India's decision to accede to the 1976 Asean Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in July 2003 was considered a major milestone in its diplomatic annals due to its swiftness and timeliness. Immediately, it upgraded India's status as well as its role in Asean.

The India-Israel friendship has been flying very well under the radar for years, arguably to the benefit of both sides. But Israel now wants a public acknowledgement of the bond. It would like India to invite President Shimon Peres for a visit to put a seal on the relationship and take it to a higher level.

Yangon: It was a day of religious diplomacy by India as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday inaugurated a three-day international conference on Buddhism followed by unveiling of a 15-foot statue of Gautam Buddha.

To give a fillip to the cultural ties between India and Pakistan, the first edition of “Delhi International Film Festival”, to be held in the Capital from December 21 to 27, will see the participation of 12 film-makers from the neighbouring country.

Ravi Shankar has passed away. He will of course be best remembered as one of the first and longest lasting global rock stars of Indian classical music – if the world knows what a sitar is, if the strains of the sitar are used in pop culture to suggest eastern mysticism, it is likely due to Ravi Shankar.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said India would like to see a “strong, stable and prosperous” Pakistan and that he was happy to see democracy flourish over there as he received a Pakistani parliamentary delegation. Mr Singh also told the delegation led by Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari that closer relations between parliaments in the two countries was necessary for strengthening bilateral ties.

India's growing soft power has got a brief toehold in the world's hardball capital. Madame Tussauds, the famed wax gallery, unveiled on Tuesday the molded likeness of Bollywood's best in an intensely political city that is more into power than entertainment.

As relations between India and Pakistan continue to thaw, opportunities for contact and dialogue have increased across a variety of areas, including diplomacy, sport and the entertainment world. In one notable development, Indian screen legend Naseeruddin Shah embarked on a week-long visit to the neighbouring country, amid hopes that joint film, theatre and other performing arts productions could become a reality down the road.