COMMENTARIES
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New Avatar of Insurgency: Manipur Human Rights Protection Guild
Paolienlal Haokip · 26 Apr, 2003 · #1022 · Commentary
The immediate impression one gets from the name “Manipur Human Rights Protection Guild” (MHRPG) is of a registered Non-governmental Organization espousing causes that its name suggests. Interestingly, MHRPG is an armed outfit in Mani...
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Jharkhand: Anti-Naxal Strategy and Use of POTA
Sanjay K Jha · 26 Apr, 2003 · #1021 · Commentary
The recent controversy over the alleged misuse of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in Jharkhand has raised some fundamental questions regarding the counter-Naxal strategy adopted by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the wors...
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E-Bomb: Will Bush Use It?
Ajay Lele · 16 Apr, 2003 · #1020 · Commentary
Every war brings out surprises in the form of tactics and technology. During 1991, Operation Desert Storm had demonstrated the importance of airpower in general and precision guided munitions in particular. Satellite guided munitions like JDAMS ...
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Pentagon’s Private Warriors
Atul Bharadwaj · 22 Apr, 2003 · #1019 · Commentary
The US oil, pharmaceutical and construction companies are not the only ones who would profit from the current invasion of Iraq by coalition forces; private military companies (PMCs) and private security companies (PSCs) are likely to enhance the...
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Organized Crime and India’s Extradition Treaty
Nihar Nayak · 16 Apr, 2003 · #1018 · Commentary
Terrorist-Mafia (organized criminal) nexus has emerged as the biggest challenge before Indian authorities. Mafias are no longer confined to their traditional style of extortion and abduction. Their nexus with terrorist outfits and drug barons as...
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Gulf War II: Some Reflections
· 15 Apr, 2003 · #1017 · Commentary
The long awaited war to liberate Iraq is now five days old. Unlike the 1991 Gulf, 1999 Kosovo, and 2001 Afghanistan wars, that the US fought, this one has little justification. Protests are mounting the world over. While one cannot hold a brief ...
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Fishing in Troubled Waters: The Plight of Indian Fishermen in Kachchativu
P G Rajamohan · 21 Apr, 2003 · #1016 · Commentary
Sri Lankan fishermen took 118 Indian fishermen into their custody and handed them over to the Sri Lankan Police following a clash where the Indian fishermen trespassed into the territorial waters of Sri Lanka around Kachchativu area. Immediate I...
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Communalizing Cricket
B Rajeshwari · 15 Apr, 2003 · #1015 · Commentary
On 3 March 2003, celebrations over India’s win against Pakistan in the World Cup cricket turned violent in Gujarat, killing a Muslim youth and leaving six others injured. There were similar incidents of violence in other parts of the...
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Muslim India as ‘Threat’
Firdaus Ahmed · 15 Apr, 2003 · #1014 · Commentary
It has been repeated often enough to acquire the status of a ‘given’ that Muslim pockets all over India are potentially subversive enclaves. In this perspective, at least a few sections of Indian Muslims are being exploited by the ub...
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Indo-Bangladesh Trade Ties: Free Trade vs. Duty-free Access
Anand Kumar · 15 Apr, 2003 · #1013 · Commentary
Indo-Bangladesh trade relationship has been the cause for yet another controversy in the bilateral relations of the two countries which have seen several problems in the political arena in recent times. These differences become apparent during t...