The Soviet Union has dropped hints that it may be willing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in the near future in case the United States and China are prepared to take steps to reduce tensions in the area. The Soviet ambassador in Tokyo has for instance been quoted by … Read More
The Soviet Union’s and India’s positions on Afghanistan remain as far apart at the end of Mr. Gromyko’s three-day visit to New Delhi as they were before. This is obvious from the absence of any reference to the question of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from that country in the … Read More
By promising to raise supply of crude from four million tones to six million in the face of its other commitments, Iraq has demonstrated its friendly feelings towards India. No other oil-rich country has made a gesture of this magnitude to New Delhi. Even otherwise India has reasons to feel … Read More
The first official-level talks between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Soviet takeover in Afghanistan have gone off reasonably well. These have enabled the two governments to appreciate each other’s anxieties and perspectives and possibly paved the way for further discussions. But the talks have not produced a … Read More
By amending the President’s address on the strength of their majority in the Rajya Sabha, opposition parties have set a new precedent. This is the first time since the promulgation of the Constitution in 1950 that the President’s address has been so amended. As it happens, the opposition’s case for … Read More
The Union minister for information and broadcasting, Mr. Vasant Sathe, has given the lamest possible excuse for accepting the resignations of the members of the press commission. He has said that while he appreciates the work the commission has done, he proposes to set up another with wider terms of … Read More
It is not particularly difficult to “reconcile” President Zia-ul-Haq’s statement that he will not concede bases to the United States with reports from Washington that the White House has drawn up plans for establishing American military presence in Pakistan. If to begin with, the proposal is to fly in US … Read More
In his state of the Union message on Thursday, President Carter has finally enunciated his long-term policy to meet the alleged Soviet challenge in the Gulf region. Beyond the measures he had announced in the wake of the Russian takeover in Afghanistan – cancellation of contracts for the supply of … Read More
Ever since the Indian representative read out the unhappily worded statement in the UN General Assembly on January 11, Mrs. Gandhi has been at pains to dissipate the impression that she endorses the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan and that she is going to tilt towards Moscow. Such a clarification … Read More
Mrs. Gandhi has not revealed her hand on the question of the dissolution of vidhan sabhas in non-Congress-(I)-ruled states. Perhaps she has not yet made up her mind. This would be understandable if only because the issue is extremely complicated. Meanwhile several Congress (I) members have spoken on the issue. … Read More
