COMMENTARIES
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Myanmar: Rohingya Refugees and Thailand’s ‘Push-Back’
Panchali Saikia · 30 Dec, 2011 · #3539 · Commentary
The Rohingya refugee crisis is not a new phenomenon, and it has now grabbed the attention of the international media for all the wrong reasons. The Rohingyas, in large numbers, are now trying to escape to Malaysia via the sea route through Thail...
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Vietnam: Why is the Economy not taking off?
Seema Joshi · 30 Dec, 2011 · #3538 · Commentary
Studies reveal that Vietnam is the only country among the Next Eleven (N-11) countries that has managed to maintain a growth comparable to that of China and India in the past five years. Though it is believed that the growth performance of Vietn...
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The Banning of the Ahmadiyah in Indonesia
Tri Susdinarjanti · 30 Dec, 2011 · #3537 · Commentary
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyah movement in India in 1889, and his teachings gradually spread to different parts of the world. The teachings of Ahmad gradually spread to different parts of the world. In Indonesia, there are two groups o...
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Xi Jinping in Vietnam: Attempts at Reconciliation?
Amruta Karambelkar · 29 Dec, 2011 · #3536 · Commentary
Xi Jinping, Vice President of People’s Republic of China paid an official visit to Vietnam from 20-22 December 2011. He met President Truong Tan San, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other senior officials of the country. What does China...
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Chinese Black Jails: 'An Alleyway in Hell'?
Namrata Hasija · 29 Dec, 2011 · #3535 · Commentary
The Chinese petition system is nearly 3000 years old. The citizens can complain against the corrupt provincial officials directly to Beijing. The tradition still continues wherein complaints ignored by provincial officials can be taken to Beijin...
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Russia’s Afghan Strategy: What are its Interests?
Monika Pawar · 28 Dec, 2011 · #3534 · Commentary
From the Bonn I to Bonn II Conference, Russia’s involvement in Afghanistan has come a long way. Russia’s support for the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) by allowing supplies through its territory alludes to its strategic interest...
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Unrest in Buddha’s Homeland: The Curious Case of Lumbini
Pradeepa Viswanathan · 23 Dec, 2011 · #3533 · Commentary
Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha has of late received the attention it deserves but sadly for the wrong reasons. The spiritual significance of the site appears to be in conflict with the ‘Greater Lumbini Project' which propose...
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India's China Policy: Should it be ‘Effective’ or ‘Assertive’?
Bhartendu Kumar Singh · 23 Dec, 2011 · #3532 · Commentary
Recently, the opposition members in the Parliament accused the government of going soft on a hitherto ‘assertive’ China and apprehended a looming attack in the near future. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s refutations notwithsta...
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Talks with the Kachin and Mon Rebels in Myanmar: Strategy, Motives and Hurdles
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 23 Dec, 2011 · #3531 · Commentary
Myanmar’s recent policy to politically reform itself might have excited many analysts outside the country, but its objective of achieving peace with the ethnic rebels is progressing slower than expected. Suspicion regarding the government&...
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Vietnam and the South China Sea: Hypothetical Scenarios
Amruta Karambelkar · 22 Dec, 2011 · #3530 · Commentary
ONGC Videsh limited (OVL) India in October this year entered a three-year agreement with PetroVietnam to carry new investments and strengthen energy exploration. This area falls within the Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the South Chi...
