Bombing of Tehran

The Iran Conundrum, Trumpian Dilemma and the Shifting Sands of West Asia

Ray Takeyh, senior fellow for Middle East studies at the CFR believes that the West could have got much better dividends without this war. He says that Araghchi had tabled proposals that called for the suspension of uranium enrichment for several years before allowing it to then resume at low levels. Linda Robinson, CFR’s senior fellow, also feels that there will be mass American casualties if special forces are deployed. Already Arab States are upset with these joint operations with Israel. The consensus among CFR experts is that Trump’s ambitious objectives cannot be achieved merely with joint assaults by air or sea. 

Custodial Killings with no Judicial Remedies: A Sad Tale Across Two Punjabs

Was this the legacy that the great freedom fighters from Punjab – or extend that logic to rest of India and Pakistan where custodial deaths are common – would have wanted their land and its future generations to inherit? As if the breakdown of the country and its gory partition with a divided Punjab were not enough to torment them in their graves, wouldn’t this thought leave them completely shattered and desolate: this divided land is united in its conviction to perpetuate the very colonial mindset they fought. 

Bangladesh's Recent Election was Neither Free nor Fair

The Interim Government arranged extensive state protocol and privileges to the government-sponsored party, National Citizen Party (NCP), parties close to IG like Jamaat e Islami (JI) and their alliances, almost as if they were the government themselves. Similar privileges were given to the BNP and its allies. But no such facility was extended to the JP.

Competitive Populism vs Economic Development: When Forests are Monetised to Fund Revenue Expenditure

A democracy that is cutting down forests for votes risks mortgaging its ecological future for an electoral present. Welfare is essential; appeasement is corrosive. The difference lies in fiscal discipline, transparency and respect for citizens, who are not beneficiaries, but are owners of the republic. If we do not draw that line now, next year’s burden will demand another forest.

More on Perspective

The testing fiasco in India calls for radical reforms in the education sector

This also means unshackling the education sector, allowing greater freedom and autonomy to institutions of higher education in deciding curricula, courses, faculty hiring and salaries, student fees and programs. Otherwise, millions of our youth are wasting the prime years of their youth with a psychological burden, and grueling study with repeated attempts, to crack exams, where the odds of winning are worse than a lottery.

Did the RSS tacitly pull up Modi? Yet the RSS drinks from the same cup of power!

In that light, the words of Mohan Bhagwat signal discomfiture. But his hesitation to name Modi and call him out indicates that the RSS is caught in a trap of its own making. 

Will reforms and development take a hit under a coalition government in India?

There has to be a common thread holding the weave of a multidimensional diverse nation like India. The thread is definitely not how or to which God your pray (or not), what dress you wear (or wear no dress at all!), what you eat or not. 

An agenda for India's new coalition government: Wide-ranging reforms are the need of the hour

Without these reforms, the laudable objective of “India a Developed Nation by 2047” may remain a distant dream.

Naidu's reform and development agenda appealed to young voters in Andhra Pradesh

If India's states seek to compete with each other in a spirit of competitive federalism and use their political clout constructively for economic progress and welfare as several states have done there is nothing wrong.

BJP has a lot of rethinking to do after election losses

The rather curious silence on the part of the government regarding Manipur might have also led to the BJP losing in the state as well as suffering a decline in the overall seat share in the Northeast. 

Will PM Modi now find time to visit Manipur?

Now Angoncha Bimol Akojam, newly elected MP from Meitei-predominant Inner Manipur, has lashed out at the deliberate lawlessness and communal violence induced in Manipur, with both the state government and the Centre abdicating their responsibilities of governance in utter disregard of the Constitution. 

Chandrababu Naidu: India's man of the moment with a history of switching sides

When he came to power, Hyderabad was a backward city with dirty roads, Naidu had his vision of development. Taking a cue from neighboring Bangalore, Naidu began promoting hi tech industries and software skills in Hyderabad. He established Cyberabad and to express his seriousness travelled to Seattle and waited outside the office of Bill Gates of Microsoft for an hour to get an audience with him.

Bilateral and regional significance of Nepal PM Dahal’s India visit

The tri-nation hydroelectricity corridor between India, Nepal, and Bangladesh will likely continue. Given that Modi has pushed for “Neighborhood First” in his interactions with South Asian countries, India’s collaboration with Nepal will be essential to the revival of the SAARC mechanism and the advancement of regionalism in South Asia.

A call for equitable legislation: Why a Uniform Civil Code is a social imperative

The path toward progress does not reside in appending supplementary provisions to existing personal laws. Instead, it hinges on the establishment of progressive, gender-neutral, monogamous practices that are devoid of religious distinctions, achieved through the implementation of a uniform civil code.

Modi and Gandhi: Didn't the world know about Gandhi till the Attenborough film?

Modi should just know that today there are a large number of universities in the world where Gandhian studies are a part of their curricula. Many schools are trying to teach his values. Nearly 80 global cities have Gandhi streets and Gandhi statues installed in prominent places.

The Kerala model: Where migrants are guest workers

The internal migration of workers from the rest of the country to Kerala has created a mini remittance economy, as money flows from savings generated in Kerala to the home states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and Bihar.

Bulldozer demolitions are unwarranted and unsanctioned in Indian law: Need for remedial action

The targeted punitive measures against the Muslim community following religious clashes and the consequent demolitions constitute an instance of "ethnic cleansing", according to the UN's characterization

BJP and RSS complement each other: Modi factor looms large in their relationship

The context in which Nadda was making this statement needs to be understood in light of the party's electoral strategy. It no way signals differences in thinking or the parting of ways between the parent organization and its political progeny. Modi’s towering image is needed for the furtherance of the agenda of a 'Hindu nation'.

Free bus rides vs fancy bullet trains: What kind of development must India have

India can be forced to shine but whether the people of India will shine remains the question, and that remains the ground on which the Congress is making huge strides in its fight against the BJP in this election.