The Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers have pitched their fifth tent in Ladakh after their intrusion, almost 18 km into Indian territory from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was first detected. How should India respond to this? Does India have the political will and other required capacities to force the Chinese to go back to their side of the LAC? Strategic affairs expert Bharat Karnad joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Why are we such a weak nation? China scares us being a bigger country & Pakistan scares despite being a smaller country. Why are our leaders so weak? Asked by: Ankit
A. Indian leaders and the government they head lack in vision, lose their nerves easily in even the smallest crisis, and simply don't appreciate the utility of hard military power of the state because of their oft-mentioned belief that as a "responsible" state India shouldn't rattle its sabres. When these elements are combined what you get is the kind of defensive inaction we see today....
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05:55 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that as of now there was no plans to cancel his visit to Beijing in wake of Chinese incursion in Ladakh. He, however, appeared to keep his options open saying "one week is a long time in politics". "Can I cancel my visit? Government has to decide. There is no such decision and there is no reason we should do...
03:27 PM, Apr 30, 2013
Ladakh: As China remains inside the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, CNN-IBN tracked down the brave scouts who stood face to face with the Chinese platoon in the 1962 war. Many from Leh fought the Chinese in the 1962 war and many were taken prisoners of war (PAWs). Till today, Indian Army sees great value in recruiting and training locals to be soldiers and officers. In fact,...
09:26 AM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: The government on Friday told a Parliamentary Committee that Chinese troops have pitched tents 19 kms deep inside the Indian territory in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and that efforts are underway to ensure that the status quo is maintained. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and some other senior officials informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence that India has deployed forces to "keep a close watch...
05:59 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Twenty eight Indian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates have been released. The sailors were on board two ships Merchant Tanker Royal Grace and Merchant Tanker Smyrni and 17 were on board the MT Royal Grace and 11 were on board the MT Smyrni. ...
03:12 PM, Mar 09, 2013
The Government plans to take possession of the server and other infrastructure placed by BlackBerry in Mumbai to test the solution offered by the smartphone maker for legal interception of Internet communication. ...
10:35 AM, Mar 04, 2013
Vodafone, which has not applied for taking part in spectrum auction in March, on Tuesday said the reserve price set is too high and the company cannot afford to pay in India where there is uncertainty about airwaves and revenues are low. ...
04:06 AM, Feb 27, 2013
Europe's Airbus wants to sell its C295 military transport aircraft to India, an Airbus Military executive said on February 7, adding that the company was awaiting a request for proposals from the government. "We are very keen to see the RFP so we can get our proposal in there," said Kieran Daly, press manager for Airbus Military, at the Aero India air show in Bangalore. ...
01:32 PM, Feb 08, 2013
LeT founder and 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has "challenged" the Indian government to prove that he was present near the Line of Control a few days ago. ...
12:54 AM, Jan 12, 2013
New Delhi: The value of telecom airwaves to be put on auction in this fiscal year ending March will be worth about Rs 20,000 crore at the current reserve price, telecoms department secretary R Chandrashekhar, said on Friday. Government is betting on the revenue from phone airwaves auctions and stake sales in state-run companies to plug its widening fiscal deficit. The government raised less than a quarter of its Rs...
04:10 PM, Dec 15, 2012
New Delhi: The government has initiated fresh steps to bring back former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, facing charges of financial irregularities in the conduct of the T-20 cricket tournament, from the UK where he has been staying for nearly two years. The Finance Ministry, sources said, has written to the External Affairs Ministry pointing out that Modi continues to stay in the UK for a long time even though his...
10:25 PM, Nov 12, 2012
New Delhi: Over 270 government websites were hacked till July this year, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot informed parliament. "A total number of 201, 303, 308 and 273 government websites were hacked during the year 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (till July) respectively," Pilot said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha this week. Asked if computer security analysts have issued alerts for internet users,...
05:02 PM, Sep 01, 2012
New Delhi: India has expressed its "serious concern" to Pakistan over abduction, forced conversion and marriage of Hindu girls against their will to Muslim men in that country. A demarche was made to Pakistan in this regard on May 8 to convey India's expectation that the government of Pakistan will look after the well-being of its minority communities and discharge its responsibilities in that regard. Minister of State for External...
10:16 PM, Aug 23, 2012
New Delhi: Fresh guidelines have been issued for bureaucrats visiting abroad asking them to furnish details about their sponsors and expenditure. In an order, the Centre has said officials who seek the mandatory government clearance for going abroad have to submit a "write up" if they are going to attend a conference or seminar in foreign countries. The expenditure details which are to be submitted include air fare and approximate...
08:14 PM, Jul 11, 2012
The Somali pirates have hijacked a merchant oil tanker, MT Royal Grace, with 17 Indians on board. ...
11:17 PM, Apr 09, 2012
Mumbai: There seems to be no end to the plight of Indian sailors. In the latest case, the Somali pirates have hijacked a Nigeria-bound vessel with 17 Indians among the 22 taken hostage. The incident took place on March 2. The families of the sailors have not been able to establish any contact with them. They have now turned to the Indian government for help. The Somali pirates have this...
10:01 PM, Apr 09, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday tried to do a U-turn in the Supreme Court on the issue of gay sex, saying there is no error in decriminalising gay sex. The government through the Health Ministry has told the court that it supports gay sex as interpreted by the Delhi High Court. The apex court pulled up the government for trying to change its stand. "Don't make a mockery of...
11:34 AM, Feb 28, 2012
New Delhi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday said that the Italian ship Enrica Lexie, whose crew members had killed two Indian fishermen near Kochi port, could leave Kochi after paying Rs 25 lakh. The court maintained that the ship could not leave the port without paying the guarantee. The High Court further said that the ship could leave only after getting a clearance from the probing agencies. Wife of...
03:57 PM, Feb 22, 2012
Itanagar: Stating that all border areas need to be developed, Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday said secure and non-porous international borders must remain the topmost priority of the Centre. "We are aware of the challenges which people living in border areas face and it is our collective duty to ensure that our border areas are developed as any other part of the country," Antony said. Referring to the highly-sensitive...
03:24 PM, Feb 20, 2012
The Kochi Police Commissioner is on the Italian ship who's crew is wanted for killing of 2 Indian fishermen. ...
09:32 AM, Feb 19, 2012
