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China¿s decision in the 1980's to supply to Pakistan nuclear weapons technology and missiles capable of delivering nukes over long distances was intended to bind India down in a south Asian strategic impasse and constrict India's larger role in Asia and the world. China achieved only partial success in that objective.

There will soon be two important changes in the Nepal and India diplomacy, which are of significant importance to both the countries. Nepal's ambassador to India, Rukma Shumsher Rana, has been recalled while the Indian envoy to Nepal Rakesh Sood will be replaced by another career diplomat.

China's engagement with Afghanistan has become crucial as the US gradually pulls out its troops from the country. It has increased its investment in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan to US$1 billion from negligible amounts within a period of one year. Though it is still to be seen whether China would assert itself after the withdrawal of coalition forces, one thing is certain: Beijing is well poised in the Afghan endgame.

India needs to develop a vigorous framework for maritime economic activism in the Indian Ocean and beyond. India must collaborate with whoever it can in reconnecting the subcontinent with itself and the neighbouring regions.

As China reconfigures India's Neighbourhood through its active promotion of new silk routes ?over the Great Himalayas and across the Indian Ocean ?New Delhi must make up its mind on how best to respond.

One can draw a range of parallels in the political discourse prevalent in the US and India. In this article, an attempt has been made to find parallels in the narratives that dominated the Indian general election of 2014, with the ones currently dominating the U.S. presidential election in 2016.

The two-week-long Sindh festival, now underway in Pakistan, is significant for multiple reasons. For one, it is about the unfolding leadership transition in the Pakistan People's Party from Asif Ali Zardari, who led it after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

The shift of the non-PPP Sindhi leadership to other non-Sindhi parties, and their subsequent victories there, though limited, is shows that much of Sindhi society is looking to the rest of the country to bring about change in the Province. Better connecting Sindh to the Pakistani mainstream is now seen by many as a solution to their internal grievances.

The recent New Delhi visit of Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, was very much fruitful to give a boost to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's 5s vision and enhance the skill development and cultural ties between the countries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves credit for his determination to push on with engagement that may be difficult, but which is undoubtedly in India's interest. And his boldness isn't confined to Pakistan alone.

Afghanistan thinks that the Istanbul Process, as a mechanism established in November 2011 for regional cooperation to ensure stability in the country, is still under-utilised, says Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Shaida M Abdali.

The recent face-off between Indian and Chinese patrols in Asaphila area on June 26, 2003 evoked considerable media interest and political debate in the country. It overshadowed and almost neutralised the Prime Minister's visit to China, which took place after a decade long gap and, more significantly,

An interaction on 'Sino-Myanmar Relations and Impact on Region' at ORF Chennai noted that Indian response to the security threat emanating from this strategic relationship was inadequate. And India has not been effectively executing the 'Look East' policy.

The unrealistic expectations in India from Li Keqiang's visit to Delhi and Mumbai next week are likely to be tempered when weighed against the Chinese premier's agenda in Pakistan.

It is ironic that the Obama administration, which has been persistently dogmatic about nuclear proliferation issues, has decided to turn a blind eye to China's attempts to fuel Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

Despite a long speech there were no magic bullets presented to kickstart a virtuous cycle of investment, growth and jobs.

The rise of Islamic State does pose a strategic threat to South Asia, although the influence might not be direct, according to Prof. Stephen Tankel of American University. He says since the decline of the Al Qaeda senior leadership in Pakistan, the IS has emerged a source of new leadership.

Lt Gen (retd.) David Barno, Director, Center for North-East and South Asia (NESA) at the National Defense University, Washington, D.C. along with Col (retd.) Jack Gill, also of the same center, visited ORF on 18 April 2008. LTG Barno made a presentation on "Situation in Afghanistan in the Context of Insurgency and Changing Nature of War".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading a majority government after a gap of 25 years, took charge of the country on May 26 this year at an impressive swearing-in ceremony.

With every day inching closer to the penultimate battle of 2014, the lines ar e being drawn and rules of the game getting clear. Political leaders are maki ng their preferences clear about PM candidates. And with every announceme nt, any chances of Na-rendra Modi making it to 7RCR are receding.

The city of Mumbai is almost synonymous with its train network, the backbone of its bustling public life. Mumbai suburban trains are said to be the most efficient railway systems in the world. Its eminence & growing dependency has belittled the high price of human lives, the city is paying. In 2002, the Mumbai suburban railway system claimed 3773 lives, injuring 3,297 from the total 7070 accident cases.

A collusive relationship between politicians and Naxalites or the People's War (PW) and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), which have merged on September 21, 2004, to form the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), is clearly visible in Bihar, as in several other parts of the country.

There are now three strands to Pakistan's strategy. One, to keep the pressure on Afghanistan through increased Taliban terrorist attacks; two, take over the dialogue process with the help of China, and; three, tie all this up with an ISI-NDS deal.

The shadow boxing being done by UPA's friends and foes for a rollback of "prices" actually lacks a killer punch because what they are demanding is one of taxes meant to collect revenues for the UPA's flagship social sector schemes

The visit of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to Dhaka early July underlines the importance of Bangladesh in India's strategic thinking. The visit was also crucial as it laid out the agenda for the all-important visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh later this year.

Of all the non-conventional renewable energy sources, small hydro represents highest density resource and stands in the first place in generation of electricity from such sources world-wide. It is also the most cost-effective energy technology to be considered for rural electrification and under the climate change scenarios.

While the launch of the MUDRA Bank is a laudable effort on the part of the government, there still persists ambiguity in the nature of the Bank's undertakings. The most pressing concern is in regards to the Bank's role as both a regulator and refinancing agency which will lead to a conflict of interests.

Building one hundred smart cities, towns or townships will not change India's urban landscape much. India needs an overall smart, well-discussed, thought-out, and lastly effective and efficiently implemented urban development strategy in a holistic urban policy framework. Now is the time to shape it.

As India starts moving on its path of making its hundred odd cities 'smart', it could take a few cues from the experience of China, another developing country and India's immediate neighbour. Though in many parameters, the Chinese cities do quite well, they too have shortcomings, when looked from some indicators.

Fixers aka political managers abound because they thrive in an artificially scare economy where votes are a premium

It is not often that China defends the rights of whistleblowers against the state and America finds itself defensive about internet freedom. That precisely is what Edward Snowden, the young American who has exposed the expansive cyber espionage activities of the National Security Agency in the United States against its own citizens and the rest of the world, has achieved.

In treating Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari badly at the NATO summit in Chicago, US President Barack Obama was highlighting the US frustration at Pakistan's reluctance to open up over land access to the international forces in Afghanistan.

It's pointless to blame Pakistan for successful terrorist strikes. What about the CCTVs that didn't work? The strategy of the new generation of terrorists is to keep the country forever in the terror warp, and they seem to be winning.

The recent US decision to blackball People¿s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) may have revived interest in the naxalite movements, nearer home in India. While there can be no two ways about the State and the society fighting militancy, insurgency or terrorism, there is need to study the social causes and implications of such a trend. That way, we can reduce such incidents and instances, if not totally eliminate them.

Dr. V Krishna Ananth, political scientist and author, initiated an interaction on the 'Emerging scenario of coalition politics in India' at the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, on 12 January 2008.

Social marginalisation in urban India can be overcome by identifying committed non-State individuals/institutions, and supporting them so that they are able to successfully contribute to the government's reform process.

ORF hosted a panel discussion on "Social Media and Politics", based on Shaili Chopra's book, The Big Connect: Politics in the Age of Social Media.

Hate speech, law and order, and mass panic are realities India's states have been living with for years. It would appear that, in dealing with free expression on the internet, India's politicians seem to err on the side of control. Perhaps the next election is not just about the economy, but equally about the Indian citizens freedom of expression and freedom from control.

Irrespective of whether AAP delivers on all its promises or is somehow muscled out of office in a few months, it has proven something to all Indian media watchers. Social media buzz has helped in shaping the agenda for India's largest and most important city, making a newly formed political party into a serious player in just over a year.

Aceh is a little known Northwest province of Indonesia that shot into world fame on December 26, 2004. It was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that triggered a tsunami. The western coastal areas of Aceh, including Banda Aceh, the capital, were among the areas hardest-hit by the tsunami. Approximately 230,000 people were killed and 400,000 left homeless out of its total population of 4.01 milli

As signaled by the Myanmar operations against militants, the policy shift in New Delhi must be taken seriously. One can hope that it does have a salutary effect on the extremist elements within the Pakistani establishment and the jihadi organisations located in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir also.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi waived agricultural loans and provided cash transfers. It won the Assembly election earlier this month by a landslide.

A consignment of over 100 tonnes of explosives, carried in six shipping containers. The ship was bound for Bander Abbas in Iran where the consignment was to be unlaoded and moved overland from Iran to Jaranz in Afghanistan since Pakistan does not permit such cargo to be sent from India over its territory. The consigment was of commercial grade explosives meant for use by Border Road Organization (BRO) for road construction.

India appears to have successfully climbed into the category of a nuclear "have," overcoming the divisions enshrined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and enforced fervently by its adherents. However, as India prepares to argue its case for entering the export control regimes, it will find that the new "status" will bring contentious new issues, which will demand careful consideration.