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The Indian tendency to muddle through is likely to continue when it comes to counter-insurgency. The distance between the Army and its civilian masters is so gaping that advice, however enriched by experience and reflection, is likely to fall on deaf ears.

The US, as always, learned the hard way that it was not or need not be all that dependent on Pakistani cooperation and generosity and Pakistan was probably beginning to realise that it had exaggerated its own importance.

The opening of Iran will alter the geopolitics of south-western Asia. Even so, India needs to tread with care. But this should not in any way constrain our initiatives with Iran. We need to move beyond the phase of dithering that has characterised our ties with Tehran for the last decade.

Malala's achievement need not be measured in terms of the Nobel Peace Prize she did not get but in the awakening she can continue to create. For this, she and her kind, all over, need more than just periodic rewards.

The wave of terrorist violence that will hit India as a result of de-escalation at this stage is not going to be a tenable proposition.

The wave of terrorist violence that will hit India as a result of de-escalation is not going to be a tenable proposition for India.

Strong Republican support for India in the US Congress, the new tensions in America's ties with China and Russia, and the unfolding geopolitical flux in Middle East and Asia, make it possible for Modi and Obama to boldly reimagine the bilateral partnership.

If the Jal Jeevan Mission succeeds, water will be the Modi administration’s true revolution

Technology solutions for illiterate people are exclusively designed by the formally educated and that is a fundamental problem

Though India has decided to cut down oil from Iran and thereby, for the time being, might have placated the US, it, however, cannot afford to ignore Iran either - for a myriad of reasons.

Unlike believed and propagated, for any Indian attempt at influencing the Sri Lankan Government on the ethnic issue to fructify, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should attend CHOGM-2013, and also take up the issues involved with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the Summit sidelines.

In the strategic sectors much has been achieved in the last decade. Russia has given us its most advanced aircraft, tanks, rocket launchers, cruise missiles, frigates

Indian Railways remains one of the largest owners of land in the country along with the defence services and the port trusts. And yet, India has been unable to either free up the unutilised land for most part, nor has it been able to monetise it adequately.

National oil companies have raised petrol prices again and, predictably, everyone is up in arms. Didi promises to lead the charge. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's muted support for price hike notwithstanding.

A violent movement is nourished by the cultural milieu available to it, something that regulating content or fact checks cannot tackle.

In dealing with separatism, social protest and public anger, what the state requires is a subtle, rather than a heavy hand. What is needed is a refined strategy that combines elements of toughness, with strategies that promote trust and reconciliation.

Has Indian democracy failed its people? Maybe it is time for all of us to introspect and answer this question in a genuine manner.

The Siachen Glacier is strategically positioned between India and Pakistan, in a disputed and un-demarcated region of Kashmir. Nitin Gokhale, journalist and author of 'Beyond NJ 9842: The Siachen Saga' argues why India cannot give up Siachen. He says Indian troops will continue to be deployed in the region despite the difficult weather conditions.

Decades of women right movements have demonstrated that theory and praxis must join hands in order to bring about a sustainable change. Exploring and implementing ideas to make this process participatory with adequate incentives will ensure that half a billion Indians,

While the visits by political leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine potentially exacerbate regional tensions, it is the right of every country to honour those who have sacrificed their lives for their country. All countries have war memorials where they honour such sacrifices. The Yasukuni Shrine should not be seen as an exception.

The AU’s decision to ban Sudan counters the Gulf’s aggressive role in Sudan. It is a major diplomatic feat.

Pakistan argues that absence of a dialogue allows the terrorists to dictate the agenda, but has Pakistan suppressed these groups?

The nature of bilateral political relations in the Indian Ocean region has an impact on the quality of subregional engagements.

Calling for a pause only shows the political duplicity that fuels J&K's militancy fire.

The general meeting of the African Development Bank in Gandhinagar could improve India’s engagement with a continent where it has lagged behind China in project execution.

The allegation of Indian expansion of its uranium enrichment facilities is based on a report released by IHS Jane's, which has already been dismissed by both the US and the Indian governments as speculative. Indeed, the IHS Jane's report merely identifies a "possible" new uranium hexafluoride plant.

The non-signing of the Teesta agreement has become a point of embarrassment for her government. The treaty was supposed to be signed during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in 2011 but it was suspended at the last minute due to objection by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The best way to understand what the Tipu Sultan controversy is all about is to see who is at the forefront of the protests against the observance of his birth anniversary ? the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The United States presence in Iraq is going to continue in one way or another, with or without assistance from allies. The reason this assumption can be made forcefully is because of the arguments made before the war and the expectations that arose after victory was declared.

The deepening crisis in the Korean Peninsula and the stalled nuclear talks with Iran together are a powerful reminder to the US that its non-proliferation policies are not working in Asia. Both Bush's muscular approaches and Obama's coercive diplomacy have failed.

The Indian Air Force faces threats in its Northeastern sector similar to those facing the United States in the Western Pacific. So, it would benefit both to share data on a more regular basis and plan joint responses to any problems.

Yakub Memon is not innocent, but he does not deserve death penalty. He was aware of the conspiracy and even aided it, but he was not the main player. More important was his behaviour subsequent to his escape from India and his role in exposing the Pakistani hand in the blasts.

Compared to an average 100,000 incidents annually in the 1980s and 1990s, India witnessed only 72,126 communal riots in 2013. Thus, overall there has been a drastic reduction in communal riots. Yet, these macro statistics do not reveal the changing nature of communal violence and their intensities.

To correct the trend of agglomeration of wealth, young economist Thomas Picketty has suggested an annual progressive tax on wealth. He also says it will be difficult to implement it because there will always be flight to tax havens. In India, any type of wealth tax would be hardest to implement because a huge amount of wealth is already stashed away abroad.

Even as newspapers with access to the WikiLeaks exposes have come out with installments of diplomatic cable communication on US's relations with Pakistan, an impression is gaining ground that Washington was indeed struggling to get Islamabad to work to secure American interests in the region.

While the lobbying business in the US has continued to grow and starting salaries have risen to about $300,000 for the well-connected lobbyist, the enforcement of lobbying regulations has been lax. This has led to unethical practices, flouting of lobbying laws.

Ever since the US declared Iran a member of the ¿Axis of Evil¿, and more so after the Iraq invasion, the question very often asked in many of the essays that appeared in the West was ¿Is Iran next?¿ And now, after a bruising experience in Iraq, the US administration cannot just retreat to the relative safety of the White House and glower at the rest of the world.

Al-Shabaab's decision to pull out of the capital city of Mogadishu has been viewed widely as a positive development and brings hope to the people of Somalia. Kenya's war against the militant group has also been largely welcomed.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to form a joint commission to collaborate their efforts to reach a political solution to the Taliban insurgency. This was announced during the visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to the Afghanistan capital of Kabul over the weekend.

As if the "Savarna-Avarna" (high caste/low caste) divide was not bad enough in Uttar Pradesh and the rest of the country, the Congress has gone and institutionalised the rupture in the "Savarna" fold too, further aggravating the atomising process.

Diplomacy commenced when the first human societies decided it was better to hear the message than eat the messenger. Messages to rulers are rarely purposeless; their timing and occasion are carefully chosen and the content crafted with care.