COMMENTARIES
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Pakistan Taliban and the Hierarchy of Jihadi Causes
Vinod Anand · 02 Feb, 2008 · #2482 · Commentary
Since middle of 2007 two prominent leaders of Pakistan Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah have been wreaking havoc in South Waziristan and Swat. Their motives reflect a shift in the ideology of Pakistan Taliban. Mehsud had openly an...
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India-Singapore CECA Enters Second Phase
Yogendra Singh · 02 Feb, 2008 · #2481 · Commentary
The India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) entered into Phase-2 on 20 December 2007 when both sides agreed to further revise the tariff rates as agreed under the CECA signed in June 2005. According to the provisions ...
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DRDO's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
Neha Kumar · 31 Jan, 2008 · #2480 · Commentary
India decided to scrap its Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) on 8 January 2008, and the government will not invest further in research and development of missiles under this program. One of its chief scientists, Dr. S Prahlad...
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Ceasing the Ceasefire in Sri Lanka
N Manoharan · 30 Jan, 2008 · #2479 · Commentary
The
government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has blinked first by officially abrogating the
Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) it signed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) nearly six years ago with effect from 16 January 2008. The GOSL's u...
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Why Do Naxals Hate NGOs? A Case Study of Bihar
Kamla Singh · 30 Jan, 2008 · #2478 · Commentary
Naxalism is a grave problem in Bihar. According to a March 2007 document of the Bihar Police, 30 of its 38 districts have been affected by Maoist activities. Nine districts - Patna, Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal, Kaimur, Rohtas, Nawada an...
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Balancing Malaysia, Malaysian Indians and Tamil Nadu
Vibhanshu Shekhar · 30 Jan, 2008 · #2477 · Commentary
On 25 November 2007, the Hindu Rights Action Front (HINDRAF) led a demonstration of more than ten thousand people in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia against the poor economic condition, religious discrimination, political marginalization, and lack of edu...
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Maoists Intrude into Uttarakhand
Maitreya Buddha Samantaray · 30 Jan, 2008 · #2476 · Commentary
There is a rising concern among the security agencies, intelligentsia and civil society bodies over the Maoists' intention to include the hill state of Uttarakhand as part of their 'Red Corridor', linking it to Nepal. There have been...
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Benazir Bhutto's Assassination and the American Elections
Avinash Godbole · 25 Jan, 2008 · #2475 · Commentary
Benazir's assassination is widely considered to be a serious jolt to democratization in Pakistan and a worrying factor for regional stability and security. At the same time, this tragic event is casting its shadow over the presidential polls...
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Northeast India's Border Roads
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman · 14 Jan, 2008 · #2474 · Commentary
It was the war with China in 1962 that made India wake up and take notice of the significance of its Northeast as a critical frontier in its national security calculations. Chinese troops had advanced down to the Brahmaputra Valley and India was...
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The Kunming Initiative: Going Beyond Governmental Reluctance
Julien Levesque · 14 Jan, 2008 · #2473 · Commentary
The Kunming Initiative, a Track II sub-regional organization that includes Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM), was born out of the attempts to link the development plans of the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan to India's Look...