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.
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India and the OIC: To join or not to join?
India’s relations with Islamic nations, many of which are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have become even more prolific over the last decade. While India does not visualise becoming a member of a religious international body, many reasons militate against our formally joining the OIC.
“India’s diplomacy is textual, not contextual”
Understanding the rationale behind India’s diplomatic decisions is essential for policymakers and citizens alike, so as to take better decisions in the future. Gateway House interviews former Ambassador to Italy, K. P. Fabian, to discuss how India's assessment of policy values the spoken word over context.
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
Hillary Clinton’s ‘Pivotal’ Moment
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to China, India, and Bangladesh is keeping with the U.S. pivot to Asia. The choice of countries has strategic significance for the U.S., where India is flagged as balancing the rise of China, and Bangladesh as a strategic base in the Bay of Bengal.
India-Bangladesh: Energy has to be the driver
Shortly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka, Gateway House interviewed the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India, Tariq Ahmad Karim, who commented on the prospects of enhanced relations between the two nations, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Courtesy: PMO
The Bangladesh bilateral: Looking to the future
The constant engagement between India and Bangladesh in the recent past has garnered a more suitable political atmosphere for enhanced bilateral relations. Looking beyond political blunders and focusing on socio-economic cooperation is at the advantage of both nations.
The present situation (in Kashmir) favours India
In the last few months, South Asia has gone from being just a global security headache, to a region with new possibilities. Teresita C. Schaffer, former US ambassador to Sri Lanka, and Howard Schaffer, former US ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh, discuss the major challenges that confront the US in South Asia.