It is important for India to pay close attention to both the tone and substance of authoritative remarks coming out of Pakistan, explains former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Unfortunately, India and Pakistan could learn a 'lesson' from this conflict that will make them more likely to use these weapons against each other in the future.' 'Rounds of missile and drone attacks could be more routine features of their hostility, just like artillery fire has become a familiar fact of life along the Line of Control.'
An inconclusive end to this war will pose high risk for Netanyahu of a cascading demand for a regime change in Israel, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We value our friendship with the Left, but not at the cost of the national interest. If this government goes, let it go'
Can the nuclear deal become an election issue? Unfortunately not.
'India should not succumb to the US ploy and help their approach by over-dramatizing the importance of the 123 Agreement to the Indian public.'
Modi lived up to his declaration that his visit was purely meant to strengthen India's relationship with the US, but there may be situations in which our silence on some issues will haunt us in the future, cautions Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
US Vice President JD Vance called on India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets and buy more American energy products and military hardware. Vance, in a speech in Jaipur, highlighted the need for a stronger US-India partnership for a prosperous and peaceful 21st century. He emphasized the importance of working together to address global challenges and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as a "special person." Vance also urged India to provide greater market access to American products and buy more defense platforms and energy from the US. He suggested that India consider dropping some of the non-tariff barriers for American access to the Indian market and highlighted the benefits of closer India-US defense collaboration, advocating for New Delhi to procure more military hardware from the US. He cited the example of American fifth-generation F-35s, arguing they would give the Indian Air Force the ability to defend its airspace and protect its people like never before. Vance also welcomed the Modi government's budget announcement to amend India's civil nuclear liability laws, paving the way for US producers to export small modular reactors and build larger US-designed reactors in India. He emphasized the importance of energy security for India's AI ambitions, stating "there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance." Vance's visit comes amid growing global concerns over the US's tariff war.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."
'Pakistan's only concern has been while they were on the FATF watch list was to distance their State institutions and organs from any direct connection with the actual execution of militancy inside Kashmir.'
'We should not just react when a terror attack happens on our soil.' 'Our approach should be continuous and a launch pad should be destroyed the moment it comes up.'
British Prime Minister David Cameron's recent comments in Bangalore on the "export of terror" by Pakistan have enormously pleased the Indian strategic establishment, but the fact is that India is already gearing up for the November visit of US President Barack Obama and is keenly aware that there is nothing like a defence deal to sweeten the mood.
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
There are many reasons for Japan to turn a deaf ear to its anti-nuclear lobby and concentrate on its geo-strategic imperatives to sign the nuclear deal with India, says Debalina Ghoshal.
With billions of dollars in military technology agreements likely to be made with the United States-India nuclear deal going through, there's an excited buzz among American companies.
'The die is cast. The wave is for her.' 'We will win this. The numbers are going to be higher than people are saying.' 'It is going to be more closer to Obama's numbers than Biden's numbers.'
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
China has delivered a second advanced submarine to Pakistan, part of a larger deal to bolster the South Asian nation's naval capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The move underscores China's growing influence in the region and its strategic partnership with Pakistan.
The first issue in engaging with Pakistan is the cessation of terrorism, India's envoy at the United Nations said, underlining that India has been a long-standing victim of cross-border and global terrorism and has zero tolerance towards the scourge.
'The government has to explain (to the army, air force and navy chiefs) whether they want a punitive strike, a deep punitive strike, or whether they want limited war or an all-out war, will it be a circumscribed war or will it be a shallow attack along the border.'
'All the big things happening today in economic development have their beginning in Dr Manmohan Singh's ideas.'
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
'Putin dreams about his legacy. He wants to forcibly restore the Russian empire.' 'Unfortunately, after three years of large-scale war with massive human losses, Putin will not budge from his goal because human life is the cheapest resource in the Russian State.'
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
United States firm Westinghouse Electric and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd on Wednesday signed a preliminary pact for an Early Works Agreement for installation of the first 1,000 MW American nuclear reactor in India under the historic 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday spoke to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee over telephone about the bilateral nuclear deal. During the conversation, Rice conveyed to Mukherjee that the US was keen on moving ahead with the civilian nuclear deal, informed State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. McCormack said, "She (Rice) still supports it going forward. We have conveyed that to the Indian government at a number of different levels."
'Mrs Gandhi had nothing to do in the day-to-day working of Dr Singh's government.' 'People say Mrs Gandhi's office used to give orders, which is nonsense.'
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi seems to be in a denial over failure in getting a commitment from the US the civilian nuclear deal.
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