'The return of India to its own civilisational values can never endanger freedoms as pluralism is the bedrock of our culture,' assert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Drones may have been used for non-lethal purposes but state-sponsored assassinations and semi-covert wars are fuelling their boom and not scientific missions or creative activists, says American political activist Medea Benjamin.
On that day, Sheikh Abdullah, political anchor of J&K's accession with the Indian Union, was unceremoniously removed from power and put behind bars; causing a tectonic emotional breach and setting off disastrous fault lines between Srinagar and New Delhi and its effects continue to this day, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Indians at large harbour a notion that their country is cherrypicking out of the American basket of goodies, but the policymakers in Delhi and the political leadership are well aware that it can only be a pipe dream since a military alliance with a superpower is a profound irrevocable commitment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Did the human drama provoked by the Japanese invasion of Burma and the Indian exodus from Rangoon inspire director Vishal Bhardwaj's forthcoming epic?
'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.'
A key argument against the Aadhaar scheme was that it was violative of the nine-judge bench verdict that had held that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution.
The then UK foreign secretary Jack Straw made the revelations during his depositions before the Chilcot Inquiry, which declared today that the Iraq invasion in 2003 had been based on "flawed intelligence".
Obama asks Congress to grant war powers; vows defeat of Islamic State.
'Large-impact aerial weapons have no use against dictator regimes or terrorist entities,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'Modi's first foreign trip at the very outset of his second term as PM reinforces a growing impression that this regional tour underscores a shift in emphasis in India's foreign policy that was traditionally focused on the northern tier of countries to the Indian Ocean rim,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Aligarh is a milestone in the history of Indian cinema that should start the much needed conversation about how India treats gays and lesbians, feels Aseem Chhabra.
This is for the first time that Trump has acknowledged the contribution of Indian-Americans and Hindus in his historic electoral victory.
The ground situation in Iraq is so bad that there is no scope for any non-conventional action or any kind of bravery. Patience, slow movement, and full backing to Indian negotiators would help in a big way, says Sheela Bhatt.
Kanika Datta visits the Cu Chi military tunnels -- a testimony to a plucky little country's 30-year war of resistance against, first, French colonisers and, then, the US.
'The danger today is that out of sheer fatigue and exasperation, the US might cut loose and exit from Afghanistan leaving it to the region to cope with the debris, which it is ill-equipped to handle,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He is seeking disclosure of correspondence between the Central Bureau of Investigation and the law ministry and opinion of the attorney general in the case.
The top court rejected the Centre's vehement contention that there was no general or fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution.
'For years American academia has used the concerns about Hindutva in India to almost completely trash the concept of Hinduism.' 'In the American debate, Wendy Doniger's point of views perpetuated Hinduphobia.' 'Americans were willing to change... Indian intellectuals let us down badly.'
'Jaffrey played all his roles with a characteristic elan and amiability: He looked like a clever, all-knowing, winking Super Mario, gloriously grey around the edges. Irresistible, really.'
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
Balraj Bahri Malhotra and Ram Advani's passing signals the sunset of the era of the many booksellers across India who came over after Partition.
'The CAA should be kept in abeyance, without making it a prestige issue.'
'Laying down a clear policy on the future of illegal migrants will dispel anxieties and help in implementing the CAA, NPR and also the NCR,' suggests former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
North Korea warns the US that it will soon 'suffer the greatest pain it ever experienced in its history'. Rajaram Panda looks at the latest twist in the North Korean crisis.
Since the change in administration in the US, Indian leaders have publicly and privately identified with American objectives in Afghanistan.
Iraq is on the verge of collapsing and foreign military intervention is inevitable. But for those who follow the developments in Iraq and the Middle-East will understand the current situation is nothing but a culmination of US and western policies toward the region, says Dr Waiel Awwad
United States President Barack Obama has said Russia was on the "wrong side of history" and its invasion in Ukraine was an attack on sovereignty of a nation, warning that he was considering economic and diplomatic options to punish Moscow if it didn't reverse course quickly.
Galatasaray, fined 50,000 euros ($62,575) last month over crowd trouble at a Champions League game away to Arsenal, are facing further sanctions after disturbances at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, UEFA said on Thursday.
It is mischievous to imply that the proposed bill to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists from other nations implies that Muslims and Christians are not Indians, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
There is speculation that China released the White Paper on Tibet in a hurry after a Spanish court agreed to hear charges of genocide against former Chinese president Hu Jintao. Ajai Shukla reports
'According to me, her finest hour was in 1983-1984 when she neutralised a combined US-Pakistan-British conspiracy to Balkanise India by creating an independent Sikh State of Khalistan,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). A special assessment of Indira Gandhi on her centenary.
Make in India campaign has huge potential.
'Trump forgets that Kim is not one who likes to be treated publicly as a pauper; he wants to come to the table as an equal, and from a position of perceived strength, not as a suppliant,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The coming two months could unfold unpredictable results or unpredictable consequences or both at the same time,' says Rajaram Panda.
A 'soft' approach must be nurtured to complement the hard-line of spending billions in physical conflict; that is the only way to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS.
'China any day would prefer to team up with India and dump Pakistan once the resolution of the border dispute becomes an accomplished fact.'
'Jaish aided by LeT attacked Parliament knowing mobilisation of Indian military assets would be the consequence.' 'That mobilisation happened, necessitating a military response from Musharraf who moved troops guarding back doors out of Tora Bora, facilitating Osama's escape.'
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
Accusing Defence Minister A K Antony of making a "false" statement on Poonch killings, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday said he should apologise as his remarks are intended to "exonerate" Pakistan as government wants to continue talks.
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