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?

thediplomat-asean-flags-553x360 Courtesy: The Diplomat
28 March 2019

An ASEAN trio in transition

Philippines, Cambodia and Lao PDR face a range of development challenges at home even as they respond dynamically to shifting priorities in external relations. With U.S.-China competition increasingly shaping this part of the world, will India provide some balance? An insider’s account of how three less noticed ASEAN countries are coping with geopolitical changes

591ba7996bbfe0287b0c8a5c01dc4a1defb31b68 Courtesy: AFP Photo/AREF KARIMI
28 March 2019

Afghanistan: Development against the odds

The people of Afghanistan, torn by war, ethnic strife and geoeconomic contestation for their country’s rich natural resources, have paid by forsaking the assurances of daily life. But President Ashraf Ghani has shown them that normalcy can return and it is possible to hold regular elections. The author, a guest of the President and First Lady, travelled through the country in October 2018 to record her impressions of a resilient people who have reason to hope for a different future 

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

iran-702x336 Courtesy: Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu Agency
14 March 2019

Iran @ 40: tensions underlie stability

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which turns 40 in April 2019, has come a long way from the Persia of the past. Some changes in the last four decades have been beneficial, and while people do support the regime, they are disaffected with its handling of the economy and foreign affairs