FOCUS | THEMATIC | SOUTH ASIA
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Dateline Colombo
Politics of Correctness: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera. · 06 Apr, 2015 · #4859 · Commentary
“I always tried to be correct, not politically correct."
Lee Kuan Yew
Drawing open the curtains to what is the festive month of April in many parts of Asia and the world, on 02 April, one hundred forty two students were slaughtere ...
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India-Nepal Power Trade Agreement: Challenges before Opportunities
Kalpana Jha. · 24 Mar, 2015 · #4854 · Commentary
The Power Trade Agreement (PTA) signed between Nepal and India in September 2014 was much touted as the most significant achievement of the 18th SAARC summit. This agreement has been perceived as a major advance in not just addressing the increasin ...
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Indian Ocean Region
Australia-India-China: IOR Procurement Race for Submarines
Stephen Westcott. · 24 Mar, 2015 · #4853 · Commentary
As most of the international community focuses on maritime events taking place in East Asia, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has been witnessing its own naval arms race in recent years. Increasingly at the forefront of countries’ maritime procu ...
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The Strategist
State of Play: Non-Proliferation, Fissile Material Cut-Offs and Nuclear Transparency
Vijay Shankar. · 09 Mar, 2015 · #4849 · Commentary
Tools that promote a stable nuclear relationship between nations are characterised by a congruence of views on non-proliferation of weapon and vector technologies, fissile material control and strategic transparency; the last makes clear the strate ...
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Islamic State in Af-Pak: The �Wilayat Khurasan� Conundrum
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy. · 04 Mar, 2015 · #4847 · Commentary
In January 2015, the Islamic State (IS), in a statement, called on the militants operating in the Af-Pak region to pledge their allegiance to their chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his ‘Caliphate’. They declared ‘Wilayat Khurasan&rs ...
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Dateline Colombo
Sri Lanka: President Sirisena’s First One Hundred Days
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera. · 04 Mar, 2015 · #4845 · Commentary
“Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.”
Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days
51 days have passed, and 49 remain to fulfill the election promises of the 100-day reform introduced by the newly elected regim ...
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Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Where Does It Stand?
Kalpana Jha. · 04 Mar, 2015 · #4846 · Commentary
While truth is a mirror to the past, reconciliation is the road into the future. Uncovering the truth to attain reconciliation is an intrinsic step for all post-conflict societies. In such societies, reconciliation involves an elaborate engagement ...
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IPCS Discussion
Bangladesh and Nepal: Review of IPCS Forecasts
Report. · 23 Feb, 2015 · #4840 · Commentary
On 9 February 2015, the IPCS, in collaboration with the India International Centre, reviewed and released two papers published as part of the Institute’s Forecast 2015 Series. The papers were: Bangladesh in 2015 (by Prof Delwar Hossain) and N ...
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Sub-Regional Cooperation in South Asia: A New Lease of Life?
Saurabh Kaushik. · 23 Feb, 2015 · #4839 · Commentary
During the 18th SAARC Summit held in November 2014, Prime Minister Modi remarked that regional integration in South Asia would go ahead “through SAARC or outside it, among all of us or some of us.” It is evident that SAARC as a regional ...
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Australian Interest in the Indian Ocean: Domestic Motivations
Stephen Westcott. · 20 Feb, 2015 · #4838 · Commentary
Australia has been edging closer to embracing the Indian Ocean region for several years and finally openly declared in the 2013 Defence White Paper that it considered the Indian Ocean to be a key interest of the country. The international compulsions ...
