Maldives-618x412 Courtesy: Dying Regime / Flickr
25 April 2019

A power change in Maldives

Maldives’ new president, Ibrahim Solih, has had two election wins in a span of six months – his own in September 2018 and his Maldivian Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the Majlis elections about three weeks ago. An analysis of what this win says about democratic politics in Maldives, improved relations with India and the complex equation it shares with China

Jorhat :Polling officer checking electronic voting machine (EVM) and documents after collecting from the respective center  on the eve of the 1st phase of Assam State Assembly election 2016 at Jorhat in Assam on Sunday. PTI Photo(PTI4_3_2016_000067A) Courtesy: PTI
18 April 2019

The cyber security imperative for India’s elections

The growing use of technology in the election process has made cyber security a crucial issue. Instances of the spread of fake news, manipulation of voter behaviour and hacking show how digital technology can be misused. These issues need to be addressed in the long term

IMG_20190411_090307__01__01_Norita SAN (1) Courtesy: Gateway House
11 April 2019

Japan’s Buddhist trail in Bombay

At the turn of the 20th century, British India was home to about 3,000 Japanese expatriates, and Bombay and its presidency had well-established trade ties with Imperial Japan – until the Second World War brought it all to an end. The city never regained its substantial Japanese resident population, but the few monuments that remain point to rich political and religious linkages

e comm Courtesy: Medium
4 April 2019

A critique of India’s Draft National e-Commerce Policy

The Draft Policy, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in February, is a welcome step for India and globally, but its all-inclusive definition of a fast, click-and-buy world requires some refining: is it intended to be an internet policy or a specific e-Commerce policy?

Image Credit: Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee
Raw cotton being weighed. Japanese firms began going to the cotton growing hinterland of Bombay by the early 20th century. These direct purchases fueled a massive export trade between Bombay and Japan. Courtesy: Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee
20 March 2019

Imperial Japan’s trade with Bombay

Prior to the Second World War, Bombay had established merchant networks with several Japanese port cities and they drove an enormous global trade in cotton and textiles between the Indian subcontinent and Imperial Japan. Business has become a renewed priority for both countries today, offering fresh opportunities for collaboration

modi_hasina_0 Courtesy: The Daily Star
7 March 2019

Bangladesh’s India-China balancing strategy

Bangladesh faces several major challenges in its external relations. It showed humanitarianism in receiving the fleeing Rohingyas, but its diplomatic efforts to repatriate them have not succeeded. It must also maintain a balance between relations with India and China and show proactive leadership in garnering regional cooperation

RadioFarda Courtesy: Radio Farda
28 February 2019

FATF: global terrorist financing watchdog

After the Pulwama attack of 14 February 2019, Pakistan has come under the international scanner for its support and financing of terrorist groups. At a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris last week, it was pulled up for its inability to choke terrorist financing. This primer illustrates the role of the FATF in tackling terrorist financing and money-laundering, and studies its recent review of Pakistan