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What does the 90,000-plus leaked classified documents on Afghan War show? Two things are most obvious-one, the Americans have lost the script in Afghanistan and two, Pakistan has emerged as a full-fledged terrorist State,
LEMOA permits US and India to use each other’s facilities and provides for easier access to supplies and services for military forces of the two countries.
Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka need to introspect hard and selflessly about why their combined efforts were not enough to check the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The crucial question is this: Is it time to look beyond institutions, which are supposed to repositories of our trust but routinely betray them, and look at means of self governance?
After Sweden introduced the office of the Lokpal or Ombudsman in 1809, 125 countries across the world have enacted statutory laws for the creation of such an institution to tackle the problem of corruption and bring in accountability.
With the Parliament Standing Committee omitting a number of key demands of Team Anna, the Lokpal Bill is likely to plunge the nation into yet another round of agitations and street protests. But is there a possible wayforward?
In the recent history of terrorism, there have been four instances of well-planned, well-executed and well-synchronised multiple explosions by terrorist groups causing large casualties. These are the explosions in Mumbai (Bombay) in March,1993, which killed over 200 innocent civilians, at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February,1998,
The increase in the Muslim population since the last census has prompted alarmist coverage in some sections of the media.
Several misconceptions exist in India about Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. India’s knowledge of these countries is restricted to news coverage.
Nuclear weapons cannot be a panacea for tackling security challenges to India’s sovereignty
As Washington and Beijing circle each other in Asia, Delhi needs to step up engagement with both. The question is not about picking sides, but about relentlessly pursuing India's own interests.
India as an external power is keen to play the role of a credible stabilising factor in the South China Sea region and cannot afford to be ambivalent. The advantages of taking a stand are many. Such a venture in the South China Sea will give India strategic leverage. Hence joining the fray is not an option but an imperative to safeguard our strategic interests and aspirations.
Narendra Modi is in a good position to take a strategic approach to the Middle East. While Delhi must be sensitive to the multiple faultlines, old and new, Modi must signal that India is open to business with all countries in the region.
Now that the fate of the Lokpal Bill is hanging in balance, it may be a good time for the polity and the nation as a whole to take a fresh look at the legislation between now and the Budget session of Parliament.
Lack of strategic vision in the NDA has caused it to fail at economic management
Despite having been in power at the Centre for six years at a stretch, the BJP seems to be still suffering from the 'Opposition' conundrum. It is yet to produce a leader who is independent of the party's past.
Modi's visit to Dhaka has been a forward-looking step, in the effort to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. However, there has been little focus on the common challenges that the neighbours face. Unless these are addressed, future cooperation between the two will not be effective enough.
Even as the Indian Air Force gets ready to welcome its new acquisitions, ad hocism should give way to strategic thinking
It is in India's interest to ensure that there is a friendly government in Dhaka which is not swayed by fundamentalist interests. It had to be more subtle where friendship with India is seen as beneficial by the average person in Bangladesh. For this India needs to take bigger steps like a deal on the Teesta waters and Land Border Agreement.
The Russia-India-China trilateral meet is New Delhi’s attempt to overcome challenges in ties with Moscow and Beijing
The gathering of southeast Asian leaders last week at a summit in Delhi was a celebration of India's Look East policy. Could we imagine a similar "Look West" strategy towards the Arabian Peninsula?
As Kashmir population becomes increasingly reliant on web, the Indian state ought to focus on addressing the deep-seated Kashmiri grievances.
A nightmare scenario facing the world today is that of nuclear weapons in the possession of terrorists. As US President George Bush remarked during his recent UK trip, ¿the greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists.¿ Terrorist groups, as they have proved time and again in the past with conventional weapons
Balanced urbanisation and rural development is an urgent requirement in China, if it has to fulfill its goals of sustainable development. For this purpose, budgetary allocations and farmers' support have to be tweaked, along with agricultural modernisation.
Tomorrow, the use of human shields could become standard operating procedure. Instead of the difficult process of flushing out militants by armed assault, the army could line up civilians and use them to breach a position.
The next government must recognise that the Bay of Bengal is no longer a backwater but a strategic hub connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as China and the Bay of Bengal. Delhi must match its rhetoric on trans-border connectivity with much needed political will and administrative competence.
When a government yields to every pressure group at home, its capacity to pursue national interests abroad inevitably erodes. The UPA government's diplomacy in the final months of its decade-long tenure is a good example of the costs of violating this canon. The failure to clinch a commercial agreement on Kudankulam with Moscow is not a reflection on India's diplomatic skills.
Beyond resolving outstanding problems, Modi's visit to Bangladesh has led to the setting up of agreements, MoUs and protocols which will transform our relations in the future. The key issues here are connectivity and economic partnership.
The defence budget had grown by 17% in 2011-12 and 12% in 2012-13. A mere 1.79% of the GDP, it is a far cry from the stated goal of spending 3% of GDP on defence backed by the Parliamentary Committee on Defence.
If India is to sustain a high growth rate, there will have to be more foreign investment in infrastructure and manufacturing. So, it is going to be a challenge for the government to make investments in areas that are important for us more attractive to foreigners.
Africa's longest running militia is back in focus. Lord's Resistance Army or LRA, active since 1988, has recently become a subject of United States interest as the Obama administration deployed 100 "combat-equipped troops" to Uganda.
The post of Director-General (DG) of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), believed to be the second most important post in the country's military set-up now, has a designated successor to the outgoing Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam.
By rebelling against supremo Prabhakaran in an unprecedented way, ¿Col¿ Karuna, LTTE¿s sacked commander for Sri Lanka¿s Eastern Province, has put the clock back in more ways than one. In a way, it has also put the LTTE at the crossroad all over again as never before, coming as it does after the historic Ceasefire Agreement with the Sri Lankan Government, but how far is too early to determine.
