India was one of the initiators of the historical Asian African Conference (AAC) together with Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan on 18 April-24 April 1955. India regained its independence from British colonial administration on 15 August 1947 led by its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Asia Africa conference was held amid raging war for independence in Asia and Africa.

New Delhi: Two lifesize paintings of Mahatma Gandhi and a watercolour depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping are among the array of artworks by a group of Chinese artists on display here. As part of celebrations to commemorate 65th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India, the exhibition of artworks was unveiled late last evening

It is important to appreciate that cricket has for many years been the lifeblood of the Australia-India relationship. Historically, it has often been said that the Australia-India relationship is based on three things: cricket, Commonwealth and curry. 

Neighbourhood diplomacy can be tricky even at the best of times, because any two neighbours will have common but differening expectations of a good bilateral relationship. Viewed in this light, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest visit to Sri Lanka has gone off well, without setting the Palk Strait on fire. 

The Indian film industry has survived more than a hundred years of state neglect and is now a global force. The moral policing of the CBFC could end up destroying this symbol of India's soft power.

Prime Minister Modi's visit to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka might have been prompted to counter China’s growing influence in the region but it turned out to be a major demonstration of India's hard and soft power in the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.