COMMENTARIES
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Politics of Obstruction and Confrontation
Padmaja Murthy · 31 Dec, 2009 · #3034 · Commentary
In 2009, the focus in Nepal should have been on taking forward the peace process through consensus-building and writing a new inclusive constitution by 2010. Ironically, the dominant debate in Nepal signaled the politics of obstruction and confr...
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Ghosts of War Haunt Sri Lanka
N Manoharan · 30 Dec, 2009 · #3033 · Commentary
Ghosts of the recently concluded ethnic war continue to haunt Sri Lanka. Allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses during last stages of war are coming to the fore.
Former Army Chief, General Sarath Fonseka, who is curr...
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First Indian Aerospace SEZ
Radhakrishna Rao · 29 Dec, 2009 · #3032 · Commentary
On the face of it, Hattaragi village in Belgaum district of northern Karnataka region, is an unlikely location for a high tech aerospace hub. Yet, Horatti, situated at a distance of little over 30 kilometres from Belgaum city, on Golden Qu...
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Airline Terror Plots: Lessons for India
Siddharth Ramana · 29 Dec, 2009 · #3031 · Commentary
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national had managed to breach a very serious security layer surrounding the airline industry. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, when airlines were used as civilian missiles, the attempted bombin...
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If Pakistan Fails
Amit Gupta · 29 Dec, 2009 · #3030 · Commentary
Much of Washington’s AfPak strategy has been based on the idea that Pakistan needs to propped up from possible implosion. US policy analysts also point out that one of the countries that would be most affected by this breakup would b...
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The Logic of the 'Sundarji Doctrine'
Ali Ahmed · 22 Dec, 2009 · #3029 · Commentary
Deterrence theory has understandably been imported into South Asia with the onset of nuclearization in the late eighties. It, having contributed to keeping the Cold War ‘cold’, has much to offer on how the nuclear equation is to be...
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Indo-Canadian Civil Nuclear Deal: Rediscovering Partnership
Larissa Wagner · 22 Dec, 2009 · #3028 · Commentary
Despite being one of the first countries to support India’s nuclear programme, Canadian shipments of nuclear equipment and material were abruptly suspended by Ottawa after India’s first test in 1974. Even though the two countries hav...
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Carbon Footprint Reduction
Om Prakash · 11 Dec, 2009 · #3027 · Commentary
A individual carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of carbon dioxide induced by one’s activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for a period of one year. It is a powerful tool for understanding the i...
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Peace Process in Assam
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman · 11 Dec, 2009 · #3026 · Commentary
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit has been marked by an increasingly cooperative spirit by Bangladeshi security agencies, which have cracked down on the insurgent groups of Northeast India and have managed to...
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Space Technology and Soft Power
Radhakrishna Rao · 10 Dec, 2009 · #3025 · Commentary
Economically resurgent and technologically vibrant China is steadily and quietly expanding its influence over a large part of the developing world by making available its expertise, services and hardware for building and launching satellites. Ch...