'The outrage that followed the destruction of the Babri Masjid was an inability to see the event for what it was: The rectification of a grave historical wrong, the restitution of a hurt of a people and the countering of moral injustice,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
By all yardsticks 2024 isn't expected to be like 2014 or 2019. But with the mandir expected to be ready in time for the next Lok Sabha polls, Modi will have a new ally in Ram to see him through, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Union Rural Development Secretary L C Goyal is tipped to take over the post
In the mid-1980s, India and the US struggled to arrive at sufficient confidence for Washington to even sell a supercomputer to India for monsoon prospecting. Now, the most sensitive military technologies, data, and intelligence resources are being shared. This would not have happened without that one, big deal that changed the fundamentals of India-US relations, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'It is best that an amicable solution to the dispute is found outside the precincts of the courts of law,' says former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
Mayawati also sought the dismissal of a plea, which alleged that pubic funds were misused in the construction of memorials and statues.
'Has the time come to devise Version 2 of ad hoc T-bills?' 'In return, the government must agree to privatise all but five or six banks.' 'If something like this is not done, we will have governments going on the rampage, with increasing frequency,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
'This is what Hindu Rashtra looks like, which has been enabled by conditions of democracy.'
Modi said India and Pakistan were together before 1947 and he was confident that the two neighbours can discuss their problems and solve them.
'NSCN-IM leader Muivah warns that the NSCN-IM has come very close to an honourable solution to the peace process with the Government of India, but if it does not materialise, then the Nagas will go away so far that it would be difficult to bring them back to the negotiating table easily,' note Sandeep Pandey and Meera Sanghamitra.
During the Congress regime, India did witnessa slew of reforms which are now taken up by the Modi government too.
'We first need to acknowledge the truth.' 'We are trying to diminish the problem and say, everything is okay and green shoots are emerging.' 'Imagine you are a doctor and not getting accurate medical reports, how do you diagnose and treat the illness?' 'We are not dealing with a terminal illness here, we are dealing with BP and cholesterol, which are imminently curable.'
'One good thing that has come out of all this is that it shown people that online ordering is the way forward.'
'The BJP has shown signs lately of returning to its trader mindset.' 'Several strong emotions get meshed in this: Nationalism, protectionism, mercantilism, and arrogance,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
'There is a compulsion to look hard, decisive, and risk-taking; start something; and then conclude it in a way you can claim victory.' 'That is not such an easy option against China,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
While the BJP has taken a beating, its leader still stands tall, points out T N Ninan.
Ambassador Natarajan Krishnan and Ambassador Shankar Bajpai helped shape Indian foreign policy at a glorious, but difficult, time in history, recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'And the same trust was evident in the Karnataka election.'
On the proposed Grand Alliance of the Congress and other parties in the state, Shah said the Telugu people had not forgotten how the Congress had treated their leaders like former (undivided) Andhra Pradesh chief minister Anjaiah and former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao.
'Should the Congress take Jyotiraditya's departure as good riddance?', asks Mohammad Sajjad.
"Very shortly we will come out with a concrete plan," Rao told reporters after meeting the Trinamool Congress president.
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the trajectory of Lal Kishan Advani from the highs of the 1990s to the present, when he may have to watch the elections from the sidelines.
'Vajpayee was predictable in his ways.' 'Modi is a schemer, possessed of a shrewdness that can be rewarding in the chaotic world of politics.' 'His political journey gives reason to believe that 2019 will be another milestone in his private project,' notes Vikram Johri.
Several Congress leaders interpreted it as a dig at Prime Minister Modi who is yet to address a single press conference in his 54-month tenure.
'Like General Patton, possibly the greatest exponent of the art of war, Vajpayee had the ability to be always on the offensive,' assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Chandra Shekhar used to say that some people may oppose such a decision from their mouth, but all will accept it from their heart as the best solution to the dispute.'
"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
The Income Tax department has issued notice to a firm owned by Robert Vadra as part of its probe to understand the "financial structure" of the company and real estate projects undertaken by it.
'The unprecedented bitterness and rancour that marked this election campaign need not spill over into government and governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Singh made these comments at the launch of Mukherjee's book -- The coalition years.
The saffron party is assured of victory in eight of the ten seats in UP going by its dominant numbers in the state assembly.
In 2017, the former Union minister called Modi "neech aadmi" following which he was suspended from the Congress party.
'There will be an instant and positive change in the way Rahul Gandhi is perceived by millions if he says he is not a candidate for PM,' suggests Aakar Patel.
'He failed to foresee that the campaign of hatred need not be continuous; a sporadic, scattered campaign is enough.' 'What was important is to keep the pot boiling, not let it overflow like happened during the masjid-mandir days,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said he was "disappointed and profoundly saddened" by Rajan's decision against a second term, but was not surprised by the development
'If the NSCN-IM is cold shoulderd, the chances are that it will slip back into insurgency,' caution Sandeep Pandey, Meera Sanghamitra and Babloo Loitongbam.
Trying to guess Subramanian Swamy's motives or next step has been a rather difficult exercise for decades, says Archis Mohan
Chiefs of Army Staff in India have not been tactful about politicians. But they have stayed clear of politics, reports Aditi Phadnis.
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