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Unfortunately countries like ours, generally content with being passive recipients of Western media, do not realize that it is the west which always ends up choosing the enemy (or friend) for us.

Chennai and Delhi may have to start building on the World Tamil Conference in Coimbatore. It is not going to be easy, but then, India cannot ignore the politics of the 'Tamil-speaking people' the world over.

India has seen this movie before and it does not have a happy ending. As the idea of a nuclear deal between the United States and Pakistan gains some traction in Washington, Delhi is unlikely to lose much sleep.

It goes without saying that Kashmir’s political candidates do not bear primary responsibility for this electoral legitimacy crisis.

Studies done in ORF estimate that even with everything in our favour, India will be hard put to exceed a thermal coal based capacity beyond 300 GW. In such a scenario, how do we better harness our oil and gas potential and fulfill the great promise that lies hidden in our vast unexplored acreages.

The exit of the UN mission has created a security gap in Nepal which may not augur well with the prevalent disunity among different political parties. People want the original stakeholders should undertake the responsibility of completing the tasks left over by the external agencies.

There is hardly any doubt that failing health systems result in poor health outcomes and hamper progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Africa, health systems are hobbled by leadership and governance challenges, extreme shortages of health workers, corruption in procurement systems for medical products and technologies, poor information systems, and health financing const

Shorenstein APARC, in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation, will hold a conference on regionalism and regional integration in South Asia at Stanford University on June 19 and 20, 2008. The conference papers will be issued as an edited volume

China's ruling Communist Party, at its plenum, will deliberate on the economic and social agenda for China over the next five years focusing on financial reforms and how to maintain growth of around seven per cent. Contrast this with India where the new administration appears somnolent.

Backing Moscow beyond a point is likely to hurt Beijing’s economic plans and long-term interests

China claims to have purely benign intentions in South Asia. A closer look, however, at Beijing’s actions in the region strongly suggests that it is assiduously securing its national interests, which are likely detrimental to most if not all South Asian nations. In the future, all South Asian countries should be clear-eyed about what precisely Beijing is attempting to achieve in their region, and the potential long-term consequences.

India has a role no less important than America’s in exposing the falsehood of Chinese claims on representative governance

CPEC has two ends: Gwadar, where Chinese are building a maritime presence, and PoK where Pakistani and Chinese territorial & military frontiers are merging

As UPA 2 enters the last lap of its tenure, it is not just the Indian economy that is unravelling. New Delhi's loss of purpose and direction in the last few years has had an equally damaging impact on the diplomatic front.

Nothing of substance came out from the recent low profile visit of the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates

The Observer Research Foundation, CRM held a focus group meeting on the topic 'What do falling Crude Prices mean for India's Fiscal Deficit?' on February 9, 2007. Shri S C Tripathi, former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, chaired the discussions.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited China on May 17, barely two weeks after the killing of Osama bin Laden. The original purpose of the third Prime Ministerial meeting in 17 months - celebration of 60 years of Sino-Pakistan relations - was overshadowed by the Abbottabad raid,

The current crisis in Pakistan-US relations over the detention of Raymond Davis, the American security contractor charged with the murder of two Pakistanis, confirms many well-known trends, such as increasing anti-Americanism among Pakistanis and the growing importance of 'strategic corporals'.

Although India has confirmed it will sign the FTA with EEU, it now needs to take forward the negotiations quickly. The FTA is not just significant from the economic viewpoint but also to counter the growing influence of China in the central Asian region.

PM Narendra Modi and SL President Wickremesinghe inaugurates UPI services:

West Bengal has a long history of political violence which is not restricted to pre-and post-election periods alone. This culture of violence has persisted for a number of reasons.

Indian presence is already being felt across the South Asian region, more than in the past. The situation is still evolving. The question is: Should India allow things to continue taking the evolutionary route or jack-boot its way, which is neither des irable, nor workable - and hence unthinkable for New Delhi too!

The agenda for change is a large one. This list or any other can be multiplied several times and still come up short. But the compulsions of reform are urgent. With a bulging profile of young people, India is said to be on the cusp of a demographic dividend. But that dividend could well become a nightmare unless we are able to fix our politics, our governance system, economy, national security machinery.

While Indian officials have participated in events where the Taliban have been present, India has been content to let others take the lead. We have, therefore, been unable to plan options for ensuring security of both the Indian nationals working in Afghanistan as well the diplomats at our embassy in Kabul, and this remains the primary responsibility at the moment.

How can we differentiate ourselves from China whilst dealing with Africa? Clearly the worst option would be to emulate the muscular Chinese style of economic diplomacy. For one we just don't have the firepower. For another the principle of comparative advantage advocates that everyone must play to their strengths.

Strikingly similar to the crisis that Iran faced at the IAEA Board meeting in Vienna last weekend, India too found itself in a tight spot in April 1994 at the United Nations Human Rights Commission's annual session in Geneva.

What is a secret? Sometimes, it is a conundrum presented this way: The Indian “surgical strikes” across the line of control are a secret at varying levels not only in India, but also in Pakistan

If Merkel's Berlin republic is discarding its many postwar political inhibitions and reconstituting the Eurasian landscape, Modi's putative "third republic" is looking beyond non-alignment to the idea of India as a "leading power". In their second summit in six months, Modi and Merkel may have decisively nudged India and Germany towards a goal that was first articulated 100 years ago.

Getting Pakistan to end the Kashmir conflict has been a difficult task, because Kashmir means many things to them. At one level, it is a cause that unites everyone in that country - the jihadis, the army and the civilian elite. At another, it provides it a means to maintain a hostile posture towards India, something necessary for its current sense of national identity.

India’s membership of the SCO is a manifestation of the reality that India’s interests are as much in the Indian Ocean as the Eurasian landmass.

With tectonic and technological challenges causing disruptions, the neat correlation of a big economy with big power that bears big responsibilities is under scrutiny.

In the coming Pakistan elections, the PPP cannot be written off because it has substantial pockets of support across various provinces. But it deserves some sympathy. Asif Zardari has not had an easy time with the media which had deemed him corrupt from day one or the judiciary and the military which have foiled all his efforts to come up with bold policies.

Modi has been ambivalent about the Lokpal, believing, presumably, that a revitalised administration will make this institution redundant. If so, he is wrong. At some point, he will have to take up the fight directly. This is the lesson we can learn from Xi Jinping. From the outset, Xi has been involved in a struggle against corruption.

Egypt is the fulcrum of the Arab world and developments there can have a profound impact in other Arab nations. That is why it is important to get things right. The immediate challenge for Egypt is to ensure that it does not degenerate into civil war.

It has been five years since General Pervez Musharraf came to power in Pakistan in a bloodless coup on October 12. One questionable referendum staged in April 2002, the less-than-credible parliamentary elections in October the same year, a controversial constitutional amendment and two changes of government this year later, Gen Musharraf is still the numero uno.

In a municipality of 55 members in Dhule, 16 are Muslims, affiliated to all the mainstream parties in Mumbai. These councillors are virtual middlemen for state leaders, in whose electoral interest they try to keep the local flock.

The Russian president, who will be in New Delhi on December 6, is not just coming to maintain the ‘special, privileged strategic partnership’, but to also deepen bilateral relations

Rahul Gandhi says he wanted to present evidence of Modi's culpability in parliament. But ...

Compared to the increasing suicide attacks the world over, India has, by and large, remained safe from these assaults. The reason is that Indian Muslims have a strong sense of Indian identity. In both their grievances and aspirations they think like their fellow Indian citizens, rather through any religious or sectarian prism.

Where is the national leader of sufficient stature who can distil the message from the treaty of Hudaibiya and from Iqbal, and give it contemporary relevance? Or, in a more narrow focus: where is the Muslim leader to manage the post verdict mood? I believe the Congress has two or three but the nation has not seen them in the past week.

With his killing, the US has entered an area of unknowns. Iran cannot be underestimated

Friendly Indo-Bangla relations will play a major role in securing peace and prosperity in the South Asia and these can be achieved with sincere initiatives by the government in resolving outstanding issues. India's Bangla policy could be a for the new government in dealing with other countries in the Neighbourhood.

An economic revival would grant India the resources for power projection but strategy matters even more if those are scarce 

A common thread across the turbulences is uneven support from the government for beleaguered institutions and the absence of informed participation.

The Congress ended with the insertion of the ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era’ into the Party constitution, confirming Xi as the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping.