COMMENTARIES
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The 'Rice-Gate' Scandal: Impact of Corruption on Political Stability
Anna Louise Strachan · 17 Aug, 2009 · #2946 · Commentary
Not for the first time since his appointment as Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao is facing allegations of corruption. The latest charges accuse the former guerilla leader of giving a lucrative government contract for the importation of rice to Prim...
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India, Bangladesh and Tipaimukh Dam
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman · 17 Aug, 2009 · #2945 · Commentary
The Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Dam Project which was commissioned by India in the year 2006, has been in the news recently as concerns have been raised by the Bangladesh government as well as civil society and environmental groups both...
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Indo-Myanmar Relations: Ideology vs Realism
Sanjeev Pillay · 17 Aug, 2009 · #2944 · Commentary
The nature of the alliance between Myanmar and India has been criticized for giving legitimacy to the non democratic rule of the junta and its violation of human rights. The condemnation of pro democracy movement leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi to an ...
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Joint Investigations: Legal Challenges
RR Vinod · 13 Aug, 2009 · #2943 · Commentary
Chapter XII of the Criminal Procedure Code defines the powers of the Police to investigate offences; they have suo-moto powers to investigate ‘cognizable’ offences. ‘The law of criminal procedure creates the necessary machinery...
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Baitullah Mehsud’s Alleged Death, For Better or For Worse
Jeremie Lanche · 13 Aug, 2009 · #2942 · Commentary
Fact: a missile strike destroyed Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud father-in-law’s house in Zanghora, South Waziristan, on 5 August 2009. Fact: no one knows for sure if Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief was either killed or injured in th...
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Democratic discourse in Philippines: Competing legacies of two women
Harnit Kaur Kang · 12 Aug, 2009 · #2941 · Commentary
The death of former president, Corazon Aquino on 1 August 2009 after prolonged struggle against colon cancer stirred mass mourning in the Philippines. Aquino was a woman who had achieved iconic status for her resilience in the political arena an...
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Will the LTTE Rise Again?
N Manoharan · 11 Aug, 2009 · #2940 · Commentary
At the outset, the rise of the LTTE to their original might of running a proto-state comprising about 15,000 sq kms looks highly unrealistic. Its top leadership including its supremo Prabhakaran has been wiped out; most of its cadres are dead, s...
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The 'Vision Thing'
Firdaus Ahmed · 11 Aug, 2009 · #2939 · Commentary
Leadership vision is what propels nations to greatness. Across the world, Roosevelt, Churchill, Deng, Mandela and Obama are considered examples of leaders with vision. Ashoka’s peace offensive, Akbar’s inclusivism, Nehru’s develo...
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Balochistan: Are the Balochis ready for external support?
D Suba Chandran · 11 Aug, 2009 · #2938 · Commentary
Ever since the joint Indo-Pak statement was announced last month, there have been numerous discussions on India’s role in Balochistan in both countries. Pakistanis have been accusing India for interfering in Balochistan for a long time; th...
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Underdevelopment and the Naxal Movement
Rajat Kumar Kujur · 11 Aug, 2009 · #2937 · Commentary
Although regularly discussed in informal forums, it is only recently that Home Minister P Chidambaram confirmed that a substantial portion of the developmental fund lands were in the hands of extremists. In the context of Naxalism this revelatio...
