MLM: "Islamic State’s Maldivian Mole Mohamad Ameen"

December 06, 2019

In a significant turn of events, on October 23 Maldivian security agencies arrested Mohamad Ameen, an Islamist militant recruiter associated with Islamic State (IS). His arrest came around a month after the Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances named him as the leader of an IS-linked group operating in the Maldives. Ameen’s arrest came as a surprise for many in the region, as successive governments in the Maldives had earlier failed to act against a homegrown Islamist-criminal gang nexus and radicalized Maldivians traveling abroad for jihad in Syria and Afghanistan.

ANIMESH ROUL

Vikram, Vetal and ISRO: Curious Case of Chandrayaan-2

Image: NASA

There are three characters to this story. One is Vikram, the other is Vetal (the Revenant) and the third is ISRO. Vetal is a mythological character that is associated with the evil spirit. As per the original story, it is Vikram who tries to capture the Vetal who in turn tells a story to Vikram that ends with a riddle. However, in this story, the onus is on ISRO to give the correct answer to the riddle, which is about the status of Vikram on the surface of the moon. Here Vetal is the fear of ISRO to accept failures upfront.

AJEY LELE

INDIA’S NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY POLICY: GAPS AND THE WAY FORWARD

November 25, 2019

Ever since the events of document leaks by NSA’s whistleblower Edward Snowden, countries around the world have become conscious about their cybersecurity measures. The leaked reports worked as a wake-up call for India. India was the top most priority target by the American spy agency NSA. It was the time when India realized the great need for a Cyber Policy. In the year 2013, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) drafted India’s first National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP). The policy is framed with a coherent vision and a dynamic set of stratagems for execution.

TM: "Al-Qaeda-Linked Group HUJI-B Attempts to Regroup in Bangladesh"

October 28, 2019

Bangladesh’s Islamist landscape unexpectedly expanded with a reported resurgence of al-Qaeda-linked Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI-B—Movement of Islamic Holy War-Bangladesh) terrorist group, which has been lying dormant for over a decade. On October 2, Dhaka police arrested three senior HuJI-B operatives from the Khilgaon area of the capital city who were reportedly engaged in reviving HuJI-B’s operations in Bangladesh.

ANIMESH ROUL

Naxal Movement in India: A Historical Anthology

To understand the genesis of the Naxal movement, also known as Maoist/Left-wing extremism, one needs to locate it within the framework of the Communist movement in India. More specifically, any study on the Maoist movement cannot overlook the importance of the rise and fall of the Telangana Movement (1946-51). Because for the Indian Communists, Telangana would always remain the glorious chapter in the history of peasant struggles.

RAJAT KUJUR

SRI LANKA: 'Presidential elections: Will minorities become Kingmakers?'

As Sri Lanka is gearing towards the eighth presidential elections on November 16, national security, foreign policy and foreign investments in infrastructure projects and minority issues are once again dominating the political discourse in the country. Although a record 35 candidates have registered for this election, the electoral debate has been mostly dominated by the UNP candidate, Sajith Premadasa, and SLPP candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR). The JVP and the NPM could be closer to these two parties.

NIHAR R NAYAK
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