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Economic distress, India’s influence and signalling, and underwhelming support from partners like China compelled Muizzu to recalibrate relations with India

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.

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.

Fumio Kishida’s victory owes much to LDP’s conservative wing and many of his foreign policy actions will function within the parameters that former prime minister Shinzo Abe laid down during his time in office

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,

The ‘Cope India’ military exercise holds broader significance for the bilateral relationship.

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

The last multilateral negotiations in the field of nuclear disarmament took place more than 20 years ago, resulting in the long awaited Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The treaty, however, has yet to enter into force. India is often held responsible for such uncertainty, in spite of having withdrawn from the negotiations before it was even concluded; at other times, it is the US which is blamed for failing to ratify the CTBT—giving reason

The standoff at Doklam is less a boundary incident involving India, China and Bhutan, and more a coming together of geopolitical fault lines.

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

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

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 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 threat of terrorism itself has been fast evolving and far surpasses some of the fundamental challenges that the UN, UN Security Council, agencies and members are continuing to try and navigate

Unless you are a terrorist, you can rest assured that the agencies have no time or use for snooping into your computers or mobile phones.

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.

It is increasingly becoming clear that the battle is less about the trade deficit and more about America’s intention of preserving its global primacy.

With trade sanctions lifted, New Delhi can engage in substantive economic ties with Pyongyang.

Hanoi is gradually becoming the linchpin of India’s eastward move.

Rivers are the world’s most important ecosystems, not simply a source of water and energy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s priority should be to insulate police from political interference.

India must ascertain if the US has a plan for Pak, and what it is

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.

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.

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.

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.

China has recently rolled out several measures that cracked down on businesses with an aim to redistribute wealth and reduce inequality. Many are likening this to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.

While China’s white paper on space is a good transparency move, the goals enshrined in the document may also make space more competitive.

In an announcement that caught the nation by surprise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes of the Indian currency in November to arrest ‘black money’, end corruption, and choke terrorist finances. This move represents a policy departure and it has far-reaching implications. As national debate has been hijacked by the possible fallouts of demonetisation, other critical issues have been pushed to

Ajit Doval’s approach — now famously referred to as the Doval Doctrine — places limited reliance on diplomacy only to the extent that India’s territorial interests are not compromised.

Former The Hindu correspondent in Pakistan, Nirupama Subramanian, thinks that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has a better chance to head the next government in Pakistan. The thing to be watched is whether he will be able to do so on his own or in coalition with other parties, especially Imran Khan's PTI.

From the Chinese perspective, it was a smart move to invite India to join the maritime Silk Road project. But Delhi is likely to be torn between two competing ideas ? working with China in the maritime domain and the long-standing goal of limiting Beijing's influence in the Indian Ocean.

The question of inviting Australia to the exercise, which currently includes India, Japan and the United States, has been controversial.

The Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) programme in India — an ambitious project, envisioned on a massive scale — will attempt to link 37 rivers, through 30 links, covering a distance of 15,000 km that will transfer 174 trillion litres of water a year.

If Nawaz Sharif really believes that Islamic insurgency has no role to play in Indo-Pakistan relations henceforth, he should enforce immediate control and effectively neutralise LeT and its parallel organisation, the Jamat-ud-Dawa.

With the resignation of the Sindh CM, it is widely speculated that the next to follow suit would be Jamali. His repeated assurances that his government was under no threat, only betrayed his insecurity. General Musharraf, who could have reiterated Jamali¿s confidence,

Whether Japan and India could find an acceptable compromise formula for civilian nuclear agreement that would address their respective concerns will be the main subject of discussion at the India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on December 27-29.

On Monday night, a television anchor asked Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit about her views on India's decision to run the Lahore bus again. She said: "I hope it doesn't fall by the wayside as the previous one.'' If she clearly sounded sceptical, there are reasons. The last time buses began to cross the Wagah border

US President Barack Obama is trying to reconcile the irreconcilables - the requirements of his domestic audience and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. It will take a while before we know whether he has fallen between stools.

The consequences of the Okinawa gubernatorial elections, where Prime Minister Abe's party candidate was defeated convincingly, mainly on the issue of relocation of US bases, will resonate on the US-Japan security alliance as well as Abe's ruling LDP party.

The FATF sword is dangling over Pakistan. With the country on the verge of economic bankruptcy, it desperately needs access to international financial markets.

While Mamata Banerjee tries to avoid being branded as an anti-industry and inflexible politician, her best ally could be the pending central land acquisition bill, which thanks largely to Mamata Banerjee, is in comatose since 2007.

Libya's future looks uncertain. The no-fly zone may not be enough to unseat Gaddafi. If Gaddafi survives and maintains his hold over Tripolitania, the world may have to contend with his wrath and a potential rogue state, uncomfortably close to Europe.

New aircraft carrier Vikramaditya will undoubtedly have a major role to play as force multipliers and strategic game changers in the region, but as a ship without even the basic defences against air borne threats, it will be extremely vulnerable, obviating its usage to its potential to the maximum.