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It is four years since Observer Research Foundation launched an exclusive South Asia Weekly, with scholars specialising in individual nations of the region presenting a weekly report of individual countries with their assessments.
The meeting of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with his Pakistani counterpart, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, on 10 November 2011 on the sidelines of the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) summit in the Maldives, should be welcomed.
Confronted with unemployment rather than gainful employment, rising aspirations and growing expectation, impatient youth could turn into a destructive force, giving rise to criminality and terrorism. Thus resultant social unrest may engulf South Asia.
History has coloured the current responses of South Asian countries to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine
The likely announcement by Philippine President Duterte of the Scarborough Shoal as an environmental marine sanctuary and off limits to fishermen could prove to be the first incremental step towards defusing the South China Sea disputes and in the process endow considerable strategic advantages to Beijing.
Geopolitics of South China Sea appears to be ever-changing with approach of the Philippines towards China assuming a shift under current President Duterte
Japan protested to China after four Chinese coast guard ships sailed into territorial waters of Senkaku Islands & other roundups from South China Monitor
As ROK and India commemorate the 50th anniversary of their ties, both countries need to move beyond the normative approach towards a robust bilateral
The combination of Indian demography, Korean technology, its value for money aspects, and the government support has made Korean companies in India quite successful, according to the Consul-General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai, Mr. Kim Kyungsoo.
With India’s assumption as the voice of the Global South, its progress in the maternal mortality ratio and maternal and child health can serve as a
Beyond 2015, South-South cooperation will have to increase and continue to support developing countries, with a special emphasis on poor and low-income countries in Asia and Africa facing sustainable development challenges.
In light of the new developments in the Indo-Pacific region, heightened economic and political integration comes with multiple hurdles that will, in t
Populism is tearing apart the traditional understanding between Brussels and European states. The European dream is facing a crisis which the present leadership is unable to tackle
Global data governance is at a crossroads—intensely contested by nations and industry players seeking to shape rules of the road to benefit their strategic interests. India has placed itself at the heart of the battle, its foreign policy vision fuelled by the principle of ‘data sovereignty’—a broad notion that supports the assertion of sovereign writ over data generated by citizens within a country’s physical boundaries. While this visi
Competing maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea resulting in frequent provocations and standoffs are well-documented. China’s increasingly assertive stance over its claims has led to increased militarisation of the region, making it a potential flashpoint. To better understand the complex SCS question vis-a-vis the extent of, and jurisdiction over this maritime space, this brief explores the distinction between the principl
The self-goal could have been avoided, but the ruling party saw the emerging warning signals with eyes wide shut. Some party sections clearly felt they were clever enough to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, and that religious polarisation in domestic politics could work to electoral advantage even as the PM and his diplomats wooed the Muslim nations of the Gulf. Perhaps, they don’t recognise that we live in an interconnected world, w
Australia has announced that it supports the Space Code of Conduct initiative sponsored by the European Union. A question that might well be asked is why should Australia care about such matters?
Space debris, traffic management and orbital frequency being issues that concern both India and the US, this ideally should be on the agenda in future US-India endeavours. It might be good for both the countries if they can engage in shaping this debate that would give them ownership of the issue.
At the launch of the ORF Kalpana Chawla Annual Space Initiative, experts felt that space is unlikely to become an exception to the security-seeking nature of the international system. They felt States should accept space militarisation as a reality and develop institutions to regulate its use for both peaceful and military purposes.
To offset risks and disruptions, it should now become a priority for ISRO to pursue pre-launch automation with greater vigour.
The space domain has changed in significant ways in the last two decades, not only because of a multitude of new players but also the increasing incap
There are genuine concerns that if steps are not taken to halt the current trend toward space weaponization, space could become an active warfighting domain.
There is a growing need for global governance of space technology. India, being one of the earliest and most successful spacefaring states, could play
The defence and foreign ministers of Japan and the US, meeting under the bilateral consultative committee, have decided to revise the 1997 Guidelines for US-Japan Defence Cooperation to make sure that the alliance continues to maintain its credibility and effectiveness in deterring conflict in Asia-Pacific.
Instead of amending the AFSPA, putting the military in harm's way and then watching it unravel, the political class must have the willpower to send the military back to the barracks and let the civilian Government do its job.
The speed limit on Indian roads should be reconsidered only after stringent road regulations are in place to deal with issues unique to India
Ever since the start of the insurgency in Kashmir, the Pakistani intelligence agencies have constantly raised, mutated, emasculated and even extirpated the so-called jihadi groups active in Kashmir. The dependence of the Jihadis active in Kashmir on Pakistan for training, logistics, arms and ammunition and most of all sanctuaries, has been exploited to the hilt by the Pakistani establishment.
The adoption of astroturf in sporting facilities poses a health hazard to humans and aggravates climate issues, thus, urban planning must focus on gre
India’s resilient economy has rebounded from pandemic-induced negative growth, making it a shining prospect in the gloomy global arena
The continuing deadlock in the peace process and in the political equation between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe due to their failure to reach an accord on the ground rules for the smooth functioning of the co-habitation Government marked the political landscape in Sri Lanka during 2003.
As two democracies, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka share many development needs and challenges — this underpin their growing ties.
In South Asia, Sri Lanka — with its geographically unique position in the Indian Ocean, and with a strong BRI partnership established during the pre
The events in Sri Lanka yesterday have shocked many around the world. An Easter day attack on three churches and an equal number of hotels, in such coordinated fashion, sounds surreal, even bizarre. Latest reports say over 200 people are dead and over 500 injured. It suggests the attacks were planned in meticulous fashion to inflict maximum damage. While no organization has stepped forward to take responsibility, there is speculation that this mi
The election of a new government in Colombo provides New Delhi a great opportunity to reset its relations with Sri Lanka. Both countries need to set aside the contentious past and see how they can construct a 21st century relationship based on economic ties and the awareness of the need to understand each other's security concerns.
The sweeping victory for the Tamil National Alliance in Saturday's first-ever Northern Provincial Council in Sri Lanka has a message for various stake-holders nearer home and afar.
Sri Lanka¿s worsening security situation under an undeclared war is most likely to persist. Both the LTTE and President Rajpakshe¿s government are violating the four-year-old ceasefire agreement, which, in fact, seldom was honoured seriously, but neither of them is in a position to formally break it and declare an open, all-out war. Both of them are under intense international pressure to desist from doing so.
The two countries are holding talks for India to reschedule Sri Lanka’s $900 million India debt.
Seeing an LTTE ghost where none may exist across the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, the Sri Lankan authorities could be expected to act even more feverishly in the coming months -- the Geneva vote having emboldened separatist Diaspora groups to revive their failed misadventure, in a new avtar and under a 'new world order'!
The future beckons Sri Lanka, but only euphemistically.
Sri Lanka's poll results have shown that President-elect Sirisena's victory was made possible by the overwhelming vote of the minorities, particularly the Sri Lankan Tamils. However, the Indian concerns on ethnic issues will be addressed wholly only when the new government and its limited TNA underwriter arrive at a negotiated settlement.
After the UNHRC meeting and the Indian vote against Sri Lanka, now it needs to go beyond Geneva, in the preservation of 'supreme national self-interest' in the case of both the countries. The ghost of Geneva would be hovering over them, yet Colombo should acknowledge the un-kept promises.
Whether Indians have great expectations from their new Prime Minister Narendra Modi or not, India's neighbours, who see in the emergence of Modi from a grassroots-level politician to become the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy, seem to have expectations and aspirations unmatched in the recent past.
By focusing excessively on 'war crimes' and issues of accountability, the international community (West) may have taken Sri Lanka away from the political negotiations for power-devolution to the Provinces, particularly the Tamil Province(s).
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections in Sri Lanka, Justice C V Wigneswaran, could not have said it more candidly and categorically.
Post-CHOGM revival of what otherwise are short-term suspended issues may have the potential to unilaterally commit the Union of India to positions on Sri Lanka human rights issues that may be difficult to rescind closer to UNHRC March session.
Not many in Sri Lanka, particularly on the Government side, had expected China to play evasive on the report of the panel appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on issues of accountability pertaining to the end-game of 'Eelam War IV'.
Sri Lanka’s attempt to appease China is threatening the bilateral relations it shares with India
