COMMENTARIES
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Islamic State: Straining the US Defence Budget
Vivek Mishra · 30 Sep, 2014 · #4677 · Commentary
The most recent estimation vis-à-vis the US’ military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) has it that the cost of Washington’s war against the IS has surpassed $780 million. This comes at a time when the Pentagon has hinte...
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Islamic State and Southeast Asia: Answering the Call for Jihad
Aparupa Bhattacherjee · 30 Sep, 2014 · #4676 · Commentary
On 23 July 2014, a video was posted on YouTube showed Isnilon Hapilon, a senior member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), and other members, pledging their support to the Islamic State (IS) through both financial and manpower support. Similarly, Mocha...
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Afghanistan: The New President and a Joint Venture Government
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy · 25 Sep, 2014 · #4675 · Commentary
On 21 September 2014, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan declared Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the winner of the country’s presidential election that took place earlier this year, after a lengthy deal-making process with ...
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J&K Floods and the Social Media: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Deepshikha Hooda · 25 Sep, 2014 · #4674 · Commentary
When unprecedented floods hit the state of Jammu and Kashmir, all lines of communication ceased to exist. The only surviving medium to connect and inform, remained the social media. #KashmirFloods hit twitter within hours of the water entering S...
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China’s Real Estate Crisis: Beyond the Chinese Shores?
Tilak Jha · 24 Sep, 2014 · #4673 · Commentary
The Chinese Real Estate situation, like other aspects of its economy, has a growth and sustenance pattern that have bucked the trends seen in other economies. A major reason behind this - beyond the reality of the strength of Chinese market - is...
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The Military Reshuffle in Pakistan: Is the Army Chief firming up his control?
Rana Banerji · 24 Sep, 2014 · #4672 · Commentary
On September 22, Gen Raheel Sharif announced the much awaited re-shuffle of three-star Generals in the Pakistan Army, promoting six Major Generals. They will replace five retiring Lieutenants General, including two of his peers – Lt Gen Ta...
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Anti-Rohingya and Anti-Muslim Sentiments in Myanmar: Mutually Reinforcing?
Aparupa Bhattacherjee · 24 Sep, 2014 · #4671 · Commentary
Is there a cause and effect between the anti-Muslim sentiments and anti-Rohingya violence in Myanmar? Is the latter an expression of the former?
The violence against the Rohingyas appears to be a part of larger Islamophobia within Mya...
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Big Picture
Pakistan’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons: The Inevitability of Instability
Varun Sahni · 22 Sep, 2014 · #4670 · Commentary · Column
Hatf IX (Nasr) is a Pakistani ballistic missile which can deliver a sub-kiloton nuclear warhead over a range of 60 km, or 37.3 miles. It is supposed to have entered service in 2013 and is believed to be fully integrated into Pakistan’s C3I...
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Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping: Building a Closer Developmental Partnership
Srikanth Kondapalli · 22 Sep, 2014 · #4669 · Commentary
President Xi Jinping’s visit to India from September 17-19 provided a chance for both the leaderships to know each other’s concerns and aspirations better and made incremental progress in the bilateral relations, specifically in the ...
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India-China Relations
Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping: Strong Leaders, Hard Issues
D Suba Chandran · 20 Sep, 2014 · #4668 · Commentary
The visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to India is over. A series of bilateral agreements and a new bonhomie at the highest level between Jinping and Modi are the highlights, along with border clashes in Ladakh during the same time.
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