IDSA Comments

The recent orgy of violence perpetrated by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has brought the issue of security of the common citizen in Assam to the fore again. The scale of violence was highest in Tinsukia with 34 killed, while nine were killed in Sibsagar, eight in Dibrugarh and six in Dhemaji districts. Attacks were also carried out in Golaghat and Guwahati. The orgy of violence started on January 5, 2007, and is likely to continue as indicated by intelligence reports.

• Namrata Goswami , M. Amarjeet Singh , Pushpita Das , Gurinder Singh |
• January 22, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

The first time arrest of three Manipuri Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members in Delhi on December 19, 2006 indicated the existence of direct linkages between Pakistan-based terrorists and the Meitei Pangal (Muslim) ultras. The incident has revealed once again the capabilities of the terrorist organisation to penetrate and established intricate networks in all corners of the country. It has also revealed a new trend wherein Manipur, with its unemployed minority Muslim youth, seems to be emerging as a fresh recruiting ground for the LeT.

• T. Khurshchev Singh |
• January 22, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

A recent survey by a Colombo-based agency on the peace process revealed that a majority of Sri Lankans prefers India as a peace facilitator rather than the Norwegians. According to the report by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, over 52.5 per cent of Sinhalese and 82 per cent of upcountry Tamils voted for an Indian involvement in the peace process. In recent years, the mood has shifted across Sri Lanka with major parties to the conflict instilling a newfound faith on New Delhi as the ideal arbitrator for the peace process.

• A. Vinod Kumar |
• January 18, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

With President Bush signing the India-US nuclear co-operation bill into law, critics and supporters of the bill have once again reinforced their stated positions over the future benefits and losses accruing to both countries as well as the world at large. While supporters have left no stone unturned in emphasising upon the strategic, bilateral and political importance of the bill, critics have flatly described it as an 'historical mistake' which will hound efforts to curb nuclear proliferation in years to come.

• Laxman Kumar Behera |
• January 18, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

Many commentators have declared President Bush's signing into law of the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Co-operation Act as one of the most decisive moments in international politics in recent years. However, opinion on this deal within the country is divided, with a section of the scientific community contending that the US is attempting to cap India's nuclear weapon ambitions, which, in the long run may hamper its strategic interests, while some politicians and analysts view the deal as a win-win situation for India.

• Ajey Lele |
• January 18, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

With the attempt at peace negotiations between the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Government of India stumbling, the insurgent group has once again chosen the path of violence. It has selectively targeted civilians belonging to a particular community to arm-twist the ruling authorities into conceding some of its immediate demands including talks on 'sovereignty of Assam'. Such violence once again exposes the ULFA's utter disregard for the most fundamental human right -- the right to life.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• January 18, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China released a White Paper titled "China's National Defence 2006" on December 29, 2006.

• Jagannath P. Panda |
• January 16, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

Among the foremost security concerns of the US after 9/11 is the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by terrorists on its territory and their proliferation through inimical states. The global stretch of the predominantly maritime threat and the 'overstretch' of the US Navy have led to the initiation of a series of American initiatives like Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), Container Security Initiative (CSI) and Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI), all aimed at mobilizing global support to secure the US 'homeland'.

• Gurpreet S Khurana |
• December 28, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

On November 28 and 29, NATO Heads of State and Government met in the Latvian capital for the annual summit. This was the first summit to be held in a country that had joined the alliance during its second enlargement since the end of the Cold War. The summit concentrated on three issues, which are considered to be the pillars for defining the role and status of NATO in the post-Cold War period: Political Engagement, Defence Transformation and Operations. On the basis of discussions held on these issues, an attempt was made to chalk out a path for NATO in its future endeavours.

• Prasad P. Rane |
• December 28, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

That the Taliban power stands resurrected is a fact now. At the same time, the 'war on terror' is also showing signs of fatigue. It has already come to a halt in the north-western tribal expanse of Pakistan, the cradle of the Taliban's resurrection. Dubbed as 'remnants' until recently, the Taliban today are a power to reckon with, effectively redrawing the power equations within Afghanistan.

• Vishal Chandra |
• December 27, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

Sir Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank and head of the British government's economic service, and his team submitted the report titled The Economics of Climate Change in October 2006. The report consolidates the research on the scientific evidence of climate change and concludes that evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat.

• P. K. Gautam |
• December 27, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's seemingly 'inadvertent' admission of his country's nuclear status in an interview broadcast on German television on December 11 at the start of his trip to Berlin once again focussed world attention on the country's nuclear status. It is widely known that Israel has a nuclear arsenal consisting of about 150-200 weapons from the plutonium produced at the Dimona nuclear reactor, situated in the Negev desert near Beer Sheva.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv |
• December 21, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

• T. Khurshchev Singh |
• December 14, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

The conflict in Sri Lanka is escalating everyday as the government forces and the Tamil Tigers take on each other with renewed determination. The peace process has all but collapsed and the violent encounters are leading to large-scale influx of Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka into the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This fresh wave of refugees has brought a perceptible change in the perception of the people in Tamil Nadu in particular and India in general towards the ethnic conflict in Sri lanka.

• M. Mayilvaganan |
• December 12, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

India's "troubled Northeast' has become a catch-all phrase for the region, and leads to the perception that the entire region is in a state of near-anarchy. The reality is otherwise; analysis shows that patterns of violence have been showing continuous decline in the region as a whole over the past few years and, more significantly, that the current violence is now substantially concentrated in the states of Manipur and Assam.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• December 09, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

Statistics reveal that the Border Security Force (BSF) has so far, this year, apprehended 8,196 persons who were trying enter India illegally from Bangladesh. The numbers that successfully manage to evade the security forces on the border, is of course, much larger. Apart from the usual suspects, the militants and economic migrants, the recent political turmoil in Bangladesh has also resulted in many Bangladeshi political dissidents and people from the religious minorities attempting to sneak into India to avoid political and religious persecution.

• Pushpita Das |
• December 08, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

The Prime Minister of UK, Tony Blair, visited Pakistan in the third week of November to participate in the third UK-Pakistan bilateral summit. The UK-Pak joint statement of December 6, 2004 institutionalised such bilateral meets at the highest level, to 're-energise' the 'partnership for peace and prosperity in the 21st century'. As these bilateral summits are of a strategic nature and are being pursued without interruption since 2004, it is useful to analyse the scope and extent of such bilateral engagement.

• Alok Rashmi Mukhopadhyay |
• December 01, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

The Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India signifies an important milestone in bilateral relations. The visit showed that there is a mutual willingness to keep the irritants aside and move forward. Both the powers of Asia have indeed placed greater importance on "stable relations" with each other in the coming days. This was clearly visible in Hu Jintao's "five-point proposals" for developing Sino-Indian relations. The rumours of India-China relations being affected by growing strategic relationship between India and US have been laid to rest for the moment.

• Jagannath P. Panda |
• November 30, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

The recently concluded three-day international seminar on Defence Finance and Economics, organised by the Indian Ministry of Defence (Finance) in New Delhi, covered a wide variety of issues concerning defence finance and economics and reflected on varied perspectives and practices from across the globe. The seminar was of particular importance because of the involvement of policy makers, academics, and other experts from think tanks and the media, in exchanging and discussing their views in the realm of the changing business and spectrum of defence worldwide.

• Laxman Kumar Behera |
• November 24, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments

Despite the categorical denial by the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson about a report published by a British newspaper in January 2006, that Islamabad was engaged in talks with China to purchase eight nuclear reactors worth US $7 billion, the Chinese media later disclosed Beijing's plan of signing an agreement to supply six reactors. Speculation in this regard has gained currency now that the two countries are to enter into a nuclear deal during the ongoing visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Pakistan.

• Rajesh Kumar Mishra |
• November 23, 2006 |
• IDSA Comments