On May 11, 1998, prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave the world a shock by announcing that India had exploded the nuclear bomb again. The tests were conducted in Pokhran, in the deserts of Rajasthan, where India tested its first nuclear device in 1974 under Indira Gandhi. The west, led by the United States, was furious and sanctions followed. But there was an exception. French president Jacques Chirac went against the western consensus and chose to pursue closer ties with India.
Cut to the present, when US President Joe Biden expressed his inability to attend the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest, there was no real panic in the corridors of the South Block. Because Indian diplomats knew that they could bank on the ever-dependable French. And Jawed Ashraf, the Indian ambassador in Paris, sprung into action.
Soon and sure enough, on December 22, President Emmanuel Macron took to X to confirm that he would be attending the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest. Less than seven months ago, on July 14, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the guest of honour at the Champs-Elysees in Paris during the Bastille Day celebrations, which, as the French national day, commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 during the French Revolution.
That day, as Rafale fighters from the Indian Air Force flew overhead, Macron, with Modi at his side, said, “[India] is a giant in the history of the world which will have a determining role in our future.” Apart from telephonic interactions, the two leaders have met several times in the last two
Esta historia es de la edición January 21, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 21, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
