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The choice of Lt. General Bipin Rawat as the next army chief has created a flutter in the military establishment. The bypassing of two senior army commanders is a rare occurrence. As several commanders have pointed out, the last time it happened was in 1983 when Indira Gandhi elevated Gen Arun Vaidya over Lt Gen S K Sinha (who promptly resigned). But this was not the only instance. In 1957 Jawaharlal Nehru chose Gen. K S Thimmaya superseding two senior Lt. Generals Sant Singh and Kulwant Singh (the later stayed on, while the former resigned).

Now it is confirmed that all domestic airlines, barring PSU carrier Air India, have joined hand to fail the Government’s plan to promote regional connectivity by encouraging setting up of smaller carriers.

The important point of US President Donald Trump is his inconsistency. He is unpredictable and naïve in diplomacy. His election campaign slogans were rhetoric and distant from reality. Even then, if it is believed that his isolationist “ American only “ policy was the driving force to let him win the unexpected battle of election, his foreign policy will be save American trajectory , while outdoing the Democratic middle path and Asia Pivot strategies.

BHOPAL: According to All India Democratic Women's Association demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes played havoc with the lives of the ordinary people of our country, especially the poor, those working in the unorganised sector.

What does the crystal ball predict for the year 2017? Politically, it is certainly going to be an eventful year. For one it will be the beginning of the second half of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term. He has already started making efforts to expand his party’s base as well as his own pro- poor image and also preparing for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government’s police policy has evoked stringent criticism not only from CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan, but also from CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran and NCP leader and Transport Minister A K Shashindran.

Paradoxical indeed, the person, the American president, Barrack Obama who was conferred with Nobel prize for peace has been primarily responsible for wrecking fragile peace prevailing in the Muslim countries and West Asia. His hatred for Syria and its ruler Assad has been so acute that he is dismayed with the fall of Aleppo to the Syrian government. This is a rude shock to him as he nursed to end his tenure with a victory in Syria.

India has recorded increasing custodial deaths during the last three and a half years ending October 2016. According to official information available in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), a total of 1578 people died in custody across the country during 2013-14, followed by 1589 in 2014-15, 1666 in 2015-16 and 936 in the first seven months ending October 2016 in the current financial year 2016-17. Of the total number of deaths in 2013-14, 54 persons, who died in custody, were women and one minor (between 1-17 years), followed by 62 women and two minor in 2014-15, 62 women in 2015-16, and 44 women and one minor till October 2016. Custody is of two types, police custody and judicial custody.

Demonetisation which the prime minister had claimed would help root out black money and curb corruption has become a demon which has already started devouring the popularity of the Modi government and BJP. This is indicated by what happened during the Parliament’s just concluded winter session. The faulty implementation of demonetisation has united, at least for the present, the otherwise divided opposition which took on the Modi government.

It is said that history will judge P.V. Narasimha Rao more kindly than his contemporaries. More than his comment about how a decision can mean not taking a decision, or sleeping through the afternoon when the Babri masjid was demolished, what he will be remembered for is as an initiator of the epoch-making economic reforms although the nitty-gritty were handled by his finance minister, Manmohan Singh between 1991 and 1996.