PM Modi has chosen well to pick China as his first big power engagement in his second term. Despite the bonhomie with President Xi Jinping in the first term, ties rode a roller-coaster. With an increasingly unpredictable America, India must get on the right side of all other big powers.
BJP lets go of one-man-one-post rule and home ministry gets a distracted minister
That Home Minister Amit Shah will remain the BJP’s president at least until state elections later this year shows the party is unwilling to let go of its election-winning magician. Not only is BJP diluting its one-man-one-post rule, but challenges of internal security and Kashmir don’t deserve a distracted minister.
It sounds implausible. However, a trilateral summit – formal or informal – between the leaders of India, China and Pakistan could help our Foreign Office create an external environment that would be more supportive of the national imperatives of both security and economic development.