New Delhi [India], October 28: At a special seminar organized in New Delhi, former diplomats and several intellectuals concurred that India ought to prioritize its national interests, particularly in the region and globally, when engaging with the United States and other influential nations.
Former diplomat and international affairs expert TS Tirumurti has said that India has a very important role to play in BRICS and the forum should not become an "anti-West group".
Former diplomat Surendra Kumar on Wednesday said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where he termed cross-border terrorism, extremism and separatism as the "three evils," was specifically aimed at Pakistan.
The former diplomat highlighted that Pakistan has been witnessing an increase in terrorism-related violence, the Pakistan army's interference in political matters, the arrest of Pakistani lawmakers, massive demonstrations, and the worsening economic condition.
As the situation in Bangladesh worsened following Sheikh Hasina's resignation amid heavy protests, several former diplomats and experts have raised concerns about the scenario and asked the Indian government to remain vigilant.
Former Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri welcomed the Delhi High Court judgement directing Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale to tender a public apology for his defamatory comments against her family.
BJP leader Chandrasekhar faces a stiff challenge from the former diplomat and senior Congress leader Tharoor, who is seeking a third term in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
Devyani Khobrogade, the current Indian ambassador to Combodia, who was at the centre of a controversy that fueled tensions between India and the US earlier, surfaced on social media on Saturday in an image from a photoshoot in traditional Cambodian attire.
In an interview with ANI, Bisaria asserted that the pain suffered by India through terrorism in Punjab in the 1980s could have lessened if New Delhi had taken a "hard power action" in the 80s or early 90s.