india baloch Courtesy: The Wire
15 September 2016

Balochistan: India’s trump card?

Prime Minister Modi’s reference to Balochistan in his Independence Day speech, which coincided with the Kashmir unrest, sparked speculations of this being smartly retaliatory. But the province’s geo-strategic complexities mean that New Delhi will have to play the ‘human rights’ card carefully.

1 Courtesy: Sameer Patil
22 June 2016

Challenges in protecting the border

A recent seminar on ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ (CVE) offered a platform for law enforcement agencies to understand technological, social media and other propaganda strategies used by cross-border terrorist groups. The seminar’s location in Sri Ganganagar, the northern-most town of Rajasthan, served as a gentle reminder of challenges specific to security agencies on the India-Pakistan border.

Nepal_Public-Diplomacy Courtesy:
21 April 2016

India-Nepal ties back on an even keel

Nepal and India are trying to even out recent crimps in their decades-old relationship by focusing on areas of cooperation – such as, energy, trade, investment and infrastructure – with the bilateral cooperation agenda also including a public diplomacy programme

Shahbag_Projonmo_Square_Uprising_Demanding_Death_Penalty_of_the_War_Criminals_of_1971_in_Bangladesh_23 Courtesy: Mehdi Hasan Khan/ Wikipedia
24 December 2015

War crimes: Bangladesh shows the way

At a time when Islamic fundamentalism is threatening the world, Bangladesh as a moderate muslim democracy occupies a unique position in actively confronting this threat under Sheikh Hasina. Instead of the unjustified criticism levied against its war trials, the West must actively support its fight against terror.

Unity gov Courtesy: CentralMaine
27 April 2015

Afghanistan must make rights a reality

Huge threats to human rights continue in Afghanistan. President Ghani has pledged to end official tolerance for torture, and his government must also protect the freedom of the media, ensure that more women participate in peace talks, and bring transparency to negotiations with the Taliban. These correctives are overdue