COMMENTARIES
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Himalayan Frontier
Chinese Inroads to Nepal
Pramod Jaiswal · 03 Mar, 2014 · #4319 · Commentary · Column
Over the recent months, China, in an attempt to strengthen its relations with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), has been taking efforts to build a close-knit strategic alliance with Nepal. At a meeting with a visiting...
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Spotlight West Asia
Saudi Arabia-US Estrangement: Implications for the Indian Subcontinent
Ranjit Gupta · 03 Mar, 2014 · #4318 · Commentary · Column
The Arab Spring strongly compounded Saudi Arabia’s progressively increasing disillusionment with the US when, to its utter consternation and deep anger, the US failed to prevent the overthrow of Mubarak, a faithful ally for more than three...
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East Asia Compass
North Korean Peace Gestures and Inter-Korea Relations
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 03 Mar, 2014 · #4317 · Commentary · Column
A lot has been happening in North Korean domestic politics as well as its relations with South Korea in recent months. Some of these happenings appear to indicate that there may be some improvement in the relationship between Pyongyang and Seoul...
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The Nuclear Energy Debate in Pakistan
Ahmad Khan and Beenish Altaf · 19 Feb, 2014 · #4316 · Commentary
The very mention of the word nuclear more often than not invokes a sentiment of antagonism towards nuclear energy. Nuclear pessimists often associate this word with the mushroom cloud, the Three Mile Island incident, the Chernobyl incident, and ...
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Red Affairs
Maoists in the Northeast: Reality and Myth-Making
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4315 · Commentary · Column
On 9 June 2013, just before the clock struck midnight, a police contingent in Assam's Tinsukia district boarded the Chennai-Egmore Express, minutes before its three-day long journey, and pulled out 66 youths. A critical intelligence input re...
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South Asian Dialectic
Federalism: Centre as Coordinator and Adjudicator
PR Chari · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4314 · Commentary · Column
Some verities about federalism in the context of regionalism in South Asia are becoming clearer. The proposition that "the (changing) political map of South Asian countries must reflect its social and cultural diversities" is unarguabl...
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Dhaka Discourse
Bangladesh: Domestic Politics and External Actors
Delwar Hossain · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4313 · Commentary · Column
A new government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has started functioning in Bangladesh following the general elections held on 5 January 2014. The new cabinet has received positive responses from different groups in Bangladesh for inducting ...
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Dateline Islamabad
Pakistan and TTP: Dialogue or Military Action?
Salma Malik · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4312 · Commentary · Column
The verdict is out: instead of supporting decisive military action to break the back of insurgents, the government chose to dialogue, with umpteenth committees to name, shame, blame and footdrag. Interestingly, where the dialogue option has halted...
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Strategic Space
US, China and the South Asian Nuclear Construct
Manpreet Sethi · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4311 · Commentary · Column
Most Western writings/conferences on India-Pakistan nuclear deterrence tend to try and understand this dyad in a narrow regional box of South Asia. This is not only stifling and restricting but also not a useful formulation. Rather, the India-Paki...
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India, China and the US in Indian Ocean
The Maritime Silk Route and the Chinese Charm Offensive
Vijay Sakhuja · 17 Feb, 2014 · #4310 · Commentary
China appears to be in an overdrive to charm India. At the recently concluded 17th Annual Dialogue of the Special Representatives of India and China, state councilor Yang Jeichi proposed a dialogue between the two naives on freedom of navi...
