US, India Should Enhance Nuclear, Space Cooperation To Further Ties
India-US relations share a long history and has seen upd and downs. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the US during 1949. This trip preceded India’s formal declaration of neutrality in global affairs. It was a clear statement of intent from India that it is not keen to join either the Soviet or the US camp during the Cold War. Over the years, Indo-US relationship has evolved, though it has been a very bumpy ride.
The Role of Women in Indian Military: Why the Battle for Equality is Only Half Won
On February 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of India made a landmark verdict on civil suit ‘The Secretary, Ministry of Defence versus Babita Punia and Others’ (civil appeals nos. 9367-9369 of 2011 read along with nos. 1127-1128 of 2013 and no. 1210 of 2020) by allowing permanent commission status to women officers in the Indian armed forces and making them eligible for command positions (which enables them now to perform all types of military roles – full combat, combat support and services). The government has been granted a three-month period to implement the ruling.
BANGLADESH: Containing Islamist Resurgence and Radicalism
This is the second year, consecutively that Bangladesh has witnessed less than 50 violent incidents and terrorist-related fatalities. In a year-end assessment, the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of the Bangladesh police claimed that the year 2019 witnessed a lesser number of terrorist attacks due to a strong counter-insurgency policy. This policy focussed on counter-narratives, de-radicalization and awareness programmes to curb the militancy alongside regular activities like arrests and intelligence gathering on the terrorist groups in the post Holey Bakery incident in Dhaka in 2016.
Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine: Still Caught Between the Deep Sea and the Devil
In 1991, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for democracy in Myanmar. Twenty years down, on 11th December 2019, the same Nobel laureate defended the oppressive regime of Myanmar at the ICJ, Hague, for the charges of carrying out genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Responding to Gambia’s charges presented by Justice Minister and Attorney General, Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi defended the actions of her country against the Rohingyas.
Vikram, Vetal and ISRO: Curious Case of Chandrayaan-2
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.
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.
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.
NavIC: Assessing India’s Own Satellite Navigation System
For many years, India has been trying to successfully develop its own satellite navigational system. Despite having all satellites required for this system in place, owing to the lack of user interface, it still remains unusable for the common users. However, it now finally appears that there are some possibilities that within the coming six months Indian users could have the smartphone-based facility available for using the ‘made in India GPS’.
Nepal: Spearheading into Another Armed Conflict?
After a decade long armed struggle and promulgation of a new constitution in September 2015 as per the November 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between former Maoists and the then Nepal government, Nepal could witness the rise of another radical Maoist group. The Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand alias Biplav (also known as CPN-Chand faction) was formed on 24th November 2014 after breaking away from Mohan Baidya’s Communist Party of Nepal (Revolutionary).