Covering Policy Issues from South Asia
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Independent but floundering: India after 71 years0
- Blog
- August 17, 2018
As people celebrate across the country, questions remain about extreme poverty, inequality and religious discriminati A student in Chennai gets her palms painted with India’s national flag colors and map ahead of Indian Independence Day celebrations. The day is celebrated every year across India on Aug. 15 to commemorate independence from Britain in 1947. (Photo
Indian PM condemns lynchings but critics say it’s too late0
- Blog
- August 17, 2018
It is the first time in four years that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned violence against minorities Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures while delivering a speech as part of India’s 72nd Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi on Aug. 15. (Photo by AFP) Umar Manzoor Shah, New Delhi
India-China: Forging ‘Development Partnership’?0
- Blog
- August 17, 2018
No. 137/2018 dated 16 August 2018 By P. S. Suryanarayana 16 August 2018 Synopsis China will be happy to have partners as it faces the United States in the emerging global trade war. With India seeking to break out of its geopolitical trap, there seems to be some room for a new ‘sense’ of
Outspoken about Injustice, Bangladeshi Journalist Now Languishes in Jail0
- Blog
- August 17, 2018
By Mahbub Leelen on Aug 15, 2018 Benar News Shahidul Alam may be a renowned photojournalist, but he is even better known, locally and internationally, as an outspoken activist for democracy and freedom of speech. Now he is imprisoned in Bangladesh for expressing his own opinions about a recent student uprising demanding road safety and
Atal Bihari Vajpayee – the Quintessential No One’s Man but His Own0
- Blog
- August 16, 2018
16 August 2018 Wire India Often called the ‘right man in the wrong party’, he accepted this sobriquet not because it was the true depiction of his political orientation but because it enabled him to ride two boats simultaneously. File picture of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Credit: PTI Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay Before he slipped out of the
By the Numbers: Is Afghanistan’s Democracy at Risk?0
- Blog
- August 16, 2018
August 15, 2018 By Mohammad Shoaib Haidary FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedInEmailPrintShare Today, the Taliban continue to fight government forces in Afghanistan, recently launching major attacks such as those in Ghazni and demonstrating the persistence of the challenges at hand. But recall that after the Taliban government was ousted in 2001, Afghanistan made great strides towards democratization, rebuilding its political
Commentary
Transition in the Middle East: Transition to what?0
- Commentary
- November 20, 2017
By James M. Dorsey Transition is the name of the game in the Middle East and North Africa. The question is transition to what? Dominating the answer is an Arab autocratic push for a Saudi-led regional order that would be based on an upgraded 21st century version of autocracy designed to fortify absolute rule. To
Options limited on Kashmir: Returning to sovereignty to Kashmiris best option for India! (A Sovereign Kashmir: Random Thoughts-315)0
- Commentary
- November 19, 2017
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal 19/11/2017 One day every nation would be free from occupation and colonialism would have its natural death as well. Everything included in the world would end. This is what every oppressed people hope for. Kashmiris and Palestinians top that category of people with maximum optimism. When the Modi government, after rejecting
Saudi king Salman to relinquish power in favor of son Prince Mohammed next week!0
- Commentary
- November 19, 2017
– Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal 19/11/2017 Saudi King Salman plans to relinquish power next week in favor of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who earned a special niche in an international area with his anti-corruption move, targeting princes, royal families and top officials with links with royal corridors of power. Unless something dramatic
Saudi-UAE push to mobilize tribes against Qatari emir0
- Commentary
- November 19, 2017
By James M. Dorsey Nearly six months into the Gulf crisis, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are attempting to mobilize tribal opposition as well as little known members of one branch of Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family in a bid to weaken, if not topple, Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Debate: Rejecting Commonalities Between Ambedkar and Periyar Is Equivalent to Denying Facts0
- Commentary
- November 18, 2017
By Punitha Pandiyan on 17/11/2017 Ambedkar’s position on Brahmins and on post-independent India was quite similar to Periyar’s. B.R. Ambedkar (left), Periyar. Credit: Wikimedia Commons I am puzzled by P.A. Krishnan’s response to my piece in The Wire. To reiterate, I wrote that piece to essentially show that both anti-caste crusaders Babasaheb Ambedkar and Periyar
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s return to Lebanon: A moment of truth0
- Commentary
- November 15, 2017
By James M. Dorsey November 15, 2017 The proof will be in the pudding when Prime Minister Saad Hariri returns home in the coming days to a country in which friend and foe have rallied around him and he clarifies whether he intends to follow through on his controversial decision to resign. Few in Lebanon
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Featured
Sri Lanka’s Muslims bloodied by Buddhism
By Ana Pararajasingham June 20, 2019 Sri Lanka has become more fragile, fractured and polarized following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks as the country’s Muslims are harassed and subjected to violence by mobs of Sinhala Buddhists who form the majority of the island’s population. Although those targeted by jihadist violence on Easter Sunday were the
Bangladesh And Revenge Politics: To What End?
“Revenge, the sweetest morsel to mouth that ever was cooked in hell.” ~Sir Walter Scott from The Heart Of Mid-Lothian Revenge politics has long been the bedrock of Sheikh Hasina’s personal and political motto and raison d’etre. The people of Bangladesh are well aware of this unwelcome fact, which has, very regrettably, become mundane in