COLUMN
Tripura’s new pitch for Geo-Economics
Biplab Deb is a BJP chief minister with a difference. In a 40-minute interview with this writer last week, he did not mention even once any of the usual saffron agenda -- Ram Mandir, beef, illegal migration from Bangladesh. "My agenda is development, development, development all the way," he... More
Myanmar readies for second face of reforms
Myanmar has reached a critical crossroads with the start of a new financial year and the beginning of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government’s third year in office. But concrete plans for accelerated economic and political reform are in the pipeline: the plans mark a return to the... More
Cracking the Afghan-Pak nut
It is nothing short of a challenge for Pakistan to reconcile its western neighbour, a neighbour Pakistan has almost never enjoyed cordial relations with. But the need for reconciling the estranged neighbour has never been greater than now. For one thing, Pakistan’s relations with the US crucially depend upon Pakistan’s... More
Holding Karachi’s citizens Hostage
With supply of gas from Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) to the metropolis’ power utility, K-Electric (KE) far below that is required to run the KE's gas-fired power plants, consumers across Karachi city are suffering from additional load-shedding. The SSGC and KE stalemate has resulted in a power... More
Aspiration versus desperation: Jobs, quota and conflict in Bangladesh
Just as students of Dhaka university were parading and protesting the quota system in government jobs and facing attacks from both police and party activists, a group of masked men entered the residence of the Vice Chancellor and vandalized and torched part of it. It transpired the next day... More
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Iran to team up with China on nuke development if Trump...
As US President Donald Trump decides whether to reauthorize the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which he has long wanted to exit or renegotiate, Iranian authorities have announced they will be getting help with their nuclear program from China. "Some negotiations have been held on mutual cooperation and building small nuclear... More
Pinarayi and Gadkari link up on development
The American think tank, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, had featured a riveting ‘curtain-raiser’ to the 2014 poll in India entitled Does Good Economics Mean Good Politics In India? The essay appeared in December 2013 and I’d carefully stored it in my archives, as a fairly prescient analysis of... More
Mutual respect is the key
I will not reach any deal that would go against the national interest of Nepal,” K P Sharma Oli, the prime minister of Nepal, reportedly assured parliamentarians in Kathmandu earlier this week, before heading out to India. That such questions should be asked and answered is a definitive sign... More
Reviving Nepal’s independent foreign policy
The long political transition in Nepal has come to an end with the successful completion of local, provincial and federal elections. A new phase of history beckons Nepal as it has adopted federalism under the new constitution promulgated in 2015. The achievement of economic prosperity has now been prioritized... More
READER'S VIEW
Gorkhaland, Mamata and the Chinese factor
Just a few days ago I warned two young student leaders in Darjeeling of West Bengal, against the violent movement which has started there for a separate Gorkhaland. I told them in no way should they support this demand. This has multifarious geo-political risks. If a Gorkhaland state is... More