US-India Intelligence Relations

Porous Borders, Shadow Wars and Grey-Zone Infiltration: The Geopolitical Rift in US-India Intelligence Relations

The Pannun case in the US, the preceding Nijjar row in Canada, the unyielding diplomatic stances of their respective governments, and the coordinated, adversarial statements issued by the Five Eyes alliance, collectively triggered a quiet but intense counter-intelligence pivot by New Delhi.

India-US Relations: When Objectives Overlap, Perspectives Differ

One of the most durable strengths of India-US relations lies outside the government. The five million strong Indian diaspora has become an extraordinary bridge between the two societies. Indian Americans occupy influential positions in technology, academia, medicine, business and public administration. This human connectivity provides resilience that many bilateral relationships lack.

Cocos (Keeling), Sabang and Car Nicobar: India’s Quiet Maritime Rewiring

India and Australia are not building a grand alliance; they are building useful capacity. Indonesia, through its archipelagic geography, fits into that larger maritime dynamic. Taken together, these developments show how strategy is increasingly made through nodes, not narratives.

China’s Water Threats, India’s Malacca Leverage and Growing Indo-Pacific Contestation

While China's leverage over India runs through an upstream river Beijing controls, India's leverage over China runs through a chokepoint India will now sit astride. The Strait of Malacca is a 930-km passage between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra through which an approximate of  40–50 percent of global trade and 80 percent of China's crude oil imports transit.

More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs

Bhutan's new government should safeguard territorial integrity and uphold cultural pluralism

Diplomatic efforts must be intensified to address the ongoing border situation with China and safeguard Bhutan's sovereignty.  It is also imperative to address the unresolved Bhutanese refugee issue and protracted family separation among Bhutanese Americans.

Pakistan elections: A rebuke to the military establishment's policies?

The time has come to drastically curb the unchecked and ultra-constitutional powers of the army chief, subject the intelligence agencies to public scrutiny and accountability, and limit their influence over domestic and foreign policy. 

Are Manipur's warning bells going unheeded?

Much more violence could be expected in Manipur, with Meitei radicals waging all-out war against the Kuki-Zo, with Nagas fearing they would be the next target since the Arambai Tenggol alone outnumbers the tribals of Manipur hugely. 

A new 'great game' in the Maldives? Male's shifting sands a strategic challenge for Indian diplomacy

The Maldives has undergone a radical transformation. To see this as playing the India or China card would be a miscalculation. Indeed, the strategic narrative of what is going on is very different. 

An emerging force in Sri Lankan politics may have wider regional implications

While the NPP’s visit to India exemplifies changes in its political understanding, it has an important dimension in Sri Lanka's domestic politics. New Delhi appears to have judged that the NPP coalition has the potential to play a decisive role in the upcoming presidential election.

Pakistan: Will it remain a democracy in uniform?

The Pakistani military went all out to deliver this vote. Its idea to have direct control of the political situation to what it comprehends will bring stability to Pakistan’s crisis may be a pipe dream with a fractured verdict leaving Pakistan open to elements that will only compound its instability.

The Myanmar crisis is a worrying security challenge for Bangladesh and India

Rakhine's lack of effective government structure and civil order will continue to be a significant source of worry for the region, particularly in terms of humanitarian, security, economic, and political issues.

Naga fears in Manipur need to be addressed: further unrest could be unsettling for India's Northeast

If the Nagas are drawn into the already raging ethnic conflict in Manipur, it would be catastrophic for the border state and have repercussions in the entire northeast of India. The decision to fence the entire India-Myanmar border and cancel the FMR could potentially lead to discontent in Nagaland and Mizoram.

Dragon in the Maldives: Red alert for India’s regional leadership

The Maldives case is a vivid example that Beijing is not going to stop its power play in India's neighboring countries. China's aim is crystal clear: to question India's bid for regional leadership.

Is the diplomatic road to Kabul re-opening? Human rights be damned

If India and China are changing, so are many other countries who realise the futility of trying to persuade a bunch of religious fundamentalists, now enjoying absolute power, to change their way of treating their people.

Pakistan’s otherwise predictable election seeks to involve youth

Besides youth, efforts have also been made to increase women’s inclusion in electoral politics. Section 206 of the Elections Act 2017 mandates at least 5 per cent women's representation in general seats. However, major political parties often award tickets to women for unwinnable seats and focus on swing constituencies.

Feminisation of agriculture in South Asia: Need to close the gender gap

Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen is a vehement supporter of granting land access to women and argues that economic empowerment is a critical step to realise the goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

With growing radicalization, Manipur remains on the boil

Ironically, recent actions will be playing into the hands of China which has a lien on many insurgent groups in Myanmar, including Meitei and Kuki-Naga groups, which it would use to destabilize northeast India.

Is it curtains for Imran Khan in Pakistan? Country entering choppy waters as election looms

It is a risible state of affairs in Pakistan where a three-time prime minister, who could have been in prison for ten years without going into exile returns, even as another one, Khan, is sentenced to ten 

Muslim nations must call out terrorists and withdraw clandestine support

Though a vast majority of Muslims oppose violent extremism, it is a reality that most extremist and terrorist violence does occur in largely Muslim states, although it mostly consists of attacks by Muslim extremists on fellow Muslims and not some clash between civilizations.