight states could join the VAT system much after the rollout date and after seeing how it works, why can't the same apply to states opposed to the farm laws, asks A K Bhattacharya.
'The most striking thing about the US strike on Syria is its futility of purpose beyond a symbolic value to impress the domestic constituency that Trump is a forceful decision-maker,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Our defence services are in a position to checkmate any Chinese adventurism.'
'One of R&AW's greatest achievements is in projecting itself as benign.' 'This work -- done in tandem with the Diaspora and the MEA -- sells a story of India as mostly the victim.'
'Singh apprised the Japanese leaders about Islamabad's 'evil design' on Kashmir at a time when Pakistan has decided to internationalise the issue.'
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
Modi said even a few years ago, when India talked about the threats of terrorism, not many in the world were ready to take it seriously.
'India could help in Afghanistan, but if it does too much, it will stoke Pakistan's paranoia and risk making the situation worse,' Michael O'Hanlon, one of America's leading experts on international security, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Rohingyas settled in Jammu tells how they are facing a battle for survival
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.
No one should be allowed to use Pakistan's territory to import or export terrorism, says Hamid Mir.
'It's a matter of great pride that no student of Army Goodwill Schools has ever joined terrorism.'
Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off, observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
Floyd died in Minneapolis on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. Video footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck as he gasped for breath. His death has triggered nationwide protests.
Biden is best qualified to address the root cause of the polarisation in American politics before it turns into terminal malignancy, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Polls opened at 7 am local time and would close at 5 pm with some 12,845 polling stations being set up throughout the country for 15.9 million voters, who will choose a successor to President Maithripala Sirisina.
'India has to understand that the permanent state of war that exists between India and Pakistan has to be expected,,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). 'The only way to ensure peace or absence of war is to maintain a militarily-dominant position over Pakistan.'
The Biden administration should expect continuity in Iran's policies under Raisi. This may not necessarily mean that strengthening of ties with the West will be Raisi's top priority, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'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).
Opposition parties on Monday staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after their demand for a resolution on Gaza was not accepted.
Macron accepted the invitation and said he will visit New Delhi by the end of the year for an international summit on solar power - an area on which France plans closer cooperation with India.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
Snooping is one of the oldest peccadilloes of man, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
'For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.'
In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
CAATSA was aimed at Moscow and not intended to damage the military capabilities of its 'allies and partners', US said.
India can be called "more Islamic than Pakistan" as more Muslims live here than that country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the chief of Pakistan Rangers who called on him to discuss ways to keep the border peaceful.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
He made a reference to the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June this year. "What our jawans can do, what the country can do, the world has seen in Ladakh," he said.
United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to relentlessly hunt down terrorists from Pakistan to the streets of Paris and called on Congress to approve new war powers against Islamic State militants.
'Civilian casualties are something that could change the mood overnight, and therefore should be avoided by every means.'
'Vajpayee was the first prime minister to visit the battlefield at the height of conflict,' recalls Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.
Sandeep Singh Dhaliwa stopped a vehicle with a man and woman inside and one of them got out and shot him "ambush-style".
The official cited it as an example of 'how the Chinese military is trying to resolve issues through dialogue mechanisms'.
