IDSA Comments - MP-IDSA

Increasing Violence in the Assam Hills

The hill district of Assam, North Cachar Hills (N.C. Hills), has been recently in the news all too often but for the wrong reasons. Known for its pristine mountainous landscape...

Namrata Goswami |
May 26, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

China and Maoist Nepal: Challenges for India

“[China] feels that the Himalayas alone in this nuclear age are not enough to guarantee its national security, especially in view of Tibet’s strategic location. [It], therefore, ideally wants a...

Renewed Infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Response

In a turnaround of events, the recent encounter with terrorists in Samba area and the reported infiltration of a large group of terrorists through the international border (IB) of Jammu...

B. S. Sachar |
May 16, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

India-Brazil-South Africa ‘Tango’ at Sea

The first half of May 2008 (2-16) witnessed an epochal multilateral event that passed off virtually unnoticed in the countries involved. It saw the first ever combined maritime exercise among...

Stalemate Redux in Sri Lanka?

A fierce battle in the North and the reported high casualties among Sri Lankan troops at Forward Defence in Muhamalai in the third week of April have placed a question...

M. Mayilvaganan |
May 16, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Geophysical Threats and ENMOD

The term “environment” has come to be used in security discourse at three levels. At the first level is the issue of the degradation of the natural resource base, exhaustion...

P. K. Gautam |
May 16, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Is Bangladesh heading for a food crisis?

Since the beginning of 2007, there has been a sharp increase in global food prices, especially in developing countries. During the past year, the prices of rice and wheat have...

Sreeradha Datta |
May 15, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist: Rebels to Rulers

The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), a former rebel group, emerged as the largest political party with 220 seats in the April 10 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. Mainstream political parties...

Nihar R. Nayak |
May 14, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Kosovo’s Independence: The “Politics” of Geography and Internal Contradictions

Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008 is dividing the world into states that support the move and those opposed to it. It has also emboldened separatist movements...

Namrata Goswami |
May 14, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Referendum for Myanmar’s Constitution in the wake of Cyclone Nargis

Howsoever much others may want to distance India from mlitary-ruled Myanmar, the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis has brought India into the spotlight. That it occurred barely a week...

Udai Bhanu Singh |
May 12, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Re-energising India-Iran ties

National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan’s announcement at an international seminar that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be converting what was originally meant to be a refuelling stop into an official...

EC President Barroso’s Visit to China

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, led a high-level team of nine European Union (EU) commissioners to Beijing on April 24 and 25, 2008, and met the Chinese...

ISRO Delivers Ten Satellites at a Go

India’s Space Programme has been contributing a lot towards bestowing ‘Soft Power’ status to the country over the last couple of years. The success of the PSLV-C9 mission on April...

Ajey Lele |
April 30, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

The Attack on Migrants in Manipur

Normal life in Manipur was drastically affected between March 17 and 19, 2008 when 15 migrants were killed by unidentified armed militants. While there have been accusations that local militants...

T. Khurshchev Singh |
April 29, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

A Test for Democracy in Zimbabwe

“There will never ever be change in Zimbabwe. We shall never reverse the gains of the liberation struggle. Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.” – Robert Mugabe (2008).

Gunjan Singh |
April 28, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Taiwan Elections Vindicate the Status Quo

The KMT’s victory in the March 2008 presidential elections can be essentially attributed to the promises it made to improve economic ties with Mainland China and assure good governance. Ironically,...

Abanti Bhattacharya |
April 26, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Hamid Ansari’s Visit to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan

Vice President Hamid Ansari’s visit to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan from April 4 to 10, 2008 opened up new vistas between India and the Central Asian Republics (CARs). During his visit,...

Nivedita Das Kundu |
April 24, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Musharraf in China: Economic benefits of an “all weather friendship”

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s recent visit to China from April 10-16 revealed the depth and confidence that highlight Pakistan-China relations. The much repeated refrain of an “all-weather friendship” between the...

Raviprasad Narayanan |
April 22, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Pakistan’s Impending Economic Crisis

One of the biggest achievements of Musharraf’s rule, according to him, was that he turned around a tottering economy. Rescuing it from the verge of default, he brought it to...

Alok Bansal |
April 21, 2008 |
IDSA Comments

Ma, KMT and the new Cross-strait Policy

In a development that is expected to ease tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese voted in favour of the Kuomintang (KMT, Nationalist Party) candidate Ma Ying-jeou in the March 22...

Jagannath P. Panda |
April 16, 2008 |
IDSA Comments