Publication

The Naga narrative of dissent is a longstanding issue afflicting India's Northeast. Though attempts are being made to resolve the issue through peaceful dialogue between the Union Government and the resistance groups, earlier peace agreements such as the Nine Point Hydari Agreement and the Shillong Accord failed to garner support from all the different Naga tribes. The local fault lines are also playing a destabilizing role in the current peace process with tribal loyalties transcending group loyalties.

• Namrata Goswami |
• March 2007 |
• Strategic Analysis

• Pushpita Das |
• March 2007 |
• Strategic Analysis

The general impression is that Iran has gained tremendously from rising oil prices, fuelled by its vast oil wealth. In reality, however, given increased domestic consumption coupled with inefficient usage and subsidies, Iran is actually struggling to produce enough oil and gas for export. Without substantial upgrades Iran's oil production is expected to go through a gradual decline. Though Iran has abundant oil reserves, estimated at around 137 billion barrels, it has not even been able to generate its OPEC quota due to lack of technical expertise and skills.

• Rohit Pattnaik |
• February 23, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

The Sixth Aero India Aerospace and Defence Exhibition held from February 07 to 11, 2007 was by all accounts a 'big' event. The biennial gathering was organized jointly by the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Department of Defence Production and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). For the first time, Farnborough International Ltd., the organization that holds the Farnborough International Air Show, was involved. 503 defence companies from 33 countries were represented at the Yelahanka Air Force station in Bangalore, the venue of the show.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv |
• February 22, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

In January 2007, when the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei suggested to the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Igor Ivanov, that the two countries should explore setting up an OGEC or an organization of gas exporting countries similar to OPEC, Ivanov dismissed it as a "general idea" and not a "proposal for discussion".

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal |
• February 21, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

On February 5, 2007, President Bush presented his administration's budget for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008). Out of a total budgetary allocation of US $2.9 trillion for all sectors, $623 billion (21 per cent) was earmarked for defence purposes, including those for war efforts in various parts of the world. With the new budget, America's military budget has doubled since Bush took office in 2000 and is now higher in real terms than any other year in the last half-century.

• Laxman Kumar Behera |
• February 21, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

Earlier speculations negating the possibility of one-on-one talks between the United States and North Korea after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test have proven wrong. Irrespective of the merits or the disappointments attached to the process, the negotiations that started between US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan in Berlin on January 16-18, 2007 made it possible for them to find common ground at the six-part talks held in Beijing on February 13, 2007.

• Rajesh Kumar Mishra |
• February 19, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

It may be a mere coincidence that the People's Daily, official mouth piece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), decided to carry two pieces on China's ongoing space programme on its website on February 7, 2007.

• M. V. Rappai |
• February 19, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

The disturbing reports about the presence of jihadi forces in India's northeast have added a new twist to the region's multiple insurgencies. Combined with the recent arrest in Delhi of three alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives hailing from Manipur once again indicates how vulnerable the northeast region is to the jihadi menace.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• February 19, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments

The recent uproar in Jammu and Kashmir over 'fake killings' has once again turned public attention towards the issue of human rights violations by law enforcement agencies. The State is witnessing wide scale protests and demonstrations with the support of all sections of society, and political parties are backing the call for an impartial inquiry and strict action against the concerned personnel.

• B. S. Sachar |
• February 13, 2007 |
• IDSA Comments