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:: Window to South Asia |
The relevance of Mahatma Gandhi today
Sixty years after his death a portion of Gandhiji's ashes, stashed away by Madalsa and Shriman Narayan, the daughter and son-in-law of Jamnalal Bajaj, will be immersed at Chowpati Beach in Mumbai. Although I will be thousands of miles away in the United States the memories of 60 years ago will be refreshed and the day will be as poignant as Jan 30, 1948.
Radicalisation at home urges U.K to forge closer ties with India
The first visit of Gordon Brown to India as the new British Prime Minister has essentially underscored a serious urge from the British side to strengthen closer ties with India, especially in the arena of counter-terrorism. London's growing uneasiness over the increasing threat of terror at home and permeation of extremist trends amongst British youth have been continuously articulated in the British media as well as by senior cabinet ministers. A post-facto analysis of the British premier's visit may bring out the British concerns distinctly.
Intensive trade promises to broaden India-China interaction
By all accounts, the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Beijing is considered successful in the matter of expanding bilateral trade. With an impressive Rs.1.5 trillion ($38.6 billion) in bilateral trade, investments contemplated in each other's markets and physical connectivity explored between the two countries, bilateral engagement in these fields is poised to expand in the short-to-medium terms.
Sri Lanka: Peace through War?
Sri Lanka is in turmoil and there has been an immense escalation in armed encounters between Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE. In an incredible turn of events since mid 2006, there is a sharp increase in hostility and uncertainty.
Fresh Impetus for India-Vietnam Strategic Ties:
China as the driving force
Amidst a new strategic realignment in Asia, New Delhi is looking forward to develop a strong bond of strategic and defence cooperation with Hanoi. India understands the importance of Vietnam in the emerging strategic architecture in Asia. New Delhi is now willing to embrace not just the major powers but also regional players like Vietnam, which can play an assertive role in the balance of power game in South East Asia.
The unspoken truth in Iran's nuclear report
The publication of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the Iranian nuclear weapons programme by the US intelligence community has taken the world by storm since that estimate contradicts the views of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and concludes that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons programme in the fall of 2003 and has not resumed it.
Pakistan's third transition: Will it succeed?
In the 60 years of its existence, Pakistan has been under military rule for 32 years in three spells under four generals - Gen. Ayub Khan, who made himself a Field Marshal, Gen. Yahya Khan, Gen. Zia-ul Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Each spell of military rule had its distinct flavour and characteristics.
BMD is fine, but where is the Akash?
In the winter of December, when DRDO showcases to the world a new range of 'indigenously' developed ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems and announces plans for an ICBM interceptor to be developed in 5-7 years, it could certainly sent shivers to people like Henry Obering, chief of the U.S. Missile Defence Agency. For, Obering's team have been struggling in the past two decades to achieve mid-course interception outside Earth's atmosphere to destroy prospective ICBMs fired by Russia or long-rangers from North Korea and Iran.
Intelligence report on Iranian nukes: Vindication of India's Stand?
The mandarins at South Block have every reason to be pleased with the latest US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the Iranian nuclear programme. In many ways, the NIE has vindicated the Indian stand on the Iranian nuclear issue. The Indian policy on the issue was centred on three pillars. The first was the support of Iran's right to pursue civilian nuclear technology. The second was the realisation that a nuclear-armed Iran would shift the regional threat calculus which would be detrimental to India's interests. The third was the Indian desire to de-hyphenate the Indo-US nuclear agreement from the Iranian issue. The NIE has vindicated the Indian policy on each of these parameters.
Malaysian Indians: Caught Between National Identities
The hard snub that has come from Malaysia on the issue of ethnic Indians holding demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur demanding greater rights in Malaysia's discriminatory ethnic policy adopted since 1970s shows the boiling point to which issue has reached among Malaysian Indians.
India's indigenous missile defence: are we really there?
Very few knew about an indigenous ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme being pursued by Indian scientists until DRDO announced in November 2006 that it had undertaken a successful 'exo-atmospheric' interception with the Prithvi Air Defence Experiment (PADE). Hence, it came as a surprise when the agency decided to announce in advance details of its December 2007 test for an 'endo-atmospheric' interception capability, which reveals a predetermined confidence of achieving a successful interception.
Managing Musharraf and his Loose Nukes
The last time Musharraf flexed muscles with a nuclear rhetoric was during the Kargil war, when he threatened an escalation of the conflict to a nuclear threshold if India crosses the LoC. India took his threat seriously and stayed within its territorial confines while flushing the intruders out.
Pakistan's political crisis and the US
Open season has been declared on Pakistan and President Musharraf by the media, think tanks and political leadership in the West including the US. The 'indispensable' ally has become a liability. Denunciation of his policies and actions against the media and judiciary are becoming shrill and vociferous. Doomsday scenarios are being painted of the future of Pakistan - a nuclear state.
Asia's Big Two still trade pinpricks
It is a year since the Chinese president Hu Jintao visited India, and attention to China in this country seems to have slipped into a just-below-the-radar zone. A blip occurred in May this year, when the Chinese denied an IAS officer from Arunachal Pradesh a visa to visit China, putting out the old line that Arunachalis, being Chinese citizens, did not require visas. More serious was Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi's statement to the Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee in late May that the "mere" fact of populated areas was insufficient reason for China to give up its territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh, directly contradicting the terms of the 2005 Indo-Sino agreement.
US dilemma in Pakistan
General Musharraf wishes to stay on in power, for he views himself as indispensable to the country's survival and well-being.
Rule of force vs rule of law
Faced with the choice of being a president bound by the constitution and being a chief of the army ruling by diktat, Musharraf chose khaki and force. His coup announcement is titled "Proclamation of Emergency declared by Chief of the Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf" and ends "I hereby order and proclaim that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance".
Gandhi's image in Pakistan
SONIA Gandhi was in New York in October to take part in events organised to mark the International Day of Non-Violence.
Time To Go, General
General Pervez Musharraf has entered history books as the only military ruler to have declared martial law against his own regime after eight years of autocratic rule. He has forfeited his credibility and to a significant extent that of the Pakistani army. Surrender of hundreds of Pakistani soldiers to the Taliban and tribal militias have tarnished the reputation of a proud army and brought it down in the estimation of the Pakistani people.
Getting away with farce?
THIS is unsustainable and cannot last. You can't mock the heavens and think there will be nothing to pay for it.
These are the acts of desperate men who know that their moment in the sun is up, from whose fingers power is slipping but who want to stave off the inevitable.
Emergency plus = martial law minus
Its classic! We've been there so many times. Once again Pakistan's ruling elite has temporarily suspended its war against its people and is at war with itself over the sharing of booty - the spoils of office and the right to pelf. Once again those in power have done something drastic to take all the cake for themselves and leave none for their opponents.
Whither justice for Akhtar Mengal?
Akhtar Mengal, the son of a prominent Baloch politician, a former chief minister and the head of a moderate Baloch nationalist party, has been detained for the last eight months and is being denied justice through several delaying tactics. Illegal detention and unnecessary delays in his case have exposed the inequality and courts' inability to act without being influenced by the executive. Mengal has been arrested on charges of neither corruption, nor misuse of power. He is not an industrialist, bank defaulter and isn't involved in any land scam, like many pro-establishment politicians of the country.
Peace initiatives without political solution cannot succeed
The Sri Lankan government media has given banner headlines to a peace initiative by religious leaders who are expected to travel to the LTTE-controlled Wanni in the near future 'to explore the possibility of putting back the derailed peace process back on track.' The emphasis would be on resuming the peace talks and preventing clashes between the security forces and the LTTE. This latest resolve for peace follows a meeting between Catholic religious leaders who met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the prospect of the sacred Madhu shrine in Mannar being declared a zone of peace.
N-deal with US to open doors for India: Pranab Mukherjee
India looks at its civil nuclear deal with the US as a door opener that would lead to the lifting of technology restrictions and similar cooperation with several countries thereby helping it realise its economic potential, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
Wary of nuclear timelines, US pushes India to act fast
NEW DELHI: The US has said it is best to move ahead quickly on the Indo-US nuclear deal due to existing “political timelines” even as US ambassador to India David C Mulford on Wednesday met PM’s special envoy Shyam Saran.
123 is the India-US nuclear deal: Boucher
Washington, Sep 19 (IANS) The 123 agreement for civil nuclear cooperation "is the deal" between India and the United States, a senior US official has clarified, suggesting it overtakes the Hyde Act whose legal implications have led to a political crisis in India.
As difficult as 123
No recent situation has led to a deeper chasm among Indian Americans than the recently concluded bilateral agreement on the US-India nuclear deal initialed by the two countries on July 20, 2007. The situation is exacerbated by lingering spite in the Indian Parliament where unlikely allies are joining hands in supporting or denouncing the deal.
N-powering India
The adjournment of Parliament, precipitated by the Opposition’s unnecessary stone-walling, has prevented an informed debate in the House on the India-United States nuclear deal. This is a pity. for it has denied people an opportunity to understand what is at stake for the nation.
N-deal: Need for less fission and more fusion
The Indo-US 123 agreement is such an amalgam of law, politics, technical jargon, economic nuance and statistical analysis that it requires an open and inquiring, albeit critical, mind to understand and appreciate it. Such minds have to jettison preconceived notions and premeditated biases, rely on light rather than heat, on fusion instead of fission and on the power of reason and logic rather than rhetoric to arrive at objective conclusions.
The 123 Agreement: An analysis
Safeguards will in all likelihood be numerous and intrusive, in conformity to those offered to non-nuclear weapon states, and in perpetuity without any similar commitment on the part of the US in ensuring uninterrupted fuel supplies over the lifetime of the purchased reactors. A few palliative statements about joint research and development are included but continue to be restricted to the narrow scope of the Hyde Act and other existing US legislation and therefore do not substantially alter the situation concerning collaborative ventures possible even today.
Deal will push India into U.S. strategic orbit, say experts
NEW DELHI: Intellectuals and energy analysts from different countries have criticised the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal on the ground that it is bad for peace, will draw India into Washington’s strategic orbit and promote nuclear power, which is hazardous, accident-prone and costly.
The U.S., India and the Elusive 123 Deal
The United States and India are turning a new chapter in world history as they seek to close a deal on civil nuclear cooperation and nonproliferation. Referred to as the "123" agreement, negotiations have been in the works since 2005.
N-panel in limbo
The Manmohan Singh government appears to be having teething problems in firming up the proposed UPA-Left committee meant to look into the Left’s concerns and objections over the Indo-US nuclear deal, even as the CPI-M today unleashed a propaganda war blasting the government for pushing the deal as part of “pushing through the US agenda” on all fronts.
After 123 bump, China trying to mend fences
NEW DELHI: China has started to reach out to India countering mounting popular opinion against a perceived Beijing-inspired Communist opposition to the nuclear deal.
France backs Indo-US nuke deal
NEW DELHI: There’s some room for comfort for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is facing a barrage of criticism on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, as France came out openly in support of the pact.
US to react if India conducts nuclear test
WASHINGTON: The United States today said that it has the right to act in the event of India conducting a nuclear test under the agreement concluded to operationalise the civil nuclear deal between the two countries.
A new chapter for India, hopefully
The chances of an agreement between India and the US for peaceful use of nuclear energy have become brighter after the publication of the draft agreement. Many sceptics have admitted that both the governments, the Indian and the US, have taken great pains to address Indian concerns.
Nuclear deal an exception for a unique India: US
Washington, July 28 (IANS) The United States is not going to offer any other country a civil nuclear deal like the one with New Delhi as it looks at India as an "exception" with a "unique" history.
Some language of 123 accord left vague as face saver: US daily
Washington, July 28 (IANS) The Bush administration has assured Congress that its nuclear deal with India does not circumvent US law, but officials conceded that some language is deliberately vague to help both sides save face, says a US daily.
How they untangled the India-US nuclear deal
Washington, July 28 (IANS) India's proposal for a new fully safeguarded facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel helped resolve what for the US was the "principal major issue" holding up agreement on implementing their history-making civil nuclear deal.
123 'respectful' to leaders; 'consistent' with law: US
Washington, July 28 (IANS) The US says the India-US agreement to implement their civil nuclear deal is "respectful" to the July 2005 and March 2006 joint statements of their leaders as also "consistent" with its own law.
Indian offer for reprocessing facility proved 123 turning point: US
Washington, July 27 (IANS) India's proposal to build a new state-of-the-art fully safeguarded facility for reprocessing US supplied nuclear fuel was a key factor in reaching the 123 agreement to implement the India-US nuclear deal.
Manmohan Singh held his ground on nuclear deal
Considering that the Manmohan Singh government has generally been seen to be bullied by the Left into retreating on various issues such as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, economic reforms and so on, it is worth noting that the prime minister has been able to consistently hold his ground on the India-US nuclear deal.
US won't offer India-type nuclear deal to Pakistan or anyone else
Washington, July 27 (IANS) The United States said Friday it would not offer Pakistan or any other country a deal similar to its civil nuclear agreement with India.
123 pact a very good deal, stands the test: India
New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) India Friday said the "historic" 123 agreement it concluded with the US last week was a "very good deal" that would enable full civilian nuclear cooperation between the two countries without impacting its strategic interests or its indigenous three-stage energy programme.
123 a step towards deepening strategic partnership with India: Bush
Washington, July 27 (IANS) President George Bush Friday described the just concluded 123 agreement to implement the civil nuclear deal with India as another step towards deepening US strategic partnership with a "vital world leader".
India happy with 123 pact, 'all concerns met'
New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) India Friday said it was happy at concluding the "historic" 123 agreement with the US and stressed that the pact addressed all its concerns regarding nuclear testing, reprocessing and uninterrupted fuel supplies without impacting on its strategic interests or its three-stage energy programme.
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