Former Indian envoys reflect on the life and legacy of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, highlighting her role in restoring democracy and the complex relationship between India and Bangladesh during her tenures.
'When the Galwan incident took place, that was a big break in the trust factor between India and China.'
Former Indian envoys criticize the death sentence handed down to ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressing concerns about political polarization and stability in Bangladesh.
India's high commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri has sought premature retirement, upset over envoy Shiv Shankar Menon, who is two years junior to her, being appointed as the foreign secretary
The veteran diplomat said Hasina has stayed in India before after the assassination of her father and Bangladesh independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who later became the country's prime minister. Rahman was assassinated in August 1975.
"The need of the hour is to go back to the man-centred economics, the village-centred approach that forms the core of the Gandhian philosophy. This means following the Gandhian ethic based on simplicity, self-sufficiency and self-reliance to be achieved through gram rajya, sarvodaya and satyagraha, which has ahimsa as its core," Professor Veena Sikri, former Indian high commissioner to Malaysia and Bangladesh, said in a lecture organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Centre.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh on September 6 and 7, his first to the eastern neighbour and the first by an Indian prime minister in 12 years, promises to take bilateral ties to the next level, reports Sheela Bhatt
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country and of various tribal communities and prominent personalities.
Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
In their counter-letter, the group of former IFS officers acknowledged that the remarks made at the Haridwar event should be condemned by all right thinking, before adding that when the import of these is "exaggerated out of all proportion and the rantings by fringe elements" are seen as representative of the sentiments prevailing in ruling circles, then the political leanings and moral integrity of the critics can be rightly questioned.
Sujatha Singh stands for the right values and quite simply, she's a "good person" who understands complex economic issues thoroughly, say her friends.
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
Diplomats agree that amid stormy relations with China and Pakistan, Modi has posted impressive foreign policy successes, notes Aditi Phadnis.
As the dust finally settles on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Bharatiya Janata Party along with its NDA allies emerges as the clear winner, here is a list of who won in each of the 7 phases of elections.
