Spotlight West Asia by Ranjit Gupta
Ranjit Gupta
 Distinguished Fellow Amb Ranjit Gupta is a member of the Indian Foreign Service (retired), during his long tenure at th...
  • India-UAE: An Emerging Special Relationship
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    15 Feb, 2017   ·    5236
    In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft that had been diverted from Kathmandu to fly to Kandahar, which had deadly Pakistani terrorists on board, had been on the tarmac in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for over five hour ...
  • West Asia Six Years After the ‘Arab Spring’: Prognosis for 2017
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    19 Jan, 2017   ·    5224
    All Arab countries have autocratic governments. Six years ago, in the winter of 2010-2011 a spontaneous and exhilarating surge of massive protest demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of common people swept across the Arab world, ...
  • Battle for Mosul: Prospects for the Immediate Future
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    15 Nov, 2016   ·    5182
    On 17 October 2016, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi announced the commencement of the battle for Mosul. He also said that except for the Iraqi army, police and security forces, “no others will be allowed to enter Mosul;” Ira ...
  • The Battle for Aleppo and the Imminent Regional Shifts
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    13 Oct, 2016   ·    5153
    Aleppo, the crossroads of civilisation for millennia, Syria’s largest city, and its main commercial and cultural centre, is also the most important strategic gateway from Turkey into Syria. Controlling Aleppo is essential for any ru ...
  • Will the US-Russia Deal on Syria Hold?
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    19 Sep, 2016   ·    5132
    The war in Syria is still raging after over five and half years since its outset. Several initiatives have been undertaken to try and end it – first through the Arab League, then Geneva I, Geneva II and the Vienna Process, where eve ...
  • Russia: The New and Unexpected Power Broker in West Asia
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    16 Aug, 2016   ·    5102
    In sharp contrast to the Soviet Union, post-Cold War Russia, completely preoccupied with rebuilding domestically both in the economic and political domains, was determined to establish a good relationship with the US and disinclined to ch ...
  • Countering IS: Should India be More Assertively Involved in West Asia?
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    12 Jul, 2016   ·    5080
    In the context of conflicts raging across West Asia, a region of vital importance to India, many in India’s strategic community and media have criticised India's utterly passive hands off attitude. Suggestions have been made tha ...
  • Iran, India and Chabahar: Recalling the Broader Context
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    13 Jun, 2016   ·    5060
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran has generated huge euphoria around the country and reams of adulatory commentary. While it is worthy of applause, this author also sombrely recalls that few weeks ago, an Iranian h ...
  • West Asia, US, and Obama’s Statesman-like Legacy
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    10 May, 2016   ·    5026
    The US has been the main architect and central pole of the West Asian security landscape since World War II. It has sought to maintain security through a web of bilateral and regional military alliances and militaristic solutions to polit ...
  • Modi in Saudi Arabia: Consolidating Ties in West Asia
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    14 Apr, 2016   ·    5019
    Some contextual background is essential to properly appreciate the significance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 02-03 April 2016 Saudi Arabia visit. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have had a particularly special one-of-a-kind ...
Other Articles by Ranjit Gupta