Foreign Policy Blogs

India

Essential surveillance and the right to privacy

Essential surveillance and the right to privacy

The last few days have seen significant uproar in the Indian parliament and media about the alleged wire-tapping of four senior politicians in India. The Outlook Magazine reported that telephones of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh were tapped by […]

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Countering the Chinese Naval Tsunami

An interesting aspect of India’s defense strategy today is its focus on increasing its naval power, currently the fifth largest in the world. Last month, the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted a panel to discuss this “dramatic maritime transformation.” Within the next decade, the country plans to introduce 40 new warships and 400 new aircraft to […]

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Keeping Score: Cricket : 0; Sports: 1

Keeping Score: Cricket : 0; Sports: 1

As the Indian government strives to elevate people out of poverty, it should realize that good athletes can serve as more than a way to equal China’s Olympic might.

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News and updates

Two day SAARC Summit to begin on April 28 in Bhutan. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC) 16th  Summit will be held in Thimphu, Bhutan on April 28-29. The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Conservation of Environment and Climate.’ Leaders from the eight member countries in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, […]

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US looking to increase Indian role in Afghanistan

US looking to increase Indian role in Afghanistan

The meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit last week, seems to have produced positive results for India. The US ambassador to India, Tim Roemer will be travelling to Afghanistan to view first-hand the “critical” work being done there by India. He told the Times News Network, “India’s […]

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Powering Up or Down?

Powering Up or Down?

As India’s power troubles continue, is it time to think small?

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Nuclear Security Summit opens in Washington

Nuclear Security Summit opens in Washington

The Nuclear Security Summit has opened on a positive note. Ukraine has volunteered to get rid of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The bold and applaudable decision by Ukraine is sure to help global non-proliferation efforts and bring optimism into the Summit. However, it is sad that Pakistan was given the opportunity to be the lead speaker and demand a nuclear deal from the […]

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Naxal Attack Shocks India

Naxal Attack Shocks India

On April 6, in the Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in India, 72 members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one member of the District police force were killed in a gruesome attack by the Naxalites. In addition to the number of causalities, the planning and precision of the Naxal operation stunned the […]

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Views on 'apolitical' Character of the Indian Army

Views on 'apolitical' Character of the Indian Army

General V.K. Singh assumed charge as India’s new Army Chief last week. Though appointment of Army Chiefs in India does not attract as much media, the trend is gradually changing. The Indian Army continues to remain apolitical but has gained greater visibility in the public domain recently. Comments by military men and issues of corruption […]

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US should stay out of Kashmir

US should stay out of Kashmir

A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal argues that from the US point of view, improved Indo-Pak relations are the key to progress in Afghanistan. The Obama administration had therefore issued a secret directive to work towards easing tensions between the two hostile neighbors. That would, in effect, help the administration secure Pakistani cooperation in Afghanistan. While the Obama administration may have […]

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Education – A Fundamental Right for Children in India

Education – A Fundamental Right for Children in India

“About a hundred years ago a great son of India, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, urged the Imperial Legislative Assembly to confer on the Indian people the Right to Education. About ninety years later the Constitution of India was amended to enshrine the Right to Education as a fundamental right. Today, our Government comes before you to […]

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India successfully tests Agni-I, Prithvi-II and Dhanush

India successfully tests Agni-I, Prithvi-II and Dhanush

It was a successful weekend for the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as they test fired the nuclear-capable Agni-I, Prithvi-II and Dhanush missile in quick succession. All three are indigenously developed missiles. On Saturday it first test fired Dhanush, a ship-based anti-surface missile, off INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal. Dhanush has a range of 350 […]

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Youth Readership Survey, India: Some Trends

How much and what is the Indian youth reading? For answering this question the National Book Trust (NBT) in India undertook a readership survey among the youth of the country. The survey was conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research in 2009. According to Bipin Chandra, Chairman of NBT, “We often say that youngsters […]

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Why a nuclear deal for Pakistan is a bad idea

As Pakistan and the United States begin their week long Strategic Dialogue in Washington, Pakistan based militants have renewed their call for jihad against India. On the occasion of Pakistan Day, hundreds of militants gathered in Kotli and called for jihad against India. Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the top militant groups in Pakistan, also announced an increase […]

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India is Apprehensive of President Karzai's Negotiation Approach

“There really are only two choices confronting the international community – to invest and endure, or to improve conditions to a point that we can exit.” This is how India, in words of Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, expects the international community to deal with the challenges in Afghanistan. These expectations […]

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