The prospects for new states becoming SCO members seem remote. The new clause that requires all heads of the member states to sign the membership document is the main obstacle and the members appear careful about the intentions and behaviors of the observers-states as they see expansion could against the organizational interests.

• P. Stobdan |
• May 26, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

It is painfully clear that no serious attempt is being made to resolve the Syrian crisis. There seems to be a certain fatigue in the international community combined with a belief that it is beyond human ingenuity to bring an end to the crisis; the world has to learn to live with it.

• K. P. Fabian |
• May 26, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

Invitation to the SAARC leader to attend Prime Minister-elect’s swearing in ceremony has electrified diplomatic atmosphere in South Asia. In this context Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit and his scheduled meeting with the Indian Prime Minister has generated a lot of interest. Given the strong mandate, Mr. Modi is in a strong position to put his stamp on the further evolution of Indo-Pakistan relations right from the beginning of his tenure.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik , Arvind Gupta |
• May 25, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

A Sino-Japanese conflict is not in the US interest and certainly not in Japan’s. Stability in the regional security landscape cannot be solely guaranteed by reaffirming the US-Japan security alliance, which provides space for the US to flaunt its military might through deployment.

• Titli Basu |
• May 20, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

Ministry of Defence which accounts for 13-14 per cent of the central government expenditure, if one also takes into account the expenditure on defence pensions, could come under some pressure to prepare an action plan as the outcome of what it does is often intangible, undisclosable, or simply unmeasurable. The author puts forward some suggestions.

• Amit Cowshish |
• May 20, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

If the larger goal is to understand the challenges of the North East, it would require a strong national narrative which reconciles its many identities and adds to the peace process. Till development in the North East is achieved the stereotypes will continue to gain traction in policy approaches.

• Shruti Pandalai |
• May 16, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

The Urban Movement has a defined role in the political strategy and military strategy of the CPI (Maoist). In the Maoist schemes, Urban Movement is to broadly to mobilise and organise the basic masses and build the party on that basis ; build the United Front ; and military tasks .

• P. V. Ramana |
• May 12, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

The NIA was established in a concurrent jurisdiction framework, with provisions for taking up specific cases under specific Acts for investigation and prosecution. The NIA may be seen to conflict with responsibility that is exclusively with the states but it cannot be conclusively said that the Agency is unconstitutional

• N. Manoharan |
• May 12, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

It is imperative that the government immigration agencies generate reliable verified data on the number of people coming in from Bangladesh into Assam. It is also the government’s constitutional obligation to maintain the veracity of electoral rolls listing only citizens with the right to vote.

• Namrata Goswami |
• May 09, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments

A re-look of the intentions of the Chinese is important because according to long-term economic trends around 2030 Asia will be the world’s powerhouse just as it was prior to 1800. China is expected to surpass the US by 2016 to become the largest economy, and India’s GDP is expected to exceed that of the US by 2060.

• Mukul Sanwal |
• May 07, 2014 |
• IDSA Comments