The Crossroads: Kashmir—India's Bridge to Xinjiang

[Review by Dr Mahesh Ranjan Debata, (June 20, 2024): Historically, culturally and emotionally, Kashmir and Xinjiang have been intertwined for the past 2,000 years. Until 1949, Xinjiang was India's overland trade route to Central Asia and beyond. Even today, a significant portion of the "undivided Jammu and Kashmir," currently occupied by Pakistan and China, maintains connections to Xinjiang in various forms.

Right To A Healthy Environment: Citizen's Right Vs State's Obligation

Do we have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment? One of the most obvious questions, even the cycle of heat waves engulfing India this summer, has been missing during the largest democratic practices as 834 million Indians are voting in the 2024 General Elections. Ironically, the election manifestos of both national and regional political parties have failed to commit to ensuring the right to a healthy environment for all Indians if they are elected to power on June 4, 2024. At best, environmental well-being is a non-issue in this General Election.

AVILASH ROUL

Abdul Mateen Taha: Islamic State Fugitive Figurehead in India

April 26, 2024

On October 23, 2022, a suicide car bomb exploded outside the Kottai Eswaran Hindu Temple of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu State, India. The perpetrator, Jameesha Mubeen, died in the explosion. A month later, on November 19, 2022, a homemade improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in an auto-rickshaw in the city of Mangaluru in Karnataka State. The driver, Mohammed Shariq, was burned in the attempt.

ANIMESH ROUL

What Would Modi’s Third Term Mean for India-China Relations?

April 17, 2024

India will hold its 18th general election on April 18, 2024, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are poised to win a third term. Similar to his first and second terms, a significant amount of historical and contemporary political and economic baggage will burden Modi’s third term and his relations with China.

ISRO Tests Reusable Launch Vehicle For Sustainable Space Exploration

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its second Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment, named RLV-LEX-02, at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka on March 22, 2024. This follows the trailblazing success of the first landing test, RLV-LEX-01, on April 2, 2023. The vehicle showcased in these tests is expected to be pivotal in a ground-breaking reusable two-stage orbital launch system by 2030.

AJEY LELE

India's Moment for Global Health Leadership: India is well positioned to shape the future of global health

March 16, 2024

A core Hindu philosophical tenet from sacred Sanskrit scriptures, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, articulates the concept of the world as one family and informs India's global outlook. The theme of India's Group of Twenty (G20) presidency in 2023—One Earth, One Family, One Future—encapsulates Hindu philosophy's emphasis on the importance of every form of life on earth. That approach influences the country's approach to global health in the aftermath of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.  

TM: NIA Dismantles Remaining Islamic State Cells in India

March 04, 2024
  • Executive Summary: India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested over 180 people in 2023 for involvement in jihadist terror cases, 65 of which were associated specifically with IS, as part of a broader strategy to disrupt IS’s influence in India. 
  • In December 2023 alone, the NIA conducted widespread raids across the country, arresting dozens of individuals linked to Islamic State (IS) networks and seizing weapons, explosives, and propaganda materials.
ANIMESH ROUL