Terror and Politics: Lashkar-e-Taiba, HuJI and Assassinations in Bangladesh

Very often western observers play down the existence and influence of Pakistan based Lashkar- e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami inside Bangladesh’s territory. Investigations into number of terror strikes in Bangladesh occurred between May 2004 and December 2005 have revealed, rather unearthed, a lethal nexus between these two Pakistan based terror groups and couple of mainstream political parties (Pro-Islamic Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in Bangladesh. It also revealed how they teamed up to score a political point by assassinating rival political leaders.

Animesh Roul

India: Defence, Beyond Action-Reaction

Yet again, India’s defence budget has escaped larger national attention this year. The defence component of the national budget accounts for 14% of central government expenditure but gets less than 5% of media space, the bulk of which goes towards data released by the government with sporadic analyses by experts. Virtually no discussion on the issue takes place in Parliament either. A call for increased resources for national defence usually only goes out when defence spending by Pakistan and China makes headlines.

Deba Ranjan Mohanty

State Actors and Germ Warfare: Historical Perspective

December 31, 2010

The old arguments against the effectiveness of biological warfare still apply. The effects of novel organisms would still be delayed, unpredictable, and difficult to control. In military terms, any advance is almost certainly not a matter of the routine use of bio-technology. Whatever the fact, this double edged weapon still acts like a deterrent against any kind of conventional attack.

Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia

Review by ANIMESH ROUL (December 30, 2010): The Chief Minister of India’s Southern State, Tamil Nadu, recently named a male tiger cub “Sembian” (meaning, winning a Tiger) in memory of the great Cholas who ruled over Southern India and a tiger as a symbol on their flag. This gesture shows the lasting influence of ‘Great Cholas’ on modern and contemporary Tamil society.

Myanmar and Nuclear Weapon Prospect: Is India Concerned?

Most of the military power states in the world aspire to become a nuclear power especialy in this highly competitive world. The most recent participant in the race to become a nuclear state is Myanmar. A report in the `Sydney Morning Herald' in early August quotes two Myanmarese defectors as saying that the Myanmar junta was secretly building a nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facility with North Korea's help and with the aim of acquiring its first nuclear bomb in five years.

Naorem Bhagat Singh

Terrorism in South Asia: Impacts on Development and Democratic Process

Review by Niraj Kumar (August 28, 2010): The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001, shocked the international community. Terrorism, which by and large was considered a phenomenon limited to the Middle East and South Asia, was threatening the world's most rich and powerful — the United States. The initial response to these terrorist acts was a knee-jerk military attack led by the US on the bases of al-Qaeda and its host Taliban in Afghanistan.