'My understanding is that by the time President Xi Jinping came for the Chennai summit [2019], he had already instructed his army to undertake the action in Galwan in the summer of 2020.'
'You are one of the drops that make that ocean, but when you leave it makes no difference to the ocean.'
'Gorkhas are terrific soldiers. They are known the world over for their fighting qualities.'
'You don't know what you are going to encounter every 10-20 metres.' 'These mountains are unpredictable.'
'Assam Rifles have prevented a large number of genocides and killings.'
'In Eastern Ladakh the Chinese attempted salami slicing.' 'Our response has been superb. Our military has responded magnificently.'
'Many countries believe that if they join BRICS, they will be seen as emerging countries and their stature will be enhanced.' 'G-20 still has common action plans while BRICS does not do that much.'
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
The long queue outside Cellular Jail is a testimony to its place in India's national consciousness. The Andamans is also where the only British viceroy was assassinated and where Bose unfurled the Tricolour for the first time in 1943.
'The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource in their areas and feel the Meitei push for ST status is because of this reason'.
'There is something in our desh ki mitti that has held us together.'
'So many conquerors, colonisers, cultures came and went, but we withstood them and rose up again.'
'He's charismatic, a populist, very popular, and indeed a cult of personality.' 'That ensures a powerful reaction from his support base -- even if it's not sustained, it will be quite intense, and that's worrisome for stability.'
'The BJP is doing politics 24x365, but the Congress revs up only during elections.'
'BJP's ultimate ambition is to control Bihar independently.'
'Every Indian who is concerned about the unity, integrity and the map of India should be worried about this growing divide.'
'In 1984, Pyongyang just had one hotel and one could not move out without an official escort.' 'India was the only country with an embassy, apart from the socialist countries.'
'They are too connected for the relationship to completely sour.' 'It will be difficult to mend this relationship, but it will start with full and clear evidence on the issue in question.'
Havelock should be your destination for 2024. It is love at every sight!
'The party is breaking stereotypes by not inviting senior leaders to become chief ministers.' 'No other party has had the guts to do this.'
'You can attack and conspire to weaken us, but you cannot destroy the Congress permanently.'
'Manipur is critical to India's Look East policy.' 'It's a strategic state. In the Second World War, the Japanese entered Manipur through Burma.' 'China can use the same direction to approach India.'
'Having India as a credible deterrent vis-a-vis Chinese ambitions in the Indian Ocean and South Asian region is a desirable short-term outcome.'
A special, handed-down-through-the-generations recipe of Yakhni Pulao.
'When the Executive can do whatever they want, why bother having an election?'
'A battery of six guns had a devastating effect because it can destroy men and material.'
'We failed as a country because those who should have been there to say goodbye did not show up.'
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
'There is a view that there is a Pakistan angle to this.' 'Pakistan has a large presence in Qatar and would want India to be blacklisted.'
'...a more capable State -- one that operates with greater capacity, greater efficiency, and greater clarity of purpose.' 'But I also see a more despotic State -- one that places more constraints on speech, assembly, dissent, and critique.' 'It may run 'better', but on the regime's rules.'
'At school, on August 15, the Indian flag was raised. There was no national anthem at that time and we sang Rise India Thy Millions Lead,' recalls military legend Major General Ian Cardozo (retd).
'US officials must grapple with the possibility that one of its closest partners attempted an extrajudicial killing on its soil.' 'This is not something that friends typically do to friends.'
'Three decades of intensive discussions, protocols and Confidence Building Measures were jettisoned one fine morning in 2020.' 'The primary lesson that has been learnt is that that there is no reliability about the Chinese.'
'He not only immerses himself into the character, but he wears it.' 'He does not let even a fragment of himself show while he's playing the part.'
'These are people whom very few give importance and they were doing a mammoth job for the nation.'
'There's no pro-China tilt in BRICS.' 'All these countries want to be close to China, but they are all good friends of India also.'
'Unfortunately, there is no movement towards peace in Manipur.'
'China is playing the big global game.' 'Their ambitions lie far beyond the Line of Actual Control.'
'The world is watching carefully. The choices India makes today have consequences beyond its borders.'
'The tank battle was fought at ranges of 300-700 metres.' 'It was a rare example of the complete destruction of a squadron by another squadron.'
'Looking back, there is every chance that I would not have opted for Kota.'' 'The biggest flaw is that your personality gets blocked.' 'It took me two years to get back to 'being human' again.'
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