'The India-France relationship has been that of the elites of two countries, who appreciate each other's philosophical traditions -- whether it is ancient Indian civilisation and Sanskrit texts or the French tradition of Rene Descartes, Albert Camus, (Jean-Paul) Sartre... This is a drawback. It doesn't create the buzz, the excitement necessary for a relationship. We need more people-to-people contact, especially among students,' says former Ambassador to Paris, Rakesh Sood.
The statement of Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino on Wednesday came ahead of the 15th round of high-level military talks between India and China on March 11.
'No amount of digression can hide deflect the fact that the PM's visit was badly conceived, planned and executed,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'What matters is that India's perspective on global issues -- climate change, intellectual property, free trade, trade routes being kept free, digital technology -- are listened to with respect,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
There is a sense of relief in Beijing that Modi will be at the helm of affairs in Delhi at a critical juncture in the geopolitics of the region, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The prospect is of a self-confident and self-sustaining India will make it a more effective player in the global arena,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'A lot of people,' says India's Ambassador to the US, 'are struggling how to define this relationship.' Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
France has asked India for early finalisation of the long-pending Rs 30,000-crore project for joint production of short-range surface-to-air missile (SR-SAM) systems.
'The Kerala saga also requires a reappraisal of Nehru himself. 'The real Nehru is to be found somewhere between the syrupy panegyrics on him and the demonisation of him that is currently happening,' says Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar.
'Please don't forget there's still one final piece to fall in place, which is the Supreme Court judgment. Once that happens, it will be ready for being passed.'
India was fooled into believing that Communist China wanted a 'negotiated' settlement with the Tibetans; it was never the case, says Claude Arpi.
While the government stifled PSUs' operational autonomy, competition from the private sector hit their market share.
'There is gradual rise in the number of nations viewing Pakistan as the nursery of global terror.'
Even as the United States snuggles closer to India with the thinly veiled objective of containing China, the Indian strategy is to avoid alienating either nation.
'China's deep involvement in the stability and economic and political success of Pakistan actually produces some elements of congruence with India's core interest in a stable and productive relationship with Pakistan.' 'It is not far-fetched for us to pursue that congruence and with ingenuity work out with China a formula that also satisfies our formal position on PoK,' argues Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
If our international institutions are not dealing successfully with the challenges of today, one reason is the fact that they no longer reflect current or emerging realities of power
He said he has always maintained that instead of fighting with each other, India and Pakistan should together fight against poverty.
'Alas, the Congress party offers no suggestions as to how to unscramble the omlette it cooked during 2004-2014 on which the Modi government may have since lavishly spread some tomato ketchup,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'One lesson to emerge out of the Modi-Putin summit is that India can be more self-confident that it possesses inherent strengths to leverage its interlocutors to influence Pakistani policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China is all set to send on Thursday the first three crew members to its under-construction space station which is expected to be Beijing's eye in the sky and will rival the ageing International Space Station (ISS).
The ecosystems of India and China today jostle against one another across Asia and much of the world.
As President Biden moves ahead with a new 'strategic concept' for China and Russia, the going is bound to get rough for the US and its G7 partners, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The remarks came amid reports of mounting tension between the finance ministry and the RBI over the autonomy of monetary policy makers.
It is difficult to recall an Indian minister in modern times pushing back at the US publicly, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'It is crucial today to realise where we have reached in this 15 year-period in order to fully and properly assess the profundity of what General Rawat has said,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Modi's decision to hold out an olive branch to Sharif within 48 hours of the 'surgical strikes' has been a timely move as it helps tensions to 'de-escalate',' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The United Progressive Alliance government on Monday said it will pursue privatisation of public sector firms on a case-by-case basis and, as a policy, sell-off or close loss-making companies while giving autonomy to profit-making ones.
While it took the Congress nearly a half century to earn the hatred of other political outfits, the BJP appears set to reach there in around six years, says Arun Bhatnagar, former secretary to the GoI.
The major driver of Mod's foreign policy can be gauged from his economic priorities such as creating employment opportunities for the youth bulge. Related to this is emphasis on manufacturing, and infrastructure development, which in turn raises the issue of FDI. He has already articulated his views on all these issues, says Rup Narayan Das.
'Crafting a coherent, transparent and consistent policy vis-a-vis our neighbours, leave alone the rest of the world, is unlikely to be high on the priority list of the new Indian government, which will be sworn in before June,' says Ramananda Sengupta.
'The world is finally recognising that China is pushing a form of government that many only now are beginning to recognise as problematic'
'Perhaps the most important political trend affecting armed conflict in the 21st century, will be in the relationship between civilians and those who fight on their behalf,' points out Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd), who served as chief of the Integrated Defence Staff and Central Army Commander.
'There is much symbolism in President Pranab Mukherjee's participation in the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.'
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The prime minister and the Chinese president walked along the banks of East Lake and also took a boat ride together as they decided to step up their personal rapport.
'Clearly, the Modi government is proving to be far more willing than any previous government in Delhi to hitch India's wagons with the US' regional strategies.'
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At the retreat, PSBs had suggested the government cut its stake in these entities to less than 51 per cent over a period of time and empower the boards of individual banks.
Narrowing of differences on competing territorial claims along the un-demarcated LAC might take weeks, if not months, of hard-nosed negotiations. Without some give and take on both sides, the impasse will be hard to resolve, observes Virendra Kapoor.
