COMMENTARIES
  • Assam in India's Look East Policy
       ·   28 Mar, 2008    ·    #2527    ·    Commentary    
    Interview with the Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, on 22 February 2008 in Guwahati, Assam The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, declared Assam as the 'gate to the east' while inaugurating the Secretariat in Dispur in 2004. How far has...
  • Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani: PPP's Punjabi Prime Minister
    D Suba Chandran    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2526    ·    Commentary    
    Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani from the PPP is finally the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. Ever since the election results were announced a month back, there was never a doubt, that the new PM would be from the PPP, but who from within the party would b...
  • Elections in Pakistan: A Major Shift or More of the Same?
    Sharad Joshi    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2525    ·    Commentary    
    The National Assembly elections and the formation of a new democratic government in Pakistan holds the promise of a turning point in the country's politics and governance. The February election did not result in a clear majority for any sing...
  • Demilitarization in J&K: Politicization of National Security
    Saroj Bishoyi    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2524    ·    Commentary    
    Apart from Pakistan and separatist groups, which have been demanding demilitarization, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has also threatened to break up the ruling alliance if Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is not demilitarized and the Armed ...
  • Terror Bytes
    Siddharth Ramana    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2523    ·    Commentary    
    The Indian government has allayed the fears of mobile phone subscribers that Blackberry technology will be banned in the country. Reports on moves on banning this popular technology were based on the fears that the Indian government’s inte...
  • Public Diplomacy: Lessons for the Conduct of Indian Foreign Policy
    Madhavi Bhasin    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2522    ·    Commentary    
    The realist dictum that power struggle dominates relations between states still holds good. Conflictual relations and clash of national interests continue to involve states in different forms of diplomacy. As the contours of the power struggle c...
  • India's Inadequate Defence Budget 2008-09
    Laxman Kumar Behera    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2521    ·    Commentary    
    The Union Budget 2008-09 allocated Rs.1,05,600 crores, or 10 per cent more than previous year's allocation, for defence. Crossing the Rs.1 lakh crores barrier for the first time, the defence budget looks impressive. However, the question rem...
  • Nayagarh Attack: Maoist Penetration in Orissa
    Devyani Srivastava    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2520    ·    Commentary    
    In their trademark style, the Maoists launched multiple attacks in February on several places including a police station, a police training school and an armory in the Nayagarh district of Orissa. The attacks were executed by a group of 500-600 ...
  • Changed Scenario in Pakistan and Kashmir
    Mushtaq Ahmad    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2519    ·    Commentary    
    The events of 9/11 and the subsequent American "war on terror" brought a perceptible shift in the course of Pakistan's foreign policy, evident from its volte face, particularly in its relations with its immediate neighbourhood. Pre...
  • Minority Malaysians Reject Ethno-Centric Majoritarian Politics
    Vibhanshu Shekhar    ·   18 Mar, 2008    ·    #2518    ·    Commentary    
    In an unprecedented political upheaval, the coalition front of Barisan Nasional (BN), which had been governing Malaysia since 1969, saw the biggest ever reduction in its political representation in the parliamentary and provincial elections, hel...
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