Covering Policy Issues from South Asia
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Addressing Religious and Nationalist Extremism for a Thaw in Pakistan-India Relations0
- Blog
- July 15, 2015
Politics is a game of interest. For developed countries it is for national interest, but in underdeveloped states this may not be the case. In the latter, the self-interest of political leaders and parties is mostly the priority. The political elite seldom consider national interest before their own benefit. In order to pursue their interests,
An LGBT Victory in America Should Pave the Way for India to Follow0
- Blog
- July 7, 2015
On June 26, 2015, the LGBT community in the United States achieved a landmark historic decision in what it has been pursuing for decades: the legalization of same sex marriage. This furiously debated topic has been a polarizing one since its inception in the 1960s but, with each passing decade, has seen gradual shifts toward
Pakistan’s water crisis is too real0
- Blog
- June 30, 2015
Back in 2011, the American actor George Clooney recalled asking Barack Obama to identify the one thing that kept him up at night. “Pakistan,” replied the US president. Obama did not elaborate. We can assume, however, that he was alluding to the various nightmare scenarios that spooked Washington officialdom back then, including loose nukes and
Leave the flag, take the wicket1
- Blog
- June 23, 2015
Cricket in its ‘national’ avatar has become an avenue for war by other means — an opportunity to display jingoism, sexual objectification of women, of doing ‘lena’ and ‘dena’ between nation-states It starts off pretty innocuously, and happens most often during cricket tournaments. Certain citizens of the Indian Union start talking about the possibility of
Just why does Pakistan accuse Indian spies of terrorism?0
- Blog
- June 9, 2015
Several weeks ago, the Pakistani armed forces accused India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, or RAW, of fomenting terrorism. A statement issued by the military’s media wing after a Corps Commanders conference on May 5 minced no words. “The Conference…took serious notice of RAW’s involvement in whipping up terrorism in Pakistan.” RAW Emotion
Will Mamata scuttle the Teesta treaty again?0
- Blog
- June 3, 2015
There used to be a sexist Sanskrit saying cautioning against including a woman on an important trip. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh may have learnt the widsom of this ancient adage when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee abruptly opted out of his team during a visit to Bangladesh in late 2011 to sign an
Commentary
ISSN 2471-9501 (print)
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Year-end review: Emerging Challenges for South Asia
by Rajesh Kumar Sinha 3 January 2020 The year 2020 has just ended. The year has been extremely calamitous for the whole world. Especially, the pandemic Corona Virus has created such an unfortunate state where economies, infrastructure, loss of lakhs of lives, job losses, and uncertainty has gripped the whole of humanity.
Book review: The Bhutto Dynasty: The Struggle for Power in Pakistan, by Owen Bennett-Jones
The Bhutto Dynasty: The Struggle for Power in Pakistan, by Owen Bennett-Jones, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 27 October 2020, Hardcover, 320 pages, $28, ISBN: 97880300246674. By Arnold Zeitlin Owen Bennett-Jones’s account of a Bhutto dynasty reminded me that I enjoyed a rare, near-quixotic relationship with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto during my time, September 1969 to April 1972, as
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