Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making his first visit to the Maldives on November 17 for the swearing-in of President-elect Ibrahim Solih. Speaking to SNI’s Associate Editor Amitabh Revi at the 10th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium in Kochi, chief of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Major General Ahmed Shiyam minced no words in blaming outgoing President Abdullah Yameen for the recent row over Indian helicopters and military personnel. He also referred to India crushing an attempted coup in the island nation in1988, saying if other countries followed New Delhi’s example, the world would be a better place.
Enthusiasts think BRICS is taking on the US-led West. Critics think it is just a weak wannabe. In reality, BRICS is undergirding the new global order that will bring together friends and foes alike. A Deep Analysis by Drishtikone.
Swami Dhirendra Shastri called for a meat-free Navratri in Bengal. Parties answered by invoking Shakta tradition. A restricted rite, stripped of its disciplines, has become “culture”, and Bengal uses its first taste of political freedom in decades to flaunt the very decay that helped undo it.