27844 results found
China’s failure to condemn the Ukraine war raised concerns on the future of the rules-based international order not only in the European Union (EU), but also in India and Taiwan. While their respective relationships with China and Russia are characterised by different complexities, the EU, India, and Taiwan are all vulnerable to authoritarian threats. All three recognise that China’s continued rise will have strategic implications for
As China’s rise threatens the democratic rules, values, and institutions that have shaped the post-war world order, the United States (US) is increasing its outreach in the Indo-Pacific region. Distant South Asian island nations such as Sri Lanka are today receiving greater attention from the US. This brief seeks to bridge the gap in the literature on the US’s Sri Lanka policy and highlights how the current US government positions Sri Lanka i
Madrasas in India offer basic literacy to millions of mostly poor Muslims, generally free of cost; they also serve as safe spaces for the preservation of Islamic culture. In many areas across the country, madrasas are the only option for poor Muslim families to provide their children basic education. This brief evaluates current madrasa education in India and identifies specific weaknesses that hamper its modernisation. It recommends remedial mea
As the Indo-Pacific region becomes an arena of strategic contestations, India and Australia’s interests are converging. Two large maritime states from two different continents, India and Australia were mutually indifferent for a long time. Today, however, their relationship is on the upbeat: not only is their bilateral trade on the rise, but they also have common concerns to balance an assertive China and uphold order in the region. By year-end
Smugglers and security agencies face-off on the India-Bangladesh borders over illegal cattle trade
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,
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,
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.
With spending skewed towards pensions, the status quo must give way to a more ambitious restructuring
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?
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.
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.
Macron has raised doubts about how serious France is when it comes to managing the negative externalities of China’s rise.
If Macron loses control of the National Assembly in June, he may be forced into an uneasy co-habitation that will limit his policy options. He knows that.
The French President has rightly said that the bloc needs to assert sovereignty over its political and security decisions
Now, the Chinese are facing a larger geopolitical push back but they appear confident that they have the means of fighting off the challenge.
The impact of terrorism on the oil and tourism industries and on financial institutions and "Democracy, Terrorism and the Internet" received considerable attention at the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005.
At the international summit on Terrorism, Democracy and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005, which I attended, the foremost concern in the minds of the participants was the likelihood of an act of catastrophic terrorism involving the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
They help investigation by facilitating interception of conversations and by providing a record of calls made if recovered intact after the commission of an offence.
MIRV is a complex technology, and India’s test this week puts it among a small group of countries that have managed to develop it.
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), recognised for its cost-effective and co-beneficial advantages, is seeing a global uptake. However, the number and scale of EbA projects remain limited compared to the opportunities offered by India’s diverse ecosystems and indigenous practices. While lack of funding is a direct cause, the small scale of existing EbA projects also fails to attract funding. Breaking this cycle requires addressing other mechanism
The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. This challenge is acute in the African continent, home to large populations without access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. This brief explores the scope for cooperation between India and Africa in not only achieving SDG 7, but while doing so, also considering the targets set by SDG 5 to
After a groundbreaking visit to India, which focused on strengthening the Indo-US ¿strategic partnership¿, US Secretary of State Colin Powell was supposed to take a tough message to Pakistan¿s Gen. Musharraf. Nuclear proliferation and Pakkistan¿s reluctance to clean up its tribal areas were slated to be on the cards in
The key challenge PM Modi would face in China is to completely debunk the hypothesis, which some people suspect, that a key objective of Modi's 'Act East' policy is to contain China, in covert or overt support with the U.S., Japan and other affected nations. This task is not surely going to be easy.
The government's decision to insist that the Indian Air Force induct a large number of Light Combat Aircraft fighters is the kind of shock treatment that was needed to push the 'Make in India' project.
The Henderson-Brooks report has focused on the Army's faults in handling the border issue. But, if we are to truly learn from the sorry history of the times, the government needs to throw open the archives relating to the actions of Prime Minister, his associates and the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence.
Whatever little sympathy Pakistan wanted to milk for its position on Kashmir was lost because of the Uri terror attacks.
