pmo 22_210x140 Courtesy: PMO
14 December 2010

India-China: Prioritizing economics

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to New Delhi has the potential to mitigate sixty years worth of distrust between two of the world’s most populous countries and truly improve bilateral relations. What is stopping the two Asian giants from cooperating?

English Pen Flickr Courtesy: James Stencilowsky/ Flickr
12 November 2010

Myanmar elections: A Violation of Human Rights?

Myanmar is a complex issue. Its history, its treatment by neighbours and the West, the complex dilemmas posed by the mixing of morality and realpolitik is a reminder that democracy is only a means to an end. The lives of the ordinary people should matter more than formal institutions in shaping policy decisions.

uncertainty sri lanka Courtesy: Lynsey Addario
14 September 2010

Rising uncertainty in Sri Lanka

After winning a decades-long war in 2009, President Mahinda Rajpakse leveraged his popularity to assume greater powers for himself by amending the Constitution, making him virtually leader-for-life. Could this lead to one-party rule? And what will this mean for Sri Lanka and its Tamil minority?

truth kashmir Courtesy: isa_adsr/Flickr
6 September 2010

Kashmir: The inconvenient truth

Today, Kashmir is very much part of the cauldron that is "Af-Pak", the storm that is raging across the Pashtun belt in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As in Af-Pak, the base for the jihad that is being waged in Kashmir mainly comprises a small fringe of a single community – the Valley Sunnis.

president ir 2_210x140 Courtesy: PresidentIR
2 August 2010

Reassessing the Iranian nuclear threat

The leaders of Turkey and Brazil recently voted against sanctioning Iran, concluding that Iran's leaders do not intend to violate their most important Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligation. India, as a member of NAM, should also concede.