India should plan its strategies on the assumption that the rightward swing will stay and the West will retreat into an economic fortress, says Nitin Desai.
India has the fourth highest number of malaria cases in the world.
'Right now, politics is operating in a state of suspended animation. That works to Modi's advantage.'
The US foreign and security policy establishment, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, apprehends that Trump may compel them to exorcise the 'unipolar predicament', and bring foreign and security policies to reflect the desires and priorities of the American public.
This means lower losses on fuel sales by Indian oil companies and a shrinking oil subsidy bill for the government.
'Pakistan's recent utterances and tendency to use pinpricks to try our patience appear reminiscent of 1965. We are a strong nation, emerging stronger,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'If India is to emerge as a superpower, we must utilise our huge agricultural potential and not, as in past centuries, merely exploit our farmers,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'As the IAF kicks off another round of myth-making -- launching a year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1965 India-Pakistan war -- it is worth remembering how little there was to celebrate in those September days when the underdog PAF got the better of the IAF in raid after raid, dogfight after dogfight.'
'Will the new government, largely of the BJP, whose manifesto proclaimed "India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here" and whose patrons never tire of the glories of our civilisation in antiquity, stand up for these long-lost cousins, the Yazidis in Iraq?'
The US #DeepState has had a fine run, but will now discard Saudi Arabia as it is no longer useful to them, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'She preserved national unity against great odds.'
'Nehru was singularly clear sighted about the international political situation.'
Until Delhi and Beijing resolve outstanding border issues within an accelerated time frame, standoffs like Doklam will be repeated across various peaks along the Himalayas, says Mathew Maavak.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did not make it to the final eight selected by TIME for the annual 'Person of the Year' title, has been hailed as one by its readers in an online poll conducted by the publication. Let's take a look at the 10 names that forced Modi out of reckoning for the title.
Images from across Europe and parts of Asia show hot and bothered people dunking their feet in buckets of ice and wading into the sea as sweltering temperatures put some areas on red alert.
For all the controversy, the concept of prominent First Children is not novel in democracies. So why is Donald Trump's daughter different and discomfiting?
Moved by three-year-old Aylan Kurdi's death, Vidhya Ramalingam has kick-started a crowd-funding campaign to buy a rescue ship for immediate action in the Mediterranean.
Sanjeev Nayyar suggests 16 measures by which we can tackle our unrelenting and untrustworthy neighbour.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'India can certainly be counted on to ensure that Al Qaeda's influence doesn't grow to the point that it carves out sanctuaries.' 'The nations where Al Qaeda has built a strong presence have either suffered complete breakdowns in stability, sponsored militancy, or been failing States. None of this, of course, applies to India.'
'The civil war in Islam has just got worse and the existential crisis facing it more threatening.'
India and the United States discussed a host of issues, including the security situation in South Asia, East China Sea, anti-piracy operations and America's help in developing two new commands -- space and cyber, during a recent visit of Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne in Washington.
It is unconscionable to choose between Sardar Patel, who united India physically, and Indira Gandhi, who gave meaning, content and pride to the unity of the nation and became a martyr at the altar of national unity, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
"No leader or policymaker involved will claim to have gotten everything right in the region, Iraq especially," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit is an attempt to move the Indo-Singapore relationship to the 'next level'. Singapore has been one of the top investors in India. India-Singapore bilateral trade has already crossed the $15 billion mark. As per the official records, Singapore has emerged as the second largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in India, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is underwriting the revival of a vintage Dakota as a gift to the Indian Air Force.
Excerpts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Combined Commanders Conference on board the INS Vikramaditya at sea, off the coast of Kochi.
'Unlike Japan and China, the US has a long relationship with India. He is going there to fly the Indian flag in a gesture of friendship. This is a journey like none other, meant to signal that the two democracies are in a defining relationship of the 21st century.'
First, there has been a significant softening in commodity prices - most notably oil.
'The India-France relationship has been that of the elites of two countries, who appreciate each other's philosophical traditions -- whether it is ancient Indian civilisation and Sanskrit texts or the French tradition of Rene Descartes, Albert Camus, (Jean-Paul) Sartre... This is a drawback. It doesn't create the buzz, the excitement necessary for a relationship. We need more people-to-people contact, especially among students,' says former Ambassador to Paris, Rakesh Sood.
'What should worry India and which needs to be expressed is Russia's simultaneous proximity to both China and Pakistan from a strategic angle. That hasn't happened ever before,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'A participant in many rounds of the border talks with China once told me that China seemed not interested in resolving the border issue as it wanted to keep it as a ready excuse to intervene in the sub-continent,' says Colonel (retd) Anil A Athale.
The Dalai Lama headed Kalachakra Puja in Bodh Gaya has drawn devotees from 92 countries.
'This has been an ongoing process,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former consul general in San Francisco, 'but I believe a Modi visit to the West Coast can be a force-multiplier.'
In a significant development in the war against militant group Islamic State, Iraqi forces have retaken control of Ramadi from the Islamic State with the United States also hailing their victory.
Stupidity knows no boundaries just like smartness, oxygen, and maybe football, says Maharaj Damodardas.
India still has to go a long way to implement reforms in various sectors.
'China's excessive military aid to Pakistan is the real elephant in the room as far as Sino-Indian relations are concerned. India should be confident enough to accept a degree of closeness between China and Pakistan, since China may wish to use this link for its foray into the Muslim world.' 'But the Chinese must be realistic enough to know that as time passes, the tactic of using Pakistan as a proxy to check India will yield diminishing returns. The US tried it for 60 years but failed, so will China,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'This is the only place on earth where Elephas maximus climbs to these heights.'
'The Tibetan movement will never turn violent during the Dalai Lama's life-time.'
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