Seema Sirohi
@seemasirohi
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Columnist for the @EconomicTimes & author of "Friends With Benefits-The India-US Story," failed rocker, blues fan & aspiring yogi.
Washington DC
Joined June 2009
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Pinned Tweet
Thank you
@narlak
! Grateful for the review…
#Review
of
@seemasirohi
’s 'Friends with Benefits: The India-U.S. Story': a journalist takes stock of India-U.S. ties, tracing the ups and downs of the relationship |
@narlak
for
#thmagazine
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US ventilators to cost more than $2.9 million! Officials had earlier hinted they were to be a gift.
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Foreign minister
@DrSJaishankar
in answer to a Q from Reuters chief who tried to put words in the mouth of British Foreign Sec
@trussliz
saying she must have been "disappointed" by India buying Russian oil. Jaishankar: said it "looks almost like a campaign on this issue." 1/3
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Saw a copy of the said "memo". Let's just say it doesn't pass the smell test. First, the language & grammar are too poor to meet basic IFS standard. Elitist or not but I have covered the MEA for a bit - 30 yrs to be precise. I know how they write. 1/4
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.
@DrSJaishankar
pointed out that in March Europe bought 15% more oil and gas from Russian than the month before. Most buyers of Russian oil are in Europe. India buys bulk of oil from Middle East, abt 7-8% from US, less than 1% from Russia. 2/3
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.
@DrSJaishankar
says to wait and watch the big buyers list 2 or 3 months from now..it won't be very different from today. India won't be in the top 10. 3/3
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Indian Prime minister was short and succinct and stuck to the themes for
#UNGA2019
while
@ImranKhanPTI
went on for 50min scaring the world. There you have it. He did not help his country’s cause.
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Tedros should resign: China and the WHO's chief: Hold them both accountable for pandemic
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Here's the video of Taliban shooting Afghan special forces despite the fact they surrendered. How do you think they will treat women who want to work and study?
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My take: Coronavirus is Indeed the Wuhan Virus, Let Us Not Give China a Clean Chit: World Leaders Must Confront China
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A line of inquiry that wd have been interesting: how come all these terrorists were living the happy life in Pakistan in the first place since Pak govts. have always pretended they don't exist. At least a paragraph...
Our investigation into how the Indian government ordered assassinations in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists on foreign soil, according to intelligence officials. It's a lengthy read but worth it for the eye-opening details
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Strong piece by
@BDUTT
. In 2014, Modi ran on aspiration. In 2019, he is running on fear. - The Washington Post
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Got to taste the all-veg menu for the state dinner tomorrow. Thanks
@FLOTUS
for the gesture. Nod to millets. Saffron, and colors of the Indian and US flags.
#ModiVisit
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And with the moon!
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Extraordinary things are happening in India: Church opens gates for namaz
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Great interview with
@francescam63
who from bella Roma nails the Pakistani lies simply and effectively. Ciao Francesca!
#IAFAirStrikes
: Media reports states eyewitnesses saw up to 35 bodies in
#BalakotAttack
in Pakistan. They also claim that Pak army cordoned off the blast site.
WION's
@SinghBhairavi
spoke to journalist
@francescam63
for more on this. Listen in!
#IndiaPakistanTension
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This is becoming a joke in terms of planted questions and boiler plate responses.
"We have seen those reports. We have also seen the reports that the Indian Supreme Court on July 22 issued an interim stay on the implementation of those rules. So they're not actually in effect", US state dept on Name/Kawar yatra controversy
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There is no sense of alarm in DC thus far. Shows how well people see Pakistan as a hub of terrorists. And how they accept Indian retaliation as justified.
#PulawamaTerrorAttack
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The US should know by now this only taps into latent anti-Americanism. Daleep Singh gives a lesson in what NOT to say when engaging India.
US doesn’t want to see “rapid acceleration” in India's imports from Russia of energy & other commodities prohibited by global sanctions regimes & there will be consequences for countries that attempt to circumvent embargoes: US deputy NSA Daleep Singh
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An Indian-origin Briton could be PM? Sweet revenge although it’s taking a while. “While Boris Johnson Sinks, Rishi Sunak Is on the Rise “- The New York Times
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"Akbarnama: Lessons in Diplomacy"- My tribute to
@AkbaruddinIndia
, one of India's best diplomats who retires today. His four years
@UN
had many "firsts"--
#MasoodAzhar
's designation as
#terrorist
being just one.
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India-Canada: Plumbing the depths of duplicity. Your terrorist is my plumber. Deal with it.
#IndiaCanadaTensions
via
@economictimes
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The arrogance and the refusal to consider facts and parrot the narrative they have been given... the anchor should study details of the proposed oil price cap. The idea of a moral conflict the western press is seized with is a sometimes thing.
"Absolutely none. There is no moral conflict."
I asked India's Minister of Petroleum
@HardeepSPuri
whether there was any moral conflict around his country's importing Russian oil, he tells me without Russian oil, prices will only go up.
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Just to put it in perspective: Would the US Embassy expose Pompeo to, say, trenchant Indian critics of US policy in Afghanistan/Iraq/Pakistan? I would say not. And US officials do plenty of dictating as we know.
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Sunday wisdom: if you don't know, don't speculate. One less tweet won't hurt. This applies especially to experts sitting in DC.
#Kashmir
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So many stories to tell and
@BDUTT
is doing it!
Where do India's Poor Non-Covid patients go? I met Rajesh, a pavement dweller diagnosed with lip cancer, so poor, so alone, he didnt even know that. He was turned away from the now COVID-only hospital. We blurred some of these images, but not fully, because this is the Truth.
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New York, New York! Indian journalists waiting for the India-Pak late night battle. We work so hard! 😄
@AkbaruddinIndia
@DrSJaishankar
@harshvshringla
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Investigative journalism has to have a much higher bar. Don't like criticizing fellow journalists but this is embarrassing. Three bylines and two major errors so far. The first version of the story had Pannun already dead which was corrected later. Now this...
Among much else, the photo
@HannahEP
has in her piece of an ‘LeT man killed by RAW in Lahore in Sept 2023’ is actually an LeT man arrested at the Delhi Railway Station by the Delhi Police in Feb this year. 😶
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India wins the UN Security Council seat by 184 votes for a two-year term. It was the uncontested candidate for Asia Pacific region. A bit of positive news to celebrate! 👏🏽👏🏽
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First, western liberals, and now conservatives: Modi govt has left everyone disappointed.
@husainhaqqani
examines why India’s fan club is losing members rapidly.
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2nd graf, an assault on the English language that wouldn't have got the recruit thru IFS & we're talking of the foreign secretary. "xxx have masterminded various arson and vandalization in North America x x " No way Jose. He would have written "acts of arson and vandalism." 2/4
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Finally, if
@theintercept
was a wee bit familiar with secret communication and not honed on just cables from a certain country, they would know the foreign secretary gives directions to his ambassadors, not consulates. Ends.
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My take. Bangladesh crisis news: Ek Hasina, No Diwane: US ‘democracy promoters’ seem to be unable to see India’s Bangladesh security concerns - The Economic Times
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I am at the best party in town! Indian ambassador
@SandhuTaranjitS
is giving us a taste of the divine fruit!
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Think tank tour of
@DrSJaishankar
extremely important. Here are some points made by him at the
@AtlanticCouncil
this morning. How India relates to the West: Two centuries of humiliation. A recent study shows that $45 trillion taken out of India by the British over 200 years.
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It’s made it to the
@washingtonpost
: Modi critic stripped of citizenship status in step denounced as ‘vindictive’ - The Washington Post
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Request: Indian media in India, especially TV channels-Please keep in mind the Khalistanis were only 20 in number. They ‘performed’ for Pak TV channels who were dutifully there to record the spending of their tax rupees by the ISI. They were vastly outnumbered.
#RepublicDay2019
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My take: There’s no other way to say it - India is not in good company. When India appears alongside Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Hungary and Kazakhstan, for purportedly using government might for the wrong reasons, something is terribly wrong.
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I have been a graduate student here. Participated in plenty of protests. Anti-apartheid and pro-Palestinian protests! Boils down to confidence of one state vs non confidence of the other. One German student holding a placard shook up mighty India?
I know activists will get all agitated over this but the fact is in no country can you join political protests if you are on a student or any kind of temporary visa. No-not even in citadel of free speech- USA. But then no one takes such liberties in the US.
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The Khalistanis tried but lost the battle - of slogan shouting. Bollywood songs and spirited counter shouting of pro-India slogans endured for three hours on a bitterly cold day.
#RepublicDay2019
@IndianEmbassyUS
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India's radars in Bangladesh to monitor Bay of Bengal. Similar networks being built in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles.
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The Modi-Putin hug & the aftermath. Why is India-Russia diplomacy more objectionable than U.S.-Pak engagement despite all the terrorism directed from the U.S. ally @ India and the world? Puzzles of diplomacy.
@ecnomictimes
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This is a little known but important fact -- most Indian American supporters of Trump are Indian Christians, according to the very few academic surveys available.
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May be time to remember that Khalistanis attacked a former chief of army staff on a visit to London? After a point it’s not a case of arguing it either way. Lives can be in danger. Am sure U.K. high commission would demand/be given complete security.
4) I think you can argue it either way - you don’t want to crack down on civil liberties; you do risk stuff slipping between the cracks. But what has changed this time around is:
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Oh well, this kind of quick 'gotcha' takes are tiresome. Look at the map and see where China is. Statements are so satisfying to some and not a country actually facing off China which India is doing. (If this is an attempt to get Twitter followers, I understand)
You see, when the US, Australia, and Japan meet up, they have no qualms about airing their growing heartburn over China's bad behavior. But when you add India, and the group thus becomes the Quad, there are no such statements issued. Oh well.
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Also 2nd Graf: Groups "x x defaming Indian government of so-called torturing, murdering and disappearing thousands of Sikhs x x " Come on. This is not even 3rd grade. What is "so-called torturing..." I can assure you top levels of MEA speak/write better than this. 3/4
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“Canadians may say Nijjar was a plumber who dabbled in politics on the side, but that’s akin to saying Bin Laden was a building contractor who had an interest in aviation.”What to Make of the India-Canada Spat? | by
@mrubin1971
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Protests were led by students for a while but what’s happening now is led by Jamaat and its ‘student wing.’ The targets are chosen purposefully. Don’t think student leaders would go after 400 police stations, Indian cultural center, temples and minority businesses.
I did an interview on
@ndtv
and the understanding of the anchor and the other guests was just shocking. Even a former ambassador spoke about protests "spearheaded" by the Jamaat. It was just pure fantasy. It seemed they had taken the most extreme of the Awami League narratives
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The hearing on human rights in South Asia has become a hearing on Kashmir. Pakistan getting mostly a free pass.
@HouseForeign
@BradSherman
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When your own story describes a man a certain way but you feel compelled to call him an "activist" in a tweet for reasons of acceptance by your western colleagues...
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While I agree 100% with the overall sentiment, I do wish Pakistani liberals would take a stand on terrorists living freely in Pak. And note that all the wars that everyone always lists were started by Pakistan. Not India.Important to remember Pakistan started each one
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Some quotable quotes from Indian foreign minister
@DrSJaishankar
at Carnegie India's Global Technology Summit 2022
"Technology is at the heart of geopolitics. We can't be agnostic about tech. Stop pretending there's something neutral about tech... no more neutral than economics."
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More holes in
@rifatJawaid
's logic than in a slice of Swiss cheese. You don't have to be practising anything to call for reform. You just have to have a functioning brain. :)
I’ve been a fan of Naseeruddin Shah’s acting but he should stick to films and steer clear of topics he has no knowledge about.. A non-practicing Muslim wants Islam to reform. I wish he had first practiced Islam before coming up with this appalling suggestion.
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While desperate Afghans are blocked by Taliban checkpoints all around the airport, Pakistan ambassador apparently has been moving about freely in Kabul. Making sure things are working according to plan.
#Afghanistan
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The stupidest take yet on the visit.
#TrumpIndiaVisit
President Trump — whose diet is often a rotation of steaks, burgers and meatloaf — faces a potential shock as he prepares to travel to India, where Hindus are the majority and cows are revered as sacred.
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How was Nijjar able to get Canadian citizenship despite being rejected twice? The system in Canada privileges Khalistanis and that’s not a secret.
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Italians are angry with China and its relentless campaign:
#mustread
piece by
@francescam63
. She is an Italian journalist and knows better than the fake handles pushing
#China
’s narrative. Should China Be Held Responsible for Corona And Made to Pay
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My take on the successful G20 summit. India proved it can be a consensus builder, a North-South connector, an East-West bridge.
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The Modi visit to the US has become a free for all for experts to write stilted articles with no sense of irony. Latest one in
@ForeignAffairs
is an example where Indians are blamed for prioritizing their own freedom struggle over war aims of the Brits. I mean.. really??
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India posting key diplomat to Taiwan amid China tension. Report by
@ShubhajitRoy
(Gauranglal Das is cool as a cucumber and trusted by the minister) via
@IndianExpress
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‘There is growing concern in Washington that if India doesn’t change course, it’s going to be harder to make the differentiation why a partnership with India is of value when trying to deal with an authoritarian China,’ a US official told me in light of the
#Pegasus
scandal.
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This time the “Modi “rally” was at the White House! Thousands thronged the South Lawn for the official welcome ceremony. Haven’t seen such a crowd for any other foreign visit over the years.
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5th graf: "Although the relation between India and the West continues to gain momentum, the Khalistan issue has become a subtle leverage." Sigh. Subject and verb misalignment that won't pass even Indian newspaper desks. 4/6
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The GE engine deal is mostly done. It’s a big deliverable for Modi’s state visit. My take:
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Not good news for Modi govt.: US count says India did not shoot down a Pakistani F-16 in the recent dogfight!
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Is there any explanation why the prime minister hasn't addressed the nation to at least express sympathy if not explain the massive shortcomings of his government?
@narendramodi
@PMOIndia
#IndiaCovidCrisis
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White House reacts strongly to all the toxic stuff coming out of India against a journalist: "And it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit."
#ModiVisit
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Who is a “terrorist” or criminal and who is a merely an “extremist” or (wow) an “activist?” It’s time western newspapers do some introspection. And devise rules. Nijjar had an interpol notice.
@washingtonpost
@nytimesworld
@BBCWorld
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J&K Police officer lashes out at BBC Urdu for justifying truck driver’s murder by stone-pelters
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Always good to go to the original document. The relevant article of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is Article 11 which clearly states that the receiving country can determine the size of the mission of the sending country.
#IndiaCanadaTension
1/4
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Sorry to disappoint the global commentariat but Indians are not dying of Covid in huge numbers! Great piece by
@ShekharGupta
Covid hasn’t gone viral in India yet, but some in the world & at home can't accept the truth
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It will be political theatre of the kind you haven’t seen: Trump Might Appear at Modi’s Rally in Houston. (My scoop)
#HowdyModi
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Just watched it. Was non stop amazing.
#RRR
'RRR' - Now creating waves beyond Indian shores too.
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My labor of love is just in time for the holiday season! Give yourself a gift! “Friends With Benefits : The India-US Story.” The book traces the arc of friendship, engagement and more. Available for pre order
@HarperCollins
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What are other countries guided by, pray, if not national interest? Young enough to remember when Australia actively opposed India developing a blue water navy. Back in the 80s. And this piece essentially argued that global South is not a legit group with interests.
"India sees itself as a force in international affairs. It aspires to be a powerful pole in a multipolar world. It adheres to a doctrine of strategic autonomy. It is guided by what it thinks is best for India, not by alliances or what others want of it."
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How to lose friends and alienate people...
German student at IIT Madras told to leave India after attending anti
#CAA
protests.
@the_hindu
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My latest on
#Bangladesh
and the democracy project. Jamaat will shape the future not Yunus.
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Let the Afghans enjoy their victory without these unseemly reminders. Not a good idea to toot your horn. Am sure Afghans will themselves bring up India’s role.
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And the only country to have a Saraswati statue in front of its embassy in DC!
The only country on earth to have Lord Ganesha on a currency note is the largest Muslim populated country - Indonesia
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Under the last sub heading "The Way Forward" the said memo helpfully lists organizations various consulates should cultivate. Alas, the list is so kindergarten as to be laughable. If the foreign secretary needs to alert his minions to ABC, then there's really no hope. :) (more)
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Same graf goes on to say "x x x the West keeps utilizing the Khalistan as a geopolitical tool to squeeze amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict." It should be x x x the Khalistan issue x x x not a dangling dodger. Or does the writer think "the Khalistan" is more sonorous?
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China's Xi Jinping facing widespread opposition in his own party, insider claims | China | The Guardian
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Admin official on Biden-Modi virtual meeting:
- hour long, very candid discussions on bilateral/global issues
- No concrete "ask" from Biden on Russian oil purchases/no concrete answer from Modi
- Noted that Modi himself brought up the Bucha killings in public comments
#IndiaUS
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Sri Lanka, unable to pay back loan to China, sells 80% stake of Hambantota port to Chinese co.
@tallstories
reports
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How is this investment different from India’s diplomacy with Russia? Discuss. 😄
Donald Lu says 🇺🇲 seeking to prevent Islamabad’s “further overreliance” on 🇨🇳
and to balance China’s “strong and growing influence” in Pakistan it will supersede 🇨🇳 investments.
"China is the past in terms of investment; we are the future,” Lu said.
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Former defense secretary Jim Mattis: Pakistan is country he fears most - Business Insider
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My latest: Trump tells a few truths about China at the United Nations. Plus China loses two key UN elections. Seems money or muscle can’t buy China love.
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The mayor of Fresno, CA has made a statement on farmers’ protests. Pressure to get mayor of LA to weigh in as well. (Time to think hard on how to manage int’l opinion beyond hashtag battles)
#FarmersProtests
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In a significant move, Democratic Congressman
@RoKhanna
, a voice among the 'progressives', has proposed an amendment advocating that India be given a waiver from CAATSA sanctions in the "best interests of United States and the United States-India defense partnership."
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You don't put shoes on books. You just don't, no matter what your outrage meter might be! It's a question of respect....
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CPI(ML) relieves activist Kavita Krishnan of all party posts
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It’s a day of quibbles. To say India’s outrage over Khobragade affair was because of her arrest is not a full accounting. The Indian outrage (this was pre-Modi) was due to her strip search by NY police. No diplomat of any country deserves that! Rising or risen.
Superb essay by
@rohan_mukh
on the Modi government's global ambitions -- and the consequences of mixing domestic policy and foreign policy.
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Rules-based order with western characteristics… your investigations never meet our standards. Add freedom of speech and you have no case.
India can no longer brush this question under the carpet.
Why do western states — Canada, UK & US — currently host anti-India terrorists and separatists on their national territories?
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My Letter From Washington: Oh, The Wise Men From the West, India too has national interests. The developing world will pay the real price for the sanctions.
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Unusual for the prime minister AND the foreign minister to go to an embassy to express condolences. (Perhaps the Chinese wouldn’t expect anything less) Interesting nonetheless
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, and met with Chinese Charge d'Affaires Ms. Pang Chunxue to express his grief and condolences over the deaths of Chinese nationals in the attack in Karachi University.
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My take: Upcoming Quad ministerial meet in Delhi a signal to China. New Delhi as the host for an “in person” meet during a raging pandemic is significant.
At a minimum, it is a show of support for India and a message to China.
via
@indiatoday
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So do the Americans. I remember “the first state dinner” by Obama for Manmohan Singh as some huge sign of India’s importance after his admin had dissed India through multiple moves. Thing is all sides know this is a game designed for the media. Diplomats know the reality. 1/2
👇🏼This stuff signals how easily it is to play you and that the Russians know exactly how to do it.
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The speech could have been more sympathetic, more heartfelt about the plight of migrant workers considering the gravity of their situation... little children are walking for miles on end. They seem pretty self-reliant already.
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