COMMENTARIES
  • Public Diplomacy: Lessons for the Conduct of Indian Foreign Policy
    Madhavi Bhasin    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2522    ·    Commentary    
    The realist dictum that power struggle dominates relations between states still holds good. Conflictual relations and clash of national interests continue to involve states in different forms of diplomacy. As the contours of the power struggle c...
  • India's Inadequate Defence Budget 2008-09
    Laxman Kumar Behera    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2521    ·    Commentary    
    The Union Budget 2008-09 allocated Rs.1,05,600 crores, or 10 per cent more than previous year's allocation, for defence. Crossing the Rs.1 lakh crores barrier for the first time, the defence budget looks impressive. However, the question rem...
  • Nayagarh Attack: Maoist Penetration in Orissa
    Devyani Srivastava    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2520    ·    Commentary    
    In their trademark style, the Maoists launched multiple attacks in February on several places including a police station, a police training school and an armory in the Nayagarh district of Orissa. The attacks were executed by a group of 500-600 ...
  • Changed Scenario in Pakistan and Kashmir
    Mushtaq Ahmad    ·   26 Mar, 2008    ·    #2519    ·    Commentary    
    The events of 9/11 and the subsequent American "war on terror" brought a perceptible shift in the course of Pakistan's foreign policy, evident from its volte face, particularly in its relations with its immediate neighbourhood. Pre...
  • Minority Malaysians Reject Ethno-Centric Majoritarian Politics
    Vibhanshu Shekhar    ·   18 Mar, 2008    ·    #2518    ·    Commentary    
    In an unprecedented political upheaval, the coalition front of Barisan Nasional (BN), which had been governing Malaysia since 1969, saw the biggest ever reduction in its political representation in the parliamentary and provincial elections, hel...
  • China's Emergence as India's Largest Trade Partner
    Bhartendu Kumar Singh    ·   18 Mar, 2008    ·    #2517    ·    Commentary    
    It is now official! China has emerged as India's largest trade partner, a position that was monopolized by the United States so far. This was revealed by the Economic Survey for 2007-2008, which said that'China's trade share during A...
  • Four Crises and a Peace Process: American Engagement in South Asia
    Sonali Huria & Rekha Chakravarthi    ·   17 Mar, 2008    ·    #2516    ·    Commentary    
    Report of Book Discussion held at the USI on 1 March 2008 Introductory Remarks: PR Chari This book, the route to which was paved by a series of other books written on individual crisis, represents about 15 years of work. The entir...
  • Cultural Tourism in the Look East Policy
    Papori Phukan    ·   14 Mar, 2008    ·    #2515    ·    Commentary    
    Northeast India holds an advantageous position in India's Look East Policy (LEP) since the region provides an important historical and cultural linkage between Southeast Asia and India's Northeast. The case of the Tai-Ahoms of Assam brin...
  • Debating the Idea of a Federal Police Agency
    Saumitra Mohan    ·   10 Mar, 2008    ·    #2514    ·    Commentary    
    The perceived failure of the Indian police machinery to deal satisfactorily with cases pertaining to law and order has often led to demands for a CBI inquiry in these cases, although they lie in the domain of the states, which  points to...
  • Reversing the Trend: Can Myanmar Unite India and China?
    Julien Levesque    ·   08 Mar, 2008    ·    #2513    ·    Commentary    
    The past two decades have placed Myanmar at the center of the India-China rivalry in Southeast Asia, resulting from India's shift in its Myanmar policy in the early 1990s. After harshly denying any legitimacy to the military government...
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