Back Issues
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February, 2010
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March, 2009
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February, 2009
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Written by S.G. Jilanee
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March, 2010 |
 The latest manifestation of India's hegemonic ambitions is its 'Cold Start' doctrine that it has been perfecting over the past five years and which the Indian army chief has been talking about with more urgency in recent months.
Indian Army Chief's recent remarks about his country acquiring the capability to engage on two fronts - China and Pakistan, simultaneously, has rung alarm bells among its neighbors.
At a seminar, recently, Gen. Deepak Kapoor dwelt at some length on his country's military preparedness. The Times of India reported the remarks under the headline "Army reworks war doctrine" on December 30, last year.
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Written by Dr. Moonis Ahmar
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March, 2010 |
 In his article "Many faces of India" published in The Kathmandu Post of January 31, this year, Dinesh Wagle gives a perspective about New Delhi which is more or less shared by many of its neighbors. According to him, "the problem with many Indians is that they blame their neighbor for everything that goes wrong in the region while completely ignoring their contribution to those problems and, more importantly, to the strife within India itself, from Manipur and Assam to Kashmir and Telegana." India's image as a regional power and its power ambitions transcending South Asia are also quite well-known and a major impediment in terms of regional peace, stability and development is the looming threat of New Delhi's steady drive of seeking pre-eminence in its neighborhood.
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Written by Rafia Zakaria
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March, 2010 |
 Is the higher judiciary in Pakistan, previously a beleaguered pillar of state, now in pursuit of vengeance rather than striking a healthy balance? On December 16, 2009 The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance null and void. All previous cases that had been dismissed under the NRO also stood revived and all earlier letters to Swiss Courts asking for the withdrawal of cases against President Zardari were also declared unconstitutional. Since the Court's verdict the country has been mired in a tussle between the increasingly pushy judiciary and the beleaguered executive.
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Written by Javed Ansari
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March, 2010 |
 As things stand today in the province of Punjab, the Nawaz Sharif faction of the Pakistan Muslim League is riding a high horse following an epoch-making victory over their close rival and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The results of the by-election may almost prove to be a death knell for the latter's political career. What the Nawaz League is out to prove is that it may have been out of Pakistan's political scenario in the days when Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were in exile after Gen. Musharraf's coup but their political prowess is certainly not down. They came back into the run of things in the February 2008 elections when the incumbent PML-Q lost by a wide margin and the PPP managed to win a number of seats. This provided an opportunity for Shahbaz Sharif to once again become chief minister and take effective control of the Punjab.
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Written by Col (retd.) R Hariharan
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March, 2010 |
 Almost four decades down the road since independence, Bangladesh is still groping for visible socio-economic progress and a viable regional role. On March 26 Bangladesh celebrates its independence. Its was on this day 39 years back, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation, proclaimed independence, severing the umbilical links of the eastern wing with Pakistan. The blood bath and war that followed has made the birth of Bangladesh the most emotive issue in South Asia, second only to the Partition of India in 1947. This makes it a bit difficult for many in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to make an unbiased analysis of Bangladesh as a nation.
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Written by Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan
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March, 2010 |
 President Mahinda Rajapaksa led the nation to victory over the LTTE and was elected to a second term as President in January. It seems he is now set to call the shots in Sri Lanka for at least another seven years. The 6th election for the all powerful executive position in Sri Lanka was held on January 26, 2010. What was increasingly considered a close contest, ended in a more than comfortable victory for the incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa, candidate of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) polled 1842,749 more votes than his arch challenger General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, who contested as the "common candidate" of the opposition parties under the banner New Democratic Front (NDF). |
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Written by Israrul Haque
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March, 2010 |
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The going has never been good for the U.S. ever since its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The situation has really deteriorated over the past months and it looks like the U.S. may decide to call it quits sooner than later.
Having defeated the British and the Soviet Super powers, Afghanistan now seems poised to defeat the U.S. The overall situation in Afghanistan has been fast deteriorating. July and August last year were the deadliest months for the U.S. and the NATO troops in that as many as 26 U.S. and NATO soldiers were killed then. The deadly front took a more sinister turn when a double agent blasted himself in the U.S. military base in Khost on Dec 30, 2009, killing 7 CIA operatives. This was the deadliest attack on the CIA since 1983.
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Written by Bishnu Pathak
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March, 2010 |
 Land-locked Nepal has always existed in giant India's shadow. However, now that its people have tasted democracy, they want to shake off Indian influence and become masters of their own destiny. Nepal has long historic, strategic, geo-political, commercial and socio-cultural relations with India. There has been a protracted debate and discourse to continuously improve such relations. But history also shows that whenever Nepal is in its transition phases, its people encounter several problems at national and regional levels owing to the role of India. Nepalis living on the Nepal-India border have suffered in particular at the hands of Indian border security forces and criminal groups. In spite of such suffering, they have failed to attract the country's attention as most governments and mainstream parties have turned a deaf ear to their problems, fearing reprisals from India. A principal reason behind such practices is that the Nepalese authorities seek personal/family/party/cadre benefits whenever they get an opportunity to meet the Indian establishment, pushing behind the crucial issues faced by the people.
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Written by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan
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March, 2010 |
 As Bhutan is gradually coming out of its shell and successfully grappling with democracy, it is also exploring new thresholds in bilateral relations with its giant neighbors.
In the South Asian environment, Bhutan is the most stable and the least problematic country. From a feudal/semi feudal set up, it has seamlessly eased into a democratic set up and the country is learning. Thanks to the wise and benign guidance of both Kings Gyalpo IV and Gyalpo V, democracy is developing deep roots in the country which made history when it formally announced a draft democratic constitution on March 26, 2005. The draft was a radical departure from a set up run by royal decree since 1953.
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