COMMENTARIES
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India’s Iran Dilemma: Nuclear Fuel or Crude Oil?
J Jeganaathan · 18 Jan, 2012 · #3559 · Commentary
In a move to enervate Iran the US has recently imposed fresh economic sanctions that would stifle Iran’s financial institutions. Unlike in the past the US seems to be keen on persuading key oil importers such as India, China and Japan to i...
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BKI and the Naxals in Punjab: Unlikely Cohorts
Alankrita Sinha and Namrata Hasija · 18 Jan, 2012 · #3558 · Commentary
Punjab is again in headlines with people predicting a resurrection of terrorism in the state which has previously witnessed two waves of armed upsurges in the form of the BKI and Naxalism. A recent recovery of huge amounts of RDX from a ca...
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BKI and the Naxals in Punjab: Opportunist Allies?
Medha Chaturvedi · 18 Jan, 2012 · #3557 · Commentary
With the arrest of two Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Operatives during the last few days, is the resurrection of insurgency in Punjab a possibility? What are the reasons fuelling this phenomenon? Is there any evidence to point out links betw...
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China's Modernization Rush: Kashgar At Crossroads
Bhavna Singh · 16 Jan, 2012 · #3556 · Commentary
Kashgar acts as a pivot for Central Asian traders by hosting the biggest outdoor market in the world today. Every Sunday over 1, 50,000 traders from the Central Asian countries visit the market to exchange commodities with their Chinese counterp...
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China-South Korea Presidential Summit: Fait Accompli?
Jayadeva Ranade · 16 Jan, 2012 · #3555 · Commentary
The three day (9-11 January 2012) visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to Beijing came at a time of heightened tension in the Korean Peninsula and political sensitivity for Beijing, following the untimely demise of North Korean leader K...
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Af-Pak Diary: The Taliban Apologists, Opportunists and Opponents
D Suba Chandran · 15 Jan, 2012 · #3554 · Commentary
With multiple dialogues involving the Taliban taking place (See ‘A New Taliban Shura’, http://bit.ly/yH7Krv, and ‘Dialogues of a Dangerous Kind’, http://bit.ly/w1xKFG) it is important to understand the objectives and endg...
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A 'Delhi Discourse' with Central Asia: Reviving Linkages
D Suba Chandran · 10 Jan, 2012 · #3553 · Commentary
2012 is a landmark year for India’s relations with both Southeast Asia and Central Asia; it marks the twentieth year of the formulation of the Look East Policy (LEP) vis-à-vis Southeast Asia and also the twentieth year of the establ...
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US and Pakistan: Likely American Strategy in 2012
Aryaman Bhatnagar · 10 Jan, 2012 · #3552 · Commentary
Relations between the US and Pakistan were frayed throughout 2011, however, it was the NATO strikes at the Salala check-posts in November that forced Pakistan to reassess its alliance with the US. Pakistan is expected to put forward new terms of...
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Pakistan: Will Democracy Prevail?
Radha Vinod Raju · 09 Jan, 2012 · #3551 · Commentary
President Asif Ali Zardari and his Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani are having a pretty tough time in Pakistan-just to survive the consequences of ‘Memogate’. The allegation of businessman MansoorIjaz that he had prepared the memo on...
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Reading Pakistan: A New Taliban Shura
D Suba Chandran · 05 Jan, 2012 · #3550 · Commentary
According to media reports from Pakistan, various factions of the Taliban – from Pakistan and Afghanistan - have come together to form a five-member ‘Shura-e-Murakbah’. What is this new shura? What are it objectives? And why a ...
