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.

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Message from Tianjin: Balance of Power Issues Can Upset SCO Applecart

Despite the public display of bonhomie at Tianjin, however, the SCO is ridden with major differences in harmonising national interests of member States, with some entering into active skirmishes, trade barriers or imbalances, equations with major powers and double standards on issues such as countering terrorism or protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Student Suicides In India A Cause For Concern

Most children are always afraid of failing exams. The pressures by parents to perform well in competitive exams create a sense of fear. Such accretion of fears  at a young vulnerable age make the mind highly strung emotionally, and any trigger can snap it. So, saying that pressures of education, ragging, break-ups etc. lead to suicide is wrong. These kids were already prone to suicide – the trigger could be anything.

Trump & Modi: Rekindling the Bromance!

Yet, amid this global chess game, the Trump-Modi tweets reminded us of one undeniable fact: politics is now as much about social media bromance as it is about border disputes and trade wars.

Maharashtra: An important stakeholder in India’s para diplomacy

Several countries have presence in Maharashtra. Some of the countries which have shown interest in recent years are Germany, Japan and South Korea whose leaders have taken great interest in establishing manufacturing centres in Maharashtra. The Pune industrial belt has drawn car manufacturers the world over, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and General Motors. It is often referred to as the ‘Detroit of India’

Teachers as daily wagers: To Become Knowledge Economy, India Needs to First Fix its Education Foundations

The combined effects of teacher shortages, contractualisation, and parallel schooling are devastating for India’s long-term competitiveness. It leads to poor learning outcomes, misaligned workforce skills where employers consistently complaining of skill shortages, because curricula lag hopelessly behind. No wonder that of the college educated youth in the age group 24 to 29, the unemployment rate is more than 30 percent.

Trump Tariffs in South Asia: Bangladesh Has an Advantage

Several Indian export firms have begun approaching Bangladeshi manufacturers to produce apparel jointly, underscoring Dhaka’s emerging advantage after US tariff hikes on India and China. Chinese investors, too, are showing interest in building garment factories in Bangladesh, drawn by its new trade advantage. Bangladesh, by capitalizing on India and China’s relative “disadvantage now has the opportunity to expand its export footprint. 

Whither Growth? India’s failing health and education systems signal deeper malaise

In that, the failing health and education sectors in India are a symptom of a larger disease, of an imagined growth story and a fantasised giant economy that sees numbers but not the purpose, that has ignored those at the lower rungs of the ladder in the quest to shine in its fancy airports and bullet trains

Will Modi’s tax-reform promise work to unshackle Indian industry?

However, execution will determine whether Modi’s second GST gamble succeeds. Missteps could mean fiscal slippage, strained centre–state relations and political blowback in a crucial election cycle. What is being promoted as a festive bonanza risks being remembered as another midnight reform whose lofty promise faltered in practice.

With Rising Global Condemnation, India Should Rethink Close Economic Ties With Israel

Clinging to the narrative of “strategic autonomy” while doubling down on a partner facing escalating global condemnation will not safeguard India’s sovereignty. Instead, it risks compromising India’s diplomatic standing and economic resilience.

Alternate Dispute Resolution Growing in India - the Amika Way

The Amika assures non-adversarial ways to dispute resolution, informs clients that they save time, money, and, most importantly, the relationships, and ensures complete confidentiality of the material exchanged during mediation sessions.

Saving The Last Green Lung: Fight To Save India's City Forests

The grassroots movements taking shape, like the one in Jaipur, tell us that the issues of the environment are increasingly resonating with ordinary people. Ordinary citizens, particularly the youth, are tending to stand up for the rights of nature, for their right to breathe clean air and live with nature around them, even in crowded urban landscapes.

Creeping Rise of Anti-Semitism is Dangerous for Sri Lanka

The government in Colombo finds itself in a difficult position, refraining from disclosing its official stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—a well-established policy of the Sri Lankan government for years. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa vociferously campaigned for Palestinian statehood while discreetly seeking military support from Israel to crush LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka. The current Sri Lankan government maintains the same ambiguity.

India Needs Urgent Reforms To Meet Trump Tariff Challenge

India chose to draw the line on three things. Firstly, no liberal access to agriculture and dairy market in the country. This is especially for maize, corn, soyabean and dairy produced from cattle fed with animal protein. Secondly, no access for genetically modified crops or agriculture products. Thirdly no import of ethanol for fuel purposes.

Will importing F-35 fighter jets from the US be good for India?

If the government is indeed going in for F-35 squadrons to meet IAF’s interim requirements, it is without doubt a political decision to appease President Donald Trump who wants India to increase defence imports from the US and reduce/stop defence imports from Russia on the threat of additional penalties and sanctions under (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). 

With Operation Sindoor, Kargil Flaws Were Ironed Out

India showed the world that: (a) it does not require anyone’s permission to defend its people, (b) terrorists and their masterminds cannot hide anywhere, and (c) if Pakistan retaliates, India is prepared for a decisive counterstrike.