'Imran Khan would only have spoken with the full awareness of Modi's complex political personality.' 'He has the great advantage of being privy to the confidential exchanges between then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Modi during the latter's celebrated surprise visit to Lahore in December 2015 as well as the 'back channel' conversations between the national security advisors of the two countries,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'When Sushma Swaraj was campaigning like a one-man army against Pakistan for the treatment meted out to Chetna Jadhav and her mother-in-law, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was secretly huddled with his Pakistani counterpart in Bangkok.' 'It is becoming impossible to make rational judgments about our government's Pakistan policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Perhaps a better question to ask would be: Is this 'Made for India'?' asks AI expert Ganesh Mani.
After the Supreme Court ruling on playing the national anthem in all movie halls, Veenu Sandhu misses the innocent days when patriotism was part of our being, not a prescribed potion to bring all our problems to an end. And no one told us to 'leave', 'get out' or 'go to Pakistan' if we differed.
Explained: The intimacy of celebrity deaths.
Taking forward its probe into the activities of Islamic State following the arrest of its five alleged operatives in Hyderabad, the National Investigation Agency on Tuesday searched various locations in the city and recovered 17 rounds of ammunition, besides computers and scanners which were used for online communication.
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The world begins two final days of mourning for Muhammad Ali on Thursday when the boxing great will be honoured with a Muslim funeral a day before receiving a final goodbye with an interfaith service.
Seven decades after Adolf Hitler sought to stop Jews from competing in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, more than 2,500 Jewish competitors will take part in the 14th European Maccabi Games from Wednesday.
Both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Modi have learnt from their past mistakes. Modi has understood that Rajapaksa is a 'forever politician' that India has to live with, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'They (students) were born in a borderless world, a world of the internet and a deep-seated belief that they could live and work anywhere they wished.'
In the hands of skilled photographers, smartphones are capable of producing works of art - as these stunning images show. Now in its twelfth year, the iPhone Photography Awards competition aims to find the best photographs taken using just an iPhone. Every year since it was founded in 2007, the IPPAWARDS has selected the very best shots among thousands submitted by iPhone photographers from more than 140 countries around the world. This year's grand prize went to Gabriella Cigliano for a mesmerising image shot on an iPhone X of two young girls in Tanzania. Scroll down to take a look at the stunning photos that made the cut.
'The Communist rule in Tripura was exceptional while it lasted for a quarter century in giving good governance.' 'The chief minister himself was the paragon of virtues in his dedication in public life.' 'But all that still didn't add up when the BJP's dream merchants came up with their famous 'development agenda'.' 'One thing that emerges indisputably in the Tripura election results is that needs and aspirations more or less narrow down to one little word -- jobs,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
On Dr Homi J Bhabha's 110th birth anniversary, Dr K S Parthasarathy shares some personal memories of the legendary nuclear scientist.
Before undertaking such difficult projects as a 378-km railway line to Tawang, the government must seriously examine whether having quality roads is a better option.
It is a good follow up to Avengers Endgame and marks the start of a new Avengers team, led by the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that India will contribute an additional battalion of 850 troops for United Nations peacekeeping operations, but also raised concern that troop contributing countries have no role in decision-making.
In the midst of huge job losses as a fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has signed 17 MoUs for an investment of Rs 15,100 crores that aim to provide 47,100 jobs. But a clearer picture on where the projects stand will emerge only after the Covid-19 induced fear psychosis ends, to see if popular protests will derail them like they have done so many others, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rediff.com takes a look at some personalities who are likely to win the prize this year.
The ultimate was surely Yudhishthira's immortal "Aswathama hatha...", followed by a whispered "iti narova kunjarova..."," says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
'The majority community needs to accept that the Indian Muslim is peace loving, not communal and treat them accordingly.'
The debate on the Rafale jet fighter deal saw a head-on collision between the government and the Congress in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Donald Trump and General H R McMaster: It is almost like the Chinese monarch Helü with Sun Tzu at his side.
As much as Rs 4,300 crore was generated by 2019 movie releases. But 2020 is all set to be bigger and better!
'One of his most famous scenes is set in a prison in Delhi where the British try to subvert Karla, the legendary Soviet spy who is being transferred back to Moscow and is being temporarily detained by the Indian agencies.' Ambassador B S Prakash salutes John le Carre.
'We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries.'
She spins Bollywood tracks when she's not doing her investment consultant job.
'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'
AMU has once again been pulled into a crossfire of crass political opportunism. In these post-truth times, that the university also had political stirrings not subscribing to the Muslim League is chosen to be forgotten, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Parkasho Devi has witnessed every conflict between India and Pakistan in the Arnia region which is situated five kilometres from the International Border, but feels that latest onslaught from the neighbouring country has been unprecedented one as even at the peak of hostilities civilian areas were not targeted the way they were being now.
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Siva Sankar looks at S P Balasubrahmanyam's fantastic repertoire.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino likes to erase bad memories and cherish good ones and it is a trait he hopes his players have acquired ahead of Saturday's clash at Premier League champions Manchester City.
'We were firing at Patton tanks that were moving towards India.' 'Fighter aircraft are the biggest menace for tanks because they come at great speed, attack from a height and their rockets are lethal.' 'The Hunter travels at 400, 420 knots. One knot is 1.6 times a km, so it was at a speed of 700, 800 km/hr.' 'You come at great speed and when you see the tanks, you pull up because attacks are always done in a dive.' 'You go up to 3,000 to 4,000 feet and then dive on to the target and let off your rockets...'
With Sheikh Hasina as Bangladesh prime minister, all is well with the world of India-Bangladesh relations, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Hockey greats Vasudevan Baskaran, M M Somaya and Mervyn Fernandis relive India's gold medal-winning campaign at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
From a Sri Lanka cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara's final Test innings, Virender Sehwag's felicitation ceremony, FC Barcelona's Luis Suarez celebrating the La Liga title with his family, these and many more scintillating moments are frozen in time in this beautiful photo-feature.
'The summer of 1857 saw violence, perpetrated by the Indians and the Britons, on an unprecedented scale.' 'Never before and never after in the history of British rule in India was there violence at the level that 1857 witnessed.'
