Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Indian diplomacy needed to acquire an economic perspective to its thinking and strategic approach, for furthering the country's interests in the changing global order.
'The Indian side has realised that not talking to Pakistan has not served any useful purpose.'
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US has been, historically, a sleeping partner in India-China relations. Today, any attempt by the Modi government to make a bilateral move to improve relations with Beijing could upset Biden's apple cart, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself.' 'A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A deft hand on India-China relations, Bambawale earlier handled the China desk at the MEA.
There has been overwhelming elation from across United States from Indian American community leaders and activists over the decision by the government of India to appoint Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao as the new Indian Ambassador to the US, to succeed Meera Shankar whose term ends on July 31 after which she is expected to go into retirement from the Indian Foreign Service.
Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's initiative against corruption seems to be going a long way. On Thursday, details of the assets of nearly 80,000 government officials was made public on the official website of the state government. He added that it would take over a month's time to upload all the details," It's a lot of data these are details of lakhs of officials."
He will be remembered not only as a writer but as one of the great chroniclers and interrogators of the history of our times, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Any form of entanglement with India or the US on the strategic plane will be anathema to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa rulers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Shringla last served as India's envoy to the US. He will be serving a two-year term. In the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years, Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad, and is considered an expert on India's neighbourhood.
China is in no hurry to disengage at the border and the region and international community is moving on. The spectre of a long haul in Ladakh haunts India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's how an Indian Foreign Service officer climbs the career ladder.
'Analysts see BECA as a 'force multiplier' for India.' 'But China too is known to have such capabilities.' 'The military gap with China will continue to remain a fact of life, BECA notwithstanding,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has brought about a coup in North Block by bringing an Indian Foreign Service officer Venu Rajamoni as Joint Secretary to head multilateral institutions division.
Modi has appointed P K Sinha, who superannuated as cabinet secretary on Friday, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he said.
Veteran diplomat Ranjan Mathai on Monday assumed charge as new Foreign Secretary succeeding Nirupama Rao and said he would try and work to restore "trust and confidence" in Indo-Pak relations.
How should one interpret the new bonhomie between the two nations?
It will not be to India's advantage to create misperceptions that it is bandwagoning with some Anglo-American project for regime change in Myanmar, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Disgraced diplomat Madhuri Gupta, accused of passing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence officials, on Friday alleged before a Delhi court that the jail authorities in the national capital were harassing her. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja sought a response from Tihar jail authorities on an application filed by the Indian Foreign Service Grade-B officer. "Tihar jail authorities are harassing me and threatening to implicate me," she said.
PM Modi had in the past rejected requests from some ministers for appointment of secretaries who were considered close to them.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Mubeena, mother of Shah Faisal, in Srinagar was elated when her son was declared the topper.
A young domestic help hailing from Jharkhand has accused a senior Indian Foreign Service officer of sexually assaulting her while he was posted in Kenya and approached the police seeking his arrest. While the Ministry of External Affairs said it will look into the allegations, the Delhi Police registered a case against Ketan Shukla, a 1986-batch IFS officer now posted in Ahmedabad, charging him with rape and criminal intimidation.
The US is not going to be able to mount a concerted 'Western strategy' against China or Russia in the present international milieu, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs wags his finger at an Indian official on Monday morning. He later threatened to pull his boss out of the talks!
The Delhi police chargesheeted disgraced diplomat Madhuri Gupta on Tuesday accusing her of passing secret information to Pakistan's Inter State Intelligence during her posting in Islamabad.
'Bush was too committed towards Indo-US relations. I don't know if Obama is as committed.' Former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh in an exclusive interview.
If push comes to shove, Trump is probably planning to order the US army to clear his path for a second term. What if the armed forces refuse to obey their commander-in-chief?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The foreign secretary should delegate policy execution
'If India does not succeed in making the US recognise the combined threat of the China-Pakistan alliance, there is nothing left in the visit,' says Brajesh Mishra, the former National Security Adviser.
Here's how you should prepare yourself for various Civil Services exams scheduled in 2009.
'What the northern Indian states lack is responsive politics based on the principles of development, social justice and equality.' 'A cut-and-paste job cannot make up for such lethal deficiency,' observes says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Both have been robustly muscular leaders who began as immensely charismatic politicians conveying an impression that they were makers of history, raring to go. Both have been hyperactive on the world stage. But in the final analysis, Abe is departing on a sombre note, unceremoniously and apologetically, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Former diplomat M K Bhadrakumar talks to Sheela Bhatt on what the Obama-Singh summit holds for India.
'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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