Courtesy: Flickr
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Myanmar gave the bilateral a substantive boost, but the exodus of over half a million Rohingya refugees dominated the discourse. India’s response has shown a balancing of compulsions, both humanitarian and strategic
Courtesy: The Indian Railways Fan Club
The Sikh and Punjabi community of Sion-Koliwada Camp, Mumbai, hailed mostly from the Muslim-majority North West Frontier Province (NWFP), rather than undivided Punjab. They brought to their adopted city – and to India – a rich and varied cultural presence
Courtesy: Archive.org
Many of the Hindu Sindhi refugees who fled to India post Partition succeeded in rebuilding their lives afresh, their native entrepreneurial spirit enabling them to rise up from the destitution that displacement caused. Ulhasnagar, Thane district, which was a refugee camp 70 years ago, is a microcosm of how the community rehabilitated itself--with the help of a well dispersed and generous Sindhi trading network
Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr
This regional grouping, which was envisioned as a potential bridge between SAARC and ASEAN, turns 20 on June 6. It achieved very little until last year, when efforts to revive its original mission began quite by accident. It has the potential to make greater strides if member states adhere to their commitments.
Courtesy: MEA/ Flcikr
Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India earlier this week produced many tangible outcomes, but left some thorny issues unresolved, which may test the two nations’ political and diplomatic capabilities
Courtesy: Reuters
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India beginning April 7 at a time when her country is confronted with Daesh-inspired terrorism. In the interests of regional stability, it is critical that the two countries maintain a united front against extremism
Courtesy: Gateway House
India’s global economic engagement, especially with the developing world, has increased in the last two decades, but trade with South Asia has remained low. It holds the potential for building greater productivity and more inclusive growth in India and the region
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Even nearly 70 years after independence, the people of Myanmar are struggling to complete nation-building and resolve the Rohingya issue. Is the million-strong community an ethnic group native to Myanmar or is it of South Asian origin, and, therefore, a part of Bangladesh? Evading the issue may not hasten national reconciliation
Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr
Perhaps South Block did not gain as much as it had hoped to: there was a gulf in member states’ perceptions. One takeaway, therefore, for policy makers was that while noise has its uses, it is now time for some quiet diplomacy
Courtesy: Google Earth
The recent BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach highlighted some laudable maritime endeavours linking geographically distant, emerging economies within the grouping. The BIMSTEC platform is also crucial to India's efforts to create a peaceful Bay of Bengal community through economic and cultural linkages.