SOUTHERN EYE

SOUTHERN EYE
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Effects of Saffron surge in West Bengal


Bengal and its poll outcome were clearly the sub-text to the 2019 Indian elections, if the main text was whether BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi could come back to power. The BJP is back in power in... More

Indian Opposition parties trying to unite to keep Modi out


Anticipating a fractured mandate, Indian Opposition parties, including the Congress, strong regional and caste-based parties and the much weakened Communists, are trying to cobble together a working post-poll coalition to keep the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Is BJP set for another term in India!


If recent opinion polls conducted by media groups in association with specialist agencies are anything to go by, the BJP-led NDA is well ahead of its nearest rival, the Congress-led UPA. There was a general feeling that the... More

India key to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, says former Portuguese minister...


“This has less to do with geography than with history,” Macaes writes in his insightful book Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order. “As two rising giants, China and India will play a disproportionate role in shaping the... More

India’s Trump worries


When American President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Afghanistan, Indian officials were quick to voice their concerns. Delhi has invested substantial amounts of money in development projects in Afghanistan and has depended for... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

India’s new discreet diplomacy in South Asia


subir The last two weeks have cooled nerves in Delhi and vindicated its new-found faith in discreet diplomacy as a better option than the initial muscular, jingoist approach of the Narendra Modi administration. This approach, pioneered by... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Modi now looks vulnerable 


The BJP has tried to make all elections in India go the presidential way – Narendra Modi versus the rest. The results of elections in five states, which became clear by December 11 evening, may not change... More

Hunt with the hound, swim with the crocodile


On the sidelines of the G20 conference in Argentina, there were two very important summits. One involved US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was the first trilateral that brought Modi... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

After CBI, now RBI 


The opposition in India has blamed the Narendra Modi government for "ruining national institutions". Last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seemed to fall apart over severe differences between its chief Alok Verma and his number... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

RSS: Glasnost or public relations?


India's Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) claims to be a social organisation but those who have closely followed it say it is the political high-platform of Hindutva. Its Nagpur headquarters is located in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city, where in the... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

BJP ‘s mindless rhetoric 


There seems to be some kind of in-house competition within the BJP to rubbish neighbours to gain domestic mileage. This could have disastrous impact on the conduct of foreign policy and India's long-term interests will suffer. For... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Redefine Act East thrust 


India's Act East policy has so far mainly focused on developing greater connectivity with Southeast Asia through the country's northeast. But economists and logistics experts have long concluded that India's Look East or Act East thrust will... More

India’s multi alignment challenge 


This is clearly the big diplomatic season for India and its travel-driven Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe's visit to India (Aug 21-24) is a hugely important event, coming as it does after PM Modi... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Pillar to post and an uncertain future for 4 million


Few among the 4 million residents of Assam whose names have been excluded in the final draft of the National Register of Citizens are able to take it easy. BJP MLA from Morigaon in central Assam Rama KantaDeori... More

Is Modi making up for India’s shortage of diplomats?


Narendra Modi is India's most travelled Prime Minister. The opposition Congress recently wanted his name on the Guinness Book of World Records for the most travelled Prime Minister, mockingly writing," We are overwhelmed and”extremely happy to suggest... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

The Wuhan spirit of cooperation picks up


The informal Modi-Xi summit at Wuhan had decided to provide “strategic guidance” to their militaries to manage and defuse troop confrontations along the 4057 km Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two leaders asserted that during patrolling,... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Rahul Gandhi’s coalition politics 


Leaders of India's oldest party, Congress, now seem reconciled to the politics of coalition as the only way to return to power. In a recent meeting of the Congress Working Committee, former finance minister P Chidambaram (PC... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Mamata squanders China opportunity


West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee lived upto her reputation as the enfant terrible of Indian politics when she cancelled her scheduled trip to China at the last moment. Her spokesperson blamed it on the 'failure to... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

In ongoing trade war India & China turn tables on US


China has fired back and India has threatened to follow suit in a spiralling trade conflict with the US that may finally reshape the contours of global economy. President Donald Trump's threat to take on Chinese goods in... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Modi’s report card not inspiring


Much was made of the four years of Modi government by spin doctors of the India's ruling BJP last week. Prime minister Narendra Modi himself went ballistic against a possible opposition alliance much before it has crystallised,... More
Subir Bhaumik on Bangali solution

Karnataka: Great for Indian democracy but not for Hasina 


The post poll developments in the southern state of Karnataka doubtlessly augurs well for Indian democracy. The Supreme Court's bold verdict in restricting the time given to BJP, the single largest party in Karnataka, to prove its majority... More

COLUMN

Tied to US apron strings, India is losing out in Iran

While China continues to buy Iranian oil, defying U.S. sanctions and challenging U.S. unilateralism, India has capitulated to the US and is losing out on opportunities in Iran, a “hard rock friend” till recently. The change in India’s attitude to Iran was seen clearly when Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad... More

Shame and defame: Using hybrid warfare against Chairman NAB

The major reason for the dismal economic situation of the country is corruption and the feudal-type nepotism that sustained it over decades has infested the state and its institutions. Making money from kickbacks by bureaucrats and politicians who are in a position of power, selling jobs and stealing public... More

Yangon’s smart metres: A step towards creating a smart city

Yangon city is introducing state of the art smart metres to control the electricity supply, monitor its usage and bill costumers in parts of the city – in one automated system. “It’s a step towards making Yangon a smart city and improving and extending e-government throughout Myanmar,” Myo Aung... More

India falls in line with others on Afghanistan

After swinging its Iran policy from ‘no dictate from the U.S.’ and compliance only with the U.N sanctions to completely ditching their purchase of oil from Iran and principally following the U.S. policy of isolating and crippling Iran’s economy, India has now also made a major change in its... More

Court ticks off Bangladesh Central Bank for being blatantly pro-rich

Bangladeshi farmers are facing a massive problem with their rice harvest facing low demand and a steep fall in prices. The distressing situation has led some farmers to burn their crops in anger. People are aghast that the agriculture sector can be in such a situation in what is billed... More

VIDEO-INTERVIEW

video

Exclusive Interview with Bhutan’s Prime Minister


“I will request PM Sheikh Hasina to support us with some (medical) specialists that will be an immediate help for Bhutan” Dr.Lotay Tshering Prime Minister of Bhutan Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Dr. Lotay Tshering, is set to visit Bangladesh on 12th... More

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