Making sense of the Af-Pak cauldron
The best way to understand the happenings in Pak-Af is to see it as a second jihad. The first jihad was fought between the Soviet Union and Af-Pak combine. Once the Soviets were out of Afghanistan, the US was content to cede control to Pakistan. The elephant in the room that no one saw was the 'fundamentalist Islam' with its dream of a Pan-Islamic world. 'We need to do a ot more to make Mumbai safe'
Milind Deora was the Member of Parliament who represented Mumbai South, which was the theatre of the deadliest terror attack on Indian soil. 'I feel let down by Gafoor and Maria'
'The officers are sitting on their chairs today because these men paid with their lives. The least they can do is to give them the honour they deserved,' says Vinita Kamte. 'Unlike 9/11, not much was said post 26/11'
'The whole world was with New Yorkers. But in the case of Mumbai, it was a different scene,' feels actor-jeweller Waris Ahluwalia. Drift prevails a year after 26/11
'Our enemies can run rings around India because half of Indian political leadership has lost its intelligence and the other half has lost its nerve.' Ex-IPS officer wants probe into Karkare's death
'I would not say I am 100 per cent sure. But I would also not rule out the possibility. This is an alternative theory which must be probed into,' says former Maharashtra Inspector General of Police S M Mushrif. Mossad's ex-chief on the lessons of 26/11
'You cannot deter somebody who is ready to die. You need to either catch them before they start their journey and before they start implementation or while they are on their way,' says former Mossad chief Danny Yatom. Tarun Vijay: Barack Obama, us and the US
'India will have to fight its own battles. It cannot expect the US to help us fight them.' Exclusive: Ex-NSG chief's stunning disclosures
'Since I felt there could be more, I had told the local authorities to screen every hostage carefully, since we felt that some could have been staying as guests.' Former NSG director general J K Dutt in an exclusive interview. 26/11: Questions that need to be posed, answered
Strategic expert B Raman on the 17 critical question that he wants answered on the Mumbai terror attacks. Column: Why I am worried about Dr Singh's visit
'A nation that has no long-term strategic intent, and whose leaders can be easily manipulated through flattery, is a banana republic. Unlike China, which intends to rule the world, India, which can only imagine itself as a second-rate power, will remain one.' What Manmohan Singh should tell Barack Obama
'China is not a disinterested observer in South Asia. It is in possession of part of Jammu and Kashmir and has been an unscrupulous supplier of arms and war-like nuclear material to Pakistan.' Why India cannot be an Asian power like China
Power and influence are not given. They are taken. China knows how to take it, India does not, says strategic expert B Raman. The Mamata and Mayawati factor
'The BJP and Samajwadi Party seem to be on a downward slope in UP; the Left Front seems to be on its way out in Kerala and West Bengal.' For Mumbai, slum-free plan may not work
It is surprising that the slum dwellers have so far not revolted and asked the government to pack up and go because, from their point of view, the slums are not a problem but a spontaneous solution to the housing problem in Mumbai which has always been behind the demand curve, the supply kept short deliberately so that progressively higher prices can rule. Will Bonapartist Foneska outgrow Lankan democracy?
'There is nothing necessarily fatal if a soldier develops a passion for politics. An Indian commentator pointed out that, after all, there is the precedent of Dwight Eisenhower. But then, the nagging worry remains whether in the South Asian clime, like the sapling brought in from distant China, Fonseka, a US Green Card holder, may blossom and outgrow the botanical garden that Sri Lankan democracy used to be.' Indian democracy at the crossroads
Some measures like conducting candidate debates, fixing the terms for elected representatives, having a constitutionally empowered political finance regulatory authority and effective policing of campaigns and elections by the Election Commission will go a long way in making India a truly functional and thriving democracy. 'Chidambaram's action endangering peace'
'Operation Green Hunt is nothing but an operation to get the tribals out of their villages. The paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum are attacking innocent old men, women and children,' says Gandhian Himanshu Kumar. Decoding the Headley-Rana case
The key to the conspiracy hatched by David Headley and Tahawwur Rana may lie in Bangladesh and Pakistan. 'The talk of me being a 'Super CM' is rubbish'
'I have been dropped all of a sudden and I don't even know what my fault is,' says Shobha Karandlaje, who was dropped from the Karnataka cabinet following the battle between Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers from Bellary. The BJP's hour may have passed
'The Karnataka crisis clearly showed the BJP in the grip of regional satraps, for whom the national leadership is of little consequence.' The Chicago conspiracy: What is Rana's role?
Security expert B Raman deciphers the FBI affidavit against Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the Pakistan-origin Canadian arrested with David Headley for alleged Lashkar connections, and speculates who could be their handlers in Pakistan. Defeating 'new terrorism': India must act
'There is no option but to successfully defeat the terrorist organisations inimical to India's national security and determined to create a communal-sectarian schism with a view to destabilising India on behalf of the ISI and the Pakistan army.' An open letter to Raj Thackeray
'Your militia can rampage outside the legislature, but it can, and will, be thwarted entry into the legislature. You cannot carry your grudges on any aspect of life in Maharashtra there in the fashion your men have done.' How India must face the Chinese threat
India needs to agressively counter China's imperial ambitions and its plans to encircle and break up the country.