Badi Soch: The state of secularism in the subcontinent
This daily column includes Gateway House’s Badi Soch – big thought – of the day’s foreign policy events. Today’s Badi Soch looks at how secularism is faring in South Asia.
“UNHRC resolution is uncalled for”
With India backing the United Nations resolution against Sri Lanka, New Delhi-Colombo relations appear to be in a tense phase. Gateway House interviews Prasad Kariyawasam, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, to discuss the implications of the UNHRC vote and the future of India-Sri Lanka relations.
Vote on Sri Lanka: Vote on UPA
New Delhi has taken some opportunistic actions, such as its vote against Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council, to pacify internal political demands. But these extract a price in the international arena. Should we anticipate a further decline in India’s regional and international credibility?
The time for SAARC is now
Domestic politics are impacting overall SAARC relations. As the largest SAARC economy, we must strive to minimise differences with our neighbours by understanding how they perceive our policies, and uphold the promise of this regional bloc.
.png)
Neighbourhood Views of India
In the past few years, the SAARC region has seen promising engagements in mutual cooperation between nations. For these developments to hold, new ideas must be put on the table for discussion. ‘Neighbourhood Views of India’ is our effort towards contributing to that process.
Mending India-Sri Lanka relations
It is evident that Tamil Nadu plays a large role in shaping India’s policy towards Sri Lanka. The recent visit to India by Sri Lanka’s President, coming promptly after aggressive rhetoric from Tamil Nadu, is yet another sign that foreign affairs cannot be outsourced to regional or state governments.
Amit Baruah
Amit Baruah is the South Asia Studies Fellow at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. He is an award winning journalist who has lived and reported from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Singapore. He is the author of Dateline Read more
Regenerating our democracy
The promise of an egalitarian democratic system in India and abroad, has been tarnished by the entrenchment of dynastic leadership and by an inordinate concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few. It is imperative to find ways to confront the shortcomings that have crept into our cherished democracies.
Time to End Fuel Subsidies?
Fuel subsidies burden government budgets, adding to global warming, pollution and wasteful consumption. But it is the only real claim to ownership most people have on their country's resources.
Address by S.M.Krishna, External Affairs Minister of India at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore
S.M. Krishna talks about India’s external environment and its current foreign policy challenges at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore.