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SPEAKING FREELY
India's strategic culture is plain to see
Hardcore realism of projecting power beyond India's borders and the Nehruvian ethos of dialogue and international cooperation underline New Delhi's strategic power. Those exalting India to take Great Power status are frustrated by the duality, and in for a disappointment as the country takes the road to greatness by focusing on the war on poverty. - Namrata Goswami
(Apr 5, '13)
Dozens die in attack on Afghan court
Militants disguised as soldiers have killed at least 44 people by storming a court in western Afghanistan in an attempt to free Taliban fighters standing trial. The multiple bomb-and-gun assault raises further questions about the Afghans government's ability to secure the country as international combat forces withdraw.
(Apr 4, '13)
The Great Afghan corruption scam
The United States vociferously denounces Afghan corruption as a major obstacle to its mission in Afghanistan. Missing from this routine censure is a credible explanation of why American nation-building failed there. No wonder. To do so, the US would have to denounce its own role in letting a flood of Pentagon dollars spread corruption, to the extent of hiring a bank well known for its murky past. - Dilip Hiro
(Apr 3, '13)
Terror makes first marks on Pakistan ballot
The decision of the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) to call off an April 4 public rally as its lead event for the 2013 general election campaign comes as militants turn threats into terror attacks on supporters of secular parties. The May 11 poll is seen as a vote on whether the country will tackle such extremism.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Apr 3, '13)
India sets path for reform of financial sector
A commission considering reforms to India's financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis proposes as its main point the setting up of a single regulator to replace numerous competing agencies. The range of dissenting views indicates that haste in implementation could be counter-productive. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Apr 3, '13)
US, China and playful AfPak frogs
US Secretary of State John Kerry is learning bit-by-bit the secrets of the Asian bazaar and the frustrating problem of keeping live toads on the balancing scale. Mollifying Afghan President Hamid Karzai - even if that did not serve US interests - was one thing. Keeping the Big Frog, the Pakistan military, from then upsetting the pan was quite another. And the Big Frog is the one Washington needs the most. M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 28, '13)
Child-abuse victims jailed in Afghanistan
Activists in Afghanistan say children are imprisoned for "moral crimes" in some child-abuse cases while their adult assailants escape prosecution. The country's independent commission rights lists numerous cases. The government won't say how many abused children are in detention and describes the commission's claim as a lie. - Mina Habib
(Mar 28, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Anti-Hindu attacks rock Bangladesh
A wave of anti-Hindu attacks in Bangladesh launched by hardline Islamist group the Jammate-E-Islami Bangladesh has seen hundreds of temples, statues and shops demolished, with purportedly secular ruling party the Awami League failing to protect the minority by punishing the vandals. Unless the government takes aim at the extremist politics taking root, the nation's stability will be under threat. - Swadesh Roy
(Mar 28, '13)
'Third front' is no alternative for India
The departure of the DMK party from India's ruling coalition has lead to renewed talk of opening a ''third front'' in the country's politics. Such talk reflects more the ambitions of various leaders no longer in government rather than a practical option for the future. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 27, '13)
Musharraf returns as Pakistani democrat
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has returned from self-exile amid death threats from Islamist extremists, criminal charges from the now-powerful judiciary, and his own aspirations for political power. The former dictator enters the stream as a democrat in the May general election but is unlikely to make much impact on a very changed country from the one he left four years ago. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Mar 27, '13)
Sri Lanka thumbs nose at UN vote
The Sri Lankan government has struck a defiant posture and gained public support for its stand after a United Nations vote last week criticized its human rights record. As President Mahinda Rajapaksa pushes to consolidate his grip on power, his desire to fend off international pressure over war crimes allegations is likely to fuel the authoritarian streak.
- Sudha Ramachandran
(Mar 26, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
The politics of expediency in India
The Indian government is paying more attention these days to policies on crucial matters of national interest, largely with an eye fixed on gaining votes in next year's general election. More than that expediency is required in the world's largest democracy if genuine efforts at social emancipation and welfare are to bear fruit. - Sunil Kumar
(Mar 26, '13)
Karzai's curious counterblast
Whatever Hamid Karzai's motives for accusing US forces of colluding with the Taliban, then saying he was just trying to improve relations with Washington, the Afghanistan president is clearly exasperated that the Americans don't appear to be taking his requests seriously.
- Hafizullah Gardesh
(Mar 25, '13)
OBITUARY
Zillur Rahman: Bangladeshi president
Bangladesh's president Mohammad Zillur Rahman, who has died at the age of 84 in a Singapore hospital, will be remembered as one of the country's political immortals, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, as the South Asian nation mourned a man who led the ruling Awami League for four decades. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Mar 22, '13)
Sri Lankan anti-Muslim
campaign fuels discord
A hardline Buddhist organization in Sri Lanka is demanding a ban on Muslim dress and the halal food certification process, saying that the former threatens security while the latter is funding militants. Although the discrimination threatens to reawaken conflict of the kind the country suffered with the Tamil minority, the Buddhist-dominated government has stayed silent on the matter. - Munza Mushtaq
(Mar 22, '13)
Bangladesh protests evoke liberation
The university students coming out in droves to call for a secular democracy in Bangladesh and a ban on religious fundamentalist groups did not live through the 1971 war for independence, but their protest evokes memories of the past when the people of what was then East Pakistan overthrew an occupying military junta. - Naimul Haq
(Mar 22, '13)
Pakistan sets poll date amid terror threats
Pakistan has set May 11 as voting day for a general election amid threats from the Pakistani Taliban for people to give a wide berth to meetings of of the mainstream political parties in the run up to the vote. As the country gears up for polls, it is also readying for a surge in terror attacks by extremists. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Mar 21, '13)
India's interest rate cut passes
growth woes to government
The Reserve Bank of India's latest cut in interest rates, the second reduction this year, may be its last for some months as persistently high inflation cramps the central bank's scope for encouraging growth. That is now up to the government. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 20, '13)
Pakistani Taliban declare war on judiciary
The Pakistani Taliban has declared a war on Pakistan's judiciary and announced it will suspend peace talks with Islamabad. In the build-up to elections as an elected government completes its full term for the first time, the country is also witnessing a power shift from the military to the judiciary, reflected in the latest attacks on it. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Mar 19, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
India blots out Israeli issues
Israel has used wide-ranging outreach in India to overcome public opposition to burgeoning bilateral ties in defense, trade and people-to-people contacts. That some surveys now rank India as the world's most "pro-Israel country" suggest the latter's image molding has persuaded many Indians to forget points of difference like Iran and the Palestinian issues.
- S Samuel C Rajiv
(Mar 18, '13)
India's foreign funds flood not guaranteed
Indian stock market gains over the past few months coincided with strong inflows of foreign funds, in turn attributable to quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve. Hopes that further easing will be a boon for Indian stocks might, however, prove ephemeral. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 18, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Now is the time for a solution in Kashmir
Increased repression in Indian-administered Kashmir and growing tensions with Pakistan along the Line of Control highlight that the status quo there cannot last. There has never been a better time for a comprehensive solution to the conflict - most of what that will take is clear. What is eminently lacking is the will to take action now. - Shubh Mathur
(Mar 15, '13)
Bangladesh political crisis deepens
Bangladesh's main opposition party threatened to call another nationwide strike if its leaders continue to languish in police custody after their arrest for allegedly inflaming violence at a rally in Dhaka on Monday. With sporadic attacks and protests leaving a long trail of destruction through the country and the death-toll climbing, the tense standoff between political foes shows no sign of abating. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Mar 14, '13)
India's production strength a mirage
India's industrial production started the year with an expansion welcomed by the government in glowing terms. That song has been used before and it will take the next couple of months to confirm whether this is a green healthy shoot or a withering weed. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 14, '13)
Afghanistan faces cash hole
The Afghan economy faces severe constriction following the withdrawal of US troops, in part because much of the billions of dollars in aid has been ''lost'' due to waste and massive corruption. One consequence will be the inability of security forces to maintain a stable state. - Richard Sale
(Mar 14, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Securing the Indian state from the people
Renewed demands to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir by activists who say it protects human-rights violators underlines the draconian nature of numerous statues in Indian enforced for "national security". Often security and "anti-terror" laws not only contradict the tenets of democracy, they continue colonial-era legislation enacted to control a rebellious population fighting the British Empire. - Ninan Koshy
(Mar 14, '13)
India strives to make
itself drought proof
Irregular monsoons and drought can devastate the livelihood of India's vast rural population, many already struggling under a burden of debt. The country can do little about the monsoons, but aims to protect itself and farmers better against drought. - Manipadma Jena
(Mar 13, '13)
Karzai gives Hagel a tour d'horizon
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got an early taste of the Afghan political soup at the weekend - with bitterness a predominant flavor and ladled out in strong measure by President Hamid Karzai. Hagel's denial of dealings with the Taliban was thin gruel. If he and the US are really concerned with Afghanistan's post-withdrawal future, they should let Karzai get on with his job. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 11, '13)
Afghanistan a minefield for the innocent
At least 45 people on average lose their limbs every month to deadly anti-personnel mines in Afghanistan. Under the UN's Ottawa Convention, the land is supposed to be free of unexploded ordinance by the end of 2013. But as victims being fitted with prosthetics are all too aware, the process of clearing the devices is painfully slow in one of the most mined countries in the world. - Esmatullah Mayar
(Mar 11, '13)
India piles up old promises in Dhaka
Bangladesh keenly anticipated a visit by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, only the second such visit in 40 years, with high hopes of key issues such as water sharing and border killings. On his departure after three days, Dhaka was left as he arrived, with only promises to show. Meanwhile, the killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border guards continue. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Mar 8, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
The alchemy of transition in South Asia
The failure of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal must not diminish attempts to create a robust transitional justice mechanism in Nepal. Blood on the streets in Dhaka may be used to undermine reparative measures in Nepal's transition to justice, but it is imperative that political classes are prevented from turning Bangladeshi "lead" into the pernicious "gold" of a general amnesty. -
Michael Van Es
(Mar 8, '13)
India squeezed by financial repression
India's recent budget demonstrated the extent to which the government resorts to financial repression of its citizens, companies and financial corporations, distorting savings and investment and damaging growth. Yet its extortion and profligacy leaves health and education spending trailing that of many poorer countries. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 8, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Time for India's right to look within
India needs a strong right-wing to counter the dominance of the Congress party. As the right's representative at 2014 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party under likely prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi must get its act together and emerge from a cacophony of indistinct policies. A first step would be the BJP declaring a sincere belief that India is not just for Hindus. - Tridivesh Singh Maini and Arko Dasgupta
(Mar 7, '13)
After Tamil Tigers, fishers face poachers
Fishing boat captains off the Jaffna coast in northern Sri Lanka once faced the peril of being mistaken for Tamil Tigers during the separatist conflict. That ended with the defeat of the Tigers in 2009. Now the boats face another danger from skirmishes with powerful Indian fishing trawlers illegally poaching in their thousands. - Amantha Perera
(Mar 7, '13)
Iran to set up oil refinery in Gwadar
Pakistan will this month give Iran the go-ahead to build the energy-deficient country's largest oil refinery at Gwadar. The prospect of a petroleum hub at the strategically important port will give impetus to Chinese investments there, though plans to push on with the Iran-Pakistan pipeline are sure to rile the US.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Mar 6, '13)
Kerry, Hagel and us
While Beijing may welcome US Secretary of State John Kerry's concerns that Washington's Asian rebalancing strategy "creates a threat" where there wasn't one, past accusations from new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that India opened a "second front" in Afghanistan still stick in the craw in Delhi. Instead of fretting over pitfalls in the Obama-era "course correction", India and China should instead focus on creating new traction in their bilateral engagement.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 6, '13)
Baloch leaders face vote dilemma
Politicians in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province are divided over parliamentary elections scheduled for May, with some seeing a chance to influence national politics and others planning to boycott the poll in solidarity with the Baloch independence movement. Unless Islamabad withdraws security forces implicated in thousands of "enforced disappearances", proponents of participation are likely to lose.
- Abubakar Siddique
(Mar 6, '13)
Pakistan plunged into election dilemma
Violence that erupted after the funerals of Shi'ites killed in bomb blasts in Karachi on Sunday is raising pressure on authorities to sanction army control in cities hit by attacks from Sunni militants. Yet the military pursuit of terrorists that is increasingly being demanded would itself imperil the upcoming elections. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Mar 5, '13)
Terror strikes switch to Karachi
Karachi has become a new focus of terror in Pakistan after twin blasts left their deadly mark in a Shi'ite-dominated community on Sunday. As the southern port city emerges as another "sectarian flashpoint" following attacks by Sunni militants in Quetta, the surge in violence is opening fears that the campaign for the upcoming general election could be marred by more blood. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Mar 4, '13)
COMMENT
Bangladesh finds just a touch of Arab Spring
The ongoing Shahbagh protest that has spread far and wide in Bangladesh shares its social-media spark with the Arab Spring. There the similarity ends. The movement does not just have an uneasy relation with Islamist parties; from its inception it has borne the seal of secularism and tolerance. - Peter Custers
(Mar 4, '13)
Chidambaram shows
dangerous
skills
in budget measures
Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget appears a pragmatic balance between necessary economic measures and recognizing populist and political pressures going into an election year. Any praise for that should be moderated by recognition of his remarkable and dangerous sleight of hand. -
Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Mar 4, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
US pivot puts Pakistan in a bind
The US's "pivot to Asia" will again force Pakistan to choose between two powerful and competing benefactors, this time with more significant regional implications than during the Cold War. While diplomatic and financial support has flowed freely from Beijing in recent years, rapprochement with Washington suggests Islamabad will make a familiar choice. - Hamza Mannan
(Mar 4, '13)
Strikes on tribals a mistaken panacea
Deaf ears have met the demands of tribal people displaced by the battle between Pakistan's military and militants in the country's north-west. The army's Operation Rah-e-Nijat is having its own devastating consequences on the lives of ordinary people, and the constant barrage of US drone attacks has left them in a permanent state of shock. - Khan Zeb Burki
(Mar 1, '13)
PAKISTAN'S MILITANT DEBATE
Momentum grows for Taliban talks
Pakistan's political parties and tribal leaders have called for a grand tribal jirga as a platform to conduct negotiations with the Taliban that could secure more peaceful conditions for upcoming general elections. Yet as Islamist militants vow to continue a campaign of terror on either side of the porous border with Afghanistan, many believe the Taliban can't be trusted.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Mar 1, '13)
India survey lacks
a policy compass
Despite some brilliant analysis in India's annual survey of the economy, were are none the wiser for policy fixes to the current malaise beyond that the focus should be on improving savings and reviving investment. By toeing Delhi's line, the tone of the report appears overly optimistic.
- Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Feb 28, '13)
Modi proclaims his premiership star
Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, arguably India's most progressive state, has left his many detractors in little doubt that he intends for his rising star to reach for the prime minister's office at 2014 general elections, as part of a consensus ticket for right-wing parties. While he has many backers, it's unclear if they'll come along for the ride. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Feb 26, '13)
Prudence is key for India's bank hopefuls
The Reserve Bank of India, ending years of deliberation, has set out guidelines for new banking licenses that indicate a willingness to open the sector to any aspirant, irrespective of their current line of business, if certain risk criteria are met. Even so, a rash of new banking names should be expected soon. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Feb 26, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Caste and corruption in modern India
Indian literary academic Ashis Nandy claims his apparent description of disadvantaged castes as the country's most corrupt was intended to illustrate that these groups do not have access to graft as an "equalizing force". The freedom-of-speech debate sparked by Nandy's comments ignores their more important significance for power equations developing in modern India. - Niladri Ranjan Ray
(Feb 25, '13)
Pakistan steps up raids on Sunni terrorists
Pakistan stepped up its operations against the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group that is terrorizing the Hazara Shi'ite community, with a pre-dawn raid on Friday in Quetta in which four Sunni militants were killed. As assurances of more action from authorities to Shi'ite leaders convinced Hazaras to end a protest and bury their dead, the militants vowed to continue their genocidal attacks. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Feb 22, '13)
Budget wishlist for a naked India
The Indian economy has been caught naked by the slump in global growth, and the goverment's politics-driven missteps have done liitle to correct the malaise. Here are some honest suggestions for cutting the fiscal and current account deficits, generating employment and kick-starting investment to spare blushes on next week's budget day. - Kunal Kumar Kundu (Feb 22, '13)
Slush fund claims set India awhirl
The latest scandal rocking India is the $6.8 million worth of kickbacks allegedly from Italian defense company Finmeccanica for winning a bid to supply VIP helicopters. Questions are flying over why the government is dragging its tail to chase recipients, while the Italians have arrested suspected bribe-givers. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Feb 21, '13)
UN looks, Sri Lanka ducks
The Sri Lankan government is getting ready to ward off the annual attempt to scrutinize its rights record, and clearly does not like the storm gathering as the US prepares a critical resolution for next week's annual UN Human Rights Council meeting. Calls for a boycott of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, set to be held in Sri Lanka in November, have already been made - and will likely help President Mahinda Rajapaksa's projection as a strong-willed leader. - Amantha Perera
(Feb 21, '13)
Nowhere is safe for Pakistan's Hazaras
As the Hazara community in Quetta mourns loved ones lost on Saturday in the second militant bomb attack inside five weeks, it appears that nowhere is safe for the Shi'ite minority. While Hazaras call for military rule to stop the carnage, questions are coming thick and fast about the Pakistan government's failure to protect citizens from the scourge of sectarian violence. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Feb 20, '13)
Balkanization of Afghanistan beckons
A Taliban return to power in strategic provinces following the US's planned 2014 withdrawal could see American efforts to arm and train Afghan security forces quickly crumble as the country again descends into warlord-led enclaves or civil war. Such a descent would also mark the failure of US efforts to strike a balance between quarrelsome ethnic interests inside Afghanistan and the Pakistani security state's wildly divergent localized and regional objectives. - Derek Henry Flood
(Feb 20, '13)
Indian demographic dividend lacks spark
The coming explosion in India's working-age population has long been hailed as fuel for the global growth engine once China falters. But the demographic dividend requires the creation of meaningful job opportunities - something available data indicate India has failed at miserably. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Feb 20, '13)
Gwadar Port pain awaits China
China has taken control of Pakistan's strategically important Gwadar Port and appears poised to inject cash into the stalled project. While that helps the world's second-largest economy secure sea passage for oil, security concerns inland make the new operator cautious and incomplete links are a challenge. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Feb 19, '13)
Indian inflation eases
India's latest monthly inflation data shows a welcome and surprise drop to below 7%, according to the Wholesale Price Index. Consumers are yet to feel the benefit of easing price pressure, while the outlook is far from promising. - Kunal Kumar Kundu (Feb 15, '13)
Dhaka war crimes protest gains ground
Thousands of people who gathered in Dhaka on February 5 to demand the death penalty for all war criminals convicted of atrocities in the 1971 struggle for independence are still chanting. The mass protest gained ground in the past week as the government agreed to the passage of a bill that will allow sentences handed down by the Supreme Court to be challenged. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Feb 15, '13)
Pakistan court stands by democracy
Pakistan's top court has burst the balloon of conspiracy theories about a possible general election delay and derailment of the democratic process that gripped the country by dismissing a demand by Pakistani-Canadian cleric Tahirul Qadri that the country's Election Commission be reconstituted before the vote due in the next few weeks. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Feb 14, '13)
Execution sparks demands in Kashm
The hanging of Mohammad Afzal Guru for his role in the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament in which nine people died has evoked strong reactions in Kashmir, including the demand for his body. His mortal remains are buried in the grounds of New Delhi's Tihar Jail, with those of another Kashmiri "martyr" hanged in 1984, for whom an empty grave still awaits in Srinagar. - Athar Parvaiz (Feb 12, '13)
Afghan poll cash goes to waste
Hundreds of millions of dollars spent in
Afghanistan to secure voter registration targets a problem that exists more in
the heads of foreign observers than on the ground. A small amount of money (and
lots of finger ink) aimed at halting ballot stuffing would be more effective way
to ensure a credible presidential election next year. - Inge Fryklund (Feb 7, '13)
'54 countries' helped in
rendition support
A report from New York-based Open Society detailing the fates of 136 known
victims of the CIA's rendition program for suspected terrorists puts Asian
countries among the 54 nations it says share with the US responsibility for
human rights abuses perpetrated since the 9/11 attacks.
(Feb 6, '13)
Pakistani Taliban take aim at
vote
A frenzied political atmosphere in Pakistan ahead of general elections this
year is being exploited by the Pakistani Taliban to suit their extremist,
sectarian agenda. As Islamabad's civilian government locks horns with the
courts, the Taliban are stepping up attacks in the northwest and
destabilization efforts in the southern port city of Karachi. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Feb 6, '13)
Protest never ends at Indian
nuclear plant
A government crackdown on protests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the
southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has done nothing to deter the hundreds of
men, women and children from nearby villages who are leading a campaign to
stall operations. While the agitators are winning wide support from
environmentalists, commissioning of the plant has been delayed. - K S
Harikrishnan
Traditional farming holds Indian
aces
Hunger is becoming more a fact of life for rural communities in India as
erratic rainfall, shrinking water bodies and severe soil degradation make water
supplies increasingly unreliable. Yet people in the mountainous Eastern Ghats
are beating climate change and obtaining a year-round supply of healthy food by
falling back on the wisdom of traditional farming. - Manipadma Jena
(Feb 1, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
India-Israel anti-terror axis
evolves
Secretive counter-terrorism and defense ties between India and Israel have
burgeoned since the United States-led "war on terror" helped create an
"informal" axis in 2003. By conflating its Kashmir and Pakistan struggles with
what the Indian foreign ministry calls Israel's "cross-border terrorism
problem" - the Palestinian resistance - New Delhi gains access to high-tech
weaponry, surveillance equipment and sophisticated training. - Ninan Koshy
(Feb 1, '13)
India, Bangladesh ease
cross-border travel
New agreements between India and Bangladesh will boost travel and business
while an extradition treaty means bad news for criminals on the run.
Asylum-seeking insurgents remain safe for now, and more hard work is required
before trickier cross-border issues are resolved. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Jan 31, '13)
Pakistan's judiciary bites back
Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry reacted angrily to claims
the Supreme Court overstepped its powers in ordering the arrest of Prime
Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf over corruption claims that the court has taken it
upon itself to investigate. The war of words suggests that the outgoing
government is preparing to confront the judiciary head on. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Jan 31, '13)
India makes cautious
start on
interest cuts
A cut in Indian interest rates was widely anticipated, but not so a reduction
in the cash banks have to deposit with the central bank. A fall in inflation
helped the decisions, but pre-election government spending will probably keep
the brakes on future cuts. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Jan 30, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
India at 64: A struggling
democracy
Despite the economic progress on show as India last week marked its 64th
Republic Day, corruption in public office and delays to development of
education and infrastructure - as well as continuing caste and communal hatred
- underline how far the country has strayed from the inclusive, prosperous
vision of its original constitution. - Sunil Kumar
(Jan 30, '13)
Pakistan's graft chief confronts
court
A resignation threat by Pakistan's anti-corruption chief Fasih Bokhari over
alleged Supreme Court interference in his work has deepened political turmoil
in the country. Claims that the court has exerted "unnecessary pressure" in
high-profile graft cases imply this contributed to the death last week of a key
investigator. But Bokhari has long taken the government's side in its struggle
with the courts. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Jan
29, '13)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
The longest war
The rape and gruesome murder of Jyoti Singh on a New Delhi bus has triggered
the kind of outrage worldwide that women - and men - have needed for millennia.
In the United States, there is a rape a minute, and the death toll from men
murdering partners and former partners tops the casualties of 9/11, yet no one
declares a war on this particular terror. It is time we all did. - Rebecca
Solnit (Jan 29, '13)
Torture claims spotlight Afghan
prisons
Calls for reform of Afghanistan's detention facilities are intensifying after
publication of a damning UN report that says a growing number of prisoners are
being tortured in government custody. The report concluded that almost
one-third of all NATO detainees recently transferred to Kabul have been abused
by methods including electric shock, beatings and threats. - Frud Bezhan
(Jan 29, '13)
Kashmir spat shows
political-military splits
Hawkish Indian Army elements responded to public fury at the reported beheading
of an Indian soldier at Kashmir's Line of Control with threats to retaliate,
while politicians in New Delhi played down the incident, insisting
rapprochement was on track. Pakistan's embattled government accused India of
war-mongering over the incident, though its army likely has more incentive to
do so. - Priyanka Bhardwaj (Jan 29, '13)
Afghans mull three lousy options
Only one thing is certain in 2014: it will be a year of military defeat for the
United States. For Afghans, the outlook is less clear - will their country
after withdrawal of US troops be governed by compromise, torn by further
conflict, or suffer collapse? Many fear a turn for the worse; others fear
everything will stay the same. Everyone is quick to say that it's anybody's
guess. - Ann Jones (Jan 28, '13)
A US-China entente in Afghanistan
Beijing, largely uninvolved in the US-led war in Afghanistan, may be preparing
for a more hands-on approach as Western forces withdrawal, an increased role
Washington is manifestly encouraging. China has the resources that could make
all the difference in a revival of the Afghan economy, and stability in the
broader Central Asia is central to its own future. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Jan 28, '13)
India's middle class
comes of political age
India's young middle class, inspired by social wrongs and the online
revolution, is evolving into a real political force. The issues taken up range
are wide-ranging, but the target remains the same - ineffective and corrupt
governance. - Kunal Kumar Kundu (Jan 28, '13)
Death raises pressure on Zardari
The Pakistan Supreme Court, opening another front in its political battle
against the government, has launched an inquiry into the death of an official
investigating the graft scandal that last week prompted the court to order
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's arrest. While the court says evidence
points to elite involvement in Kamran Faisal's death, his report's supposed
support of the premier muddies the water. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Jan 25, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Identity crisis in ethnic India
Competing agendas between three major ethnic groups - the Kuki, Naga, and
Meitei - underpin continued instability in Manipur, India's historically
restive northeastern state. While there is no quick fix to long-simmering
problems over identity and land ownership, New Delhi can no longer ignore
tensions that are holding back development. - Nehginpao Kipgen
(Jan 25, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Time to bridge Sino-Indian
border differences
Unless India and China can put themselves in each other's shoes, the Arunachal
Pradesh border will remain the subject of one of the world's most intractable
disputes. Delhi must appreciate that compromises suggesting Tibetan
independence are a no-go area, while Beijing must understand why India can't
back down. The longer both sides escalate the crisis, the bigger the cost to
Asia. - Namrata Goswami and Jenee Sharon
(Jan 24, '13)
Islamabad claims hollow protest
victory
An electoral agreement between the Pakistan government and protest leader
Tahirul Qadri succeeded in getting Qadri's mass support off Islamabad's
streets. By making it possible for non-political stakeholders to decide on
interim leaders before general elections expected in May, the pact does little
for democracy and further opens the door to military and judicial dominance. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Jan 24, '13)
Pakistan off limits for US drone
rules
Senior Obama administration officials are reportedly reaching compromises over
the terms of a so-called "playbook" on the use of drones against suspected
terrorists. That the rules won't immediately apply to the Central Intelligence
Agency's Afghanistan-based program against targets in Pakistan, where most
drone strikes have occurred, is stirring growing controversy. - Jim Lobe
(Jan 23, '13)
Indian protesters demand death for
rapists
The explosion of street protests and insistent calls for justice that followed
the fatal gang-rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus last month failed to deter
violence, with a series of similar attacks reported across India in the past
few weeks. As a result, crowds have gone from demanding justice to demanding
the death penalty for rapists. - Sujoy Dhar (Jan
22, '13)
India, Pakistan peer into the abyss
The recent bloody clash between India and Pakistan in Kashmir was more a brawl
than a threat of nuclear confrontation. Military leaders in Rawalpindi in
particular showed restraint, and diplomacy was given its opportunity. India and
Pakistan peered into the abyss of the future and decided they didn't like it -
but it is too much to expect new thinking at this juncture. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Jan 22, '13)
Qadri calls off Islamabad sit-in
A four-day standoff between the Pakistan government and demonstrators in
Islamabad has ended with Islamic cleric Tahirul Qadri claiming victory for the
protesters. While the government has aceeded to Qadri's demands to press on
electoral reform, the agreement was more a face-saving oppurtunity for both
sides. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Jan 18, '13)
Let the Kumbh carnival begin
Uttar Pradesh authorities have pulled out all the stops for a successful Maha
Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering of people on the planet which
started this week and expected to draw millions of pilgrims of all creeds for
ritual bathing in the Ganges. As well as posing a logistical nightmare, the
55-day event is also a great social lubricant and a boon for businesses. - Neeta
Lal (Jan 18, '13)
Dhaka secures $1 bn Russian arms
deal
A US$1 billion loan agreement with Russia allowing Bangladesh to obtain air
defense systems, Mi-17 transport helicopters, armored vehicles and infantry
weapons underlines the close ties between the two countries, and may show
Dhaka's preference for not alienating India by turning to China for such help.
- Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Jan 18, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
International law haunts
Nepali war criminals
The arrest in the UK of Nepali Colonel Kumar Lama for alleged torture committed
during Nepal's civil war, has provoked an outcry from the country's leaders,
who say it violates sovereignty. For any Nepali who believes in human rights,
fundamental freedoms and justice, this proof of the power of "universal
jurisdiction" in punishing war criminals should be cause for celebration. - Gyan
Basnet (Jan 17, '13)
Arrest order piles pressure on
Zardari
A Supreme Court order for the arrest of Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz
Ashraf while a mass movement demands the government's resignation bolsters
views that a three-pronged attack backed by legal, military and political
circles is seeking to bring down President Asif Ali Zardari. By taking the
lead, the judiciary is threatening the democracy it's sworn to uphold. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Jan 16, '13)
Afghanistan's forgotten refugees ...
Afghan refugees have escaped the Taliban after being driven from their homes as
a direct result of the West's geopolitical misadventures, but are nonetheless
the lowest priority for the US's resettlement programs. Thousands have been
left in limbo in Turkey as Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi refugees sail through the
asylum system - and no one is explaining why. - Zaid Hydari
(Jan 16, '13)
XX-treme societies offer little hope
Asia's war on women, seen in the genital mutilation, denial of human rights and
infanticide stretching from Pakistan to South Korea, is as responsible for the
Delhi gang-rape as the perpetrators. Being born with XX chromosomes is pure
chance, but from that point on Asian females face a pre-determined course
designed to shut them out from public life, boardrooms and corridors of power.
- Chan Akya (Jan 15, '13)
Islamabad lacks Tahrir Square focus
Cleric Tahirul Qadri is heralding an "age of change" in Pakistan as tens of
thousands of his supporters occupy the country's administrative heartland in
Islamabad after marching against the ruling elites. Plans to replicate the
Tahrir Square focal point of the Egyptian revolution in the Pakistani capital
accompany Qadri's demands, but it is there that comparisons with the Arab
Spring end. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Jan 15,
'13)
India should beware influx of
megastores
India's decision to open its retail sector to international competition bodes
ill for small stores and the local range of outlets. It also opens the way to
corrupt practices, with events already following a path seen in America and the
UK. Gainers will be highly paid lawyers and tax-avoidance experts. - Brian
Cloughley (Jan 15, '13)
Pakistan's Hazaras killed and
cornered
More than 100 people were killed in violence in Balochistan last year, and on
the night of January 10 alone, more than that died. They were killed because of
their ethnicity and the Hazara community's history of conflict with Sunni
Muslims. With space for minorities shrinking, more than 25,000 of the 600,000
Hazaras in Pakistan have fled in the past decade. The rest are increasingly
cornered. - Zofeen Ebrahim (Jan 15, '13)
Taliban prisoner release
high risk, low-reward
The Afghan government is preparing to release thousands of Taliban officials
and rank-and-file members while pushing Islamabad to free others, such as
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and some of the group's most dangerous characters,
in a bid to convince the militants that the road to peace runs through Kabul.
It is a high risk move with little likelihood of reward. - Frud Bezhan
(Jan 15, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Blaze-hit Kabul stores race deep
freeze
Kabul merchants are facing a race against the onset of deep winter to rebuild
and recover from a devastating market blaze that wiped out their stock and
destroyed their cash holdings. Adding to their injuries, the government is
failing to help them recover while demanding that store-owners now buy
insurance policies. - Ali M Latifi (Jan 14,
'13)
Pakistan shakes up bombed
Balochistan
Pakistan has imposed governor rule on insurgency-hit Balochistan, ceding to
nationwide protests led by the minority Shi'ite Hazara community, who refused
to bury the bodies of the victims of last week's sectarian terror attacks in
Quetta unless the provincial government was dismissed. Islamabad says the
military could be brought in to restore order. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Jan 14, '13)
India's factories lose festival lift
India's industrial production, which boomed in the festival month of October,
shrank in November as consumers, confronted by high inflation and interest
rates, kept their purse strings tight. Banks are taking on more risk, and small
companies are suffering. - Kunal Kumar Kundu (Jan
14, '13)
Assam's bloody 'fun' draws thousands
A centerpiece of the annual harvest festival in Guwahati, capital of India's
Assam state, the famous bulbul fight sees red vented bulbul birds claw, peck
and pin down rivals in a bloody battle of wills. Although this, and buffalo
fights held in nearby Nagaon, are traditions dating back to the Ahom kings of
the 1200s, some Assamese say the cruelty must stop. - Ranjita Biswas
(Jan 14, '13)
RAVI SHANKAR: AN APPRECIATION
India weeps for sitar virtuoso
From the start of his illustrious career until his death a month ago, it was
Ravi Shankar's depth of talent and willingness to experiment that maintained
worldwide interest in his music. Bringing together Eastern and Western culture
with innovation and skill, he also offered the world its first glimpse of India
as land of renunciation and peace. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Jan 11, '13)
Dhaka gives nod to US$3 bn metro
link
The Bangladesh government has given the go-ahead for a US$2.7 billion elevated
metro rail project that will help to speed-up commuter travel in the sprawling,
often grid-locked, capital. Commuters are hoping it will progress faster than
the much-delayed, similarly priced, Padma Multipurpose Bridge. - Syed Tashfin
Chowdhury (Jan 11, '13)
India wades into the South China Sea
Hawkish pronouncements by an Indian admiral declaring that the country will
enter the South China Sea "when it is required to" are an expression of growing
naval and political ambition, as a Southeast Asian-US alliance also gradually
forms against China. By pushing back an increasingly aggressive Chinese
posture, India risks rapprochement on other fronts. - Richard Javad Heydarian
(Jan 10, '13)
'So many people died'
For all the ink spilt in tortured comparisons about whether Afghanistan is
"Obama's Vietnam", and likewise Iraq as a repeat of the American debacle in
Southeast Asia, there is one way the analogy really does apply: misery for
local nationals. Civilian suffering of the kind experienced by Vietnamese who
had to bury the bodies of relatives, is the defining characteristic of modern
war, even if only rarely whispered in the halls of power. - Nick Turse
(Jan 9, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Why freedom is a war-cry in
Kashmir
Indian outrage over a now infamous gang-rape in New Delhi is in contrast to the
wide indifference to the plight of Kashmiris who have suffered similar
atrocities on a vast scale, as well as massacres and disappearances, at the
hands of Indian security forces. As Kashmiris seek escape from repressive laws,
humiliation and occupation, they are offered pronouncements and measures that
only increase the demand of azadi - "complete freedom". - Syed Zafar
Mehdi (Jan 9, '13)
Indian medicines for Iran's
patients
Western sanctions and Tehran's priorities in dispensing cash have left a dearth
of medicines in Iran's health services. That is creating an opportunity for
India's pharmaceutical industry, if New Delhi can balance commercial challenges
with its desire to please Washington. - Vijay Prashad
(Jan 8, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Asia should go within, not ape the
West
Economic dynamism and a position as a crucible for tensions between global
players give Asia a crucial place in the multipolar world emerging as centuries
of American and European domination stutters to an end. Across the region, new
centers of political power should adapt ancient civilizations and culture to
conditions today rather than import failed Western economic and social models.
- Francesco Brunello Zanitti (Jan 7, '13)
Nuclear power fears rise in India
The likely commissioning this month of a nuclear power plant in southern India
is renewing concern over the country's approach to ensuring appropriate safety
measures, with even India's highest judicial bodies expressing alarm. - K S
Harikrishnan (Jan 7, '13)
Pakistan's elite dodge tax burden
Pakistan politicians pay practically no tax while keeping the country dependent
on international loans and handouts. Sixty percent of the cabinet and two
thirds of its federal lawmakers paid nothing to the government last year, a
measure of the difficulties facing new tax chief Ali Arshad Hakeem in his war
on evaders and offenders. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Dec 21, '12)
Can private universities lift India?
The performance of India's higher education institutions is a cause for alarm,
particularly since the "English advantage" is being squandered as China pulls
ahead in research and world rankings. While private universities and colleges
are growing, they remain focused on profit over results and offer no solution
to stagnation and mediocrity. - Pushkar (Dec
18, '12)
Remittances soothe scourge of
militancy
Young migrants fleeing Pakistan's tribal area in search of employment abroad
are sending back a steadily increasing stream of cash. The remittances ease the
burden of unrelenting militancy, while exponential growth in demand for migrant
workers in the Gulf states provides a stark contrast to the desperate decline
in opportunities at home. - Ashfaq Yusufzai (Dec
18, '12)
Afghan nomads hold out in Kabul
Nomads in a makeshift settlement in Kabul say three people have been killed as
they hold off authorities seeking to evict them from land approved for
construction of luxury homes for lawmakers and government buildings. The
incident is the latest land dispute to involve the Kuchis, a predominantly
Pashtun people who have been forced by war and drought to stop roaming high
plains and relocate to settled areas. - Frud Bezhan
(Dec 17, '12)
Kashmiri separatists scramble for
relevance
Hurriyat was once the voice of Kashmir's resistance movement, but its inability
to resolve some of the disputed region's most basic political questions saw it
sidelined by more mainstream parties. Now the alliance of separatist political
parties and religious and social groups is making a Herculean effort to reclaim
some relevance. - Athar Parvaiz (Dec 17, '12)
Pakistan slashes key interest rates
Pakistan has cut its benchmark interest rates to the lowest in more than five
years, thanks, the government says, to consistently falling inflation. Critics
claim the data is being fudged in the build-up to the next general election. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Dec 17, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Democracy takes root in Bhutan
As Bhutan prepares for its second parliamentary elections, the past five years
shows a strengthening of the "effective components" of democracy. Institutions
have matured, new political parties and lobby groups have emerged, and freedom
of expression has blossomed. However, the state's reticence on issues such as
Nepalese refugees and human rights suggest the process is far from complete. - Medha
Bisht (Dec 12, '12)
Afghans seek divorce from marital
traditions
Growing objections to financially crippling marriage customs, such as
exorbitant dowry fees and lavish wedding banquets, have fueled a national
campaign to abolish the debt-generating traditions. The Women's Affairs
Ministry is also targeting norms like marrying off girls to settle family
feuds, and is getting support from influential clerics. - Farangis Najibullah
(Dec 11, '12)
India gives nod to foreign shops, at
a price
The final hurdle to foreign direct investment in India's US$500 billion retail
market has been cleared. Consumers are likely to be beneficiaries (where
regulations permit), but last week's debate exposed the whole exercise as a
waste of valuable parliamentary time that India can scarce afford. - Kunal Kumar
Kundu (Dec 10, '12)
Sino-Indian ties border on the
amicable
China's deep strategic interest in maintaining stable relations with India can
be seen in last week's progress on disputed borders, as changes in the
political and economic order open up vital new areas for cooperation. While
domestic pressures demand that neither side backs down on fronts like the South
China Sea, even such contradictory signals underline the emergence of a
better-natured rivalry. - Brendan O'Reilly (Dec
10, '12)
Afghanistan's competitive pilgrims
Some Afghans returning from the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca say their act
of piety is being tainted by an obligation to lay on lavish festivities for
friends and relatives on their return, with critics calling ostentatious
lunches and car convoys un-Islamic. Others proudly say this is the perfect
opportunity to spend big and "walk tall among cousins". - Hijratullah Ekhtyar
(Dec 6, '12)
Children left out in 'no-aid' India
India, after years of strong economic growth, declares itself comfortable with
the United Kingdom's decision to halt sending it direct aid. Yet the South
Asian country's emergence still leaves more than 60 million stunted by lack of
good food. - A D McKenzie (Dec 6, '12)
Afghan cricket goes to school
Cricket, one of the few sports to survive Taliban rule, is set to become a part
of the curriculum in Afghanistan's schools. With many Afghans besotted by the
sport, the idea of compulsory classes to help the country become a force in the
cricketing arena is being enthusiastically welcomed, and there is even talk of
achieving test-playing status. - Farangis Najibullah and Safiullah
Stanikzai (Dec 5, '12)
Afghans claim Taliban received
airstrip cash
Funds from international forces to build an airstrip in Afghanistan's Logar
province found their way into Taliban hands, according to Afghan officials.
Disagreements over land ownership and the then-governor's role in the arrest
and release of alleged suspects in the payments chain may explain why NATO is
unwilling to comment. - Abdul Maqsud Azizi (Dec
4, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Afghanistan takes stock of
rebuilding
Reconstruction teams in Afghanistan have done a great job in overcoming many
challenges to deliver international development projects that have boosted
provincial livelihoods over the past decade. As a grateful nation taking over
complete ownership of the infrastructure, the first step in the transition is
to obtain a complete inventory of the assets put in place. - Ajmal Shams
(Dec 4, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Indian Internet freedoms in a
maelstrom
Draconian reactions to Internet activity, such arrests over "likes" on social
media pages and charges of sedition for cartoons, raise serious questions over
the government's ability to cope with technological trends that are
increasingly encroaching on the political world. While it's necessary to
monitor cyberspace to prevent crime, the methods used undermine India's
democracy. - Sunil Kumar (Dec 3, '12)
Evolving HIV strains worry Indian
scientists
New HIV strains believed capable of producing deadlier virus loads are
threatening India's health landscape. The identification of a major strain
undergoing rapid evolutionary modifications raises implications for disease
management, and doctors estimate that for many of the 2.4 million people
infected with the virus in India, anti-retroviral therapy will need to start
sooner. - Ranjit Devraj (Nov 30, '12)
Passport to a Greater China
A contentious map printed in China's latest passport, which shows Taiwan and
disputed South China Sea and Himalayan territories as part of a sovereign
China, reflects raw ambition that jars with Beijing's efforts at economic
integration with Asian neighbors. While India sees the passports as a blueprint
for future strategic encirclement, Southeast Asian countries fear that stamping
them represents acquiescence to Chinese claims. - Derek Henry Flood
(Nov 30, '12)
Asia short of respect for law
Northern European countries lead the world in fairly applying laws, according
to an annual index. East Asia also ranks highly, while South Asia trails the
regional field and Cambodia ranks as the worst in Asia gauged by a number of
categories. A predicate for the eradication of poverty, violence, corruption
and threats to civil society, the rule of law is acknowledged as essential to
good governance. - Jim Lobe (Nov 29, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Can India stay the course in
Afghanistan?
The discourse on Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the United States in 2014
is increasingly shifting to the role of India. New Delhi's recent attempts to
protect the gains of broad-based engagement are seen by Pakistan as flexing
muscle, but will prove measures of its committment to stay the course for a
stable Afghanistan. - Shanthie Mariet D'Souza
(Nov 29, '12)
India fails test of 'knowledge
economy'
Expectations that a surge in science and engineering graduates would see India
become an economic success powered by knowledge have ignored a higher education
system characterized by some as a "complete mess". - Pushkar
(Nov 29, '12)
Bangladesh blaze points
to hell of garments trade
The worst industrial blaze in Bangladesh's history, claiming more than 100
lives, has renewed international concern over safety standards at clothing
factories that supply richer countries with cheap garments and over conditions
that can leave workers unpaid for more than three months. - Syed Tashfin
Chowdhury (Nov 27, '12)
Execution met with silence in
Pakistan
The air in a sleepy town in Pakistan last week grew thick with apprehension as
Ajmal Kasab, the only militant to be captured alive among those who carried out
the three-day terror rampage in Mumbai in 2008, was hanged. The execution in
Pune's Yerawada Central Jail was claimed "a victory for India", but few in the
town from which Kasab hailed were in a mood to talk. - Zofeen Ebrahim
(Nov 27, '12)
Dangerous silence shrouds drone war
An outpouring of Western sympathy for Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist
shot for supporting girls' education, was in stark contrast to silence over the
innocent victims of United States' drone attacks. Mounting civilian casualties
from the drone war and its flaunting of international law have dire long-term
consequences for the United States, yet Americans are in the dark on the
subject.- Fouad Pervez (Nov 26, '12)
Iran renews support for Pakistan
pipeline
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has vowed that the planned Iran-Pakistan
gas pipeline project will be completed by 2014 despite United States opposition
- with the proviso that Islamabad gives assurances it will not back away under
US pressure and that it will complete the project on time. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Nov 26, '12)
Pakistan faces loss of EU trade deal
Pakistan may lose a newly secured trade agreement with the European Union
following the execution of a soldier found guilty by a military court of
murdering an officer. The pact, approved last week, was reached after two years
of haggling and came with human rights conditions attached. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Nov 21, '12)
China searches for an Afghan 'pivot'
Just as Chinese companies have won the most lucrative oil contracts in Iraq,
Beijing may reap the massive potential of Afghanistan's natural resources
without deploying a single solider. China's economic focus is paying dividends,
while the overly militaristic strategy of the United States is incredibly
costly and largely ineffective. - Brendan O'Reilly
(Nov 20, '12)
Baloch militancy resurfaces in Iran
A resurgence of Baloch nationalist militancy in Iran may be on the horizon, led
by a previously unknown group that has emerged after the threat was supposedly
neutralized. The timing of the latest attacks carries some validity to Tehran's
finger pointing at foreign forces, including the United States, Israel, and
Saudi Arabia, for fomenting instability. - Chris Zambelis
(Nov 20, '12)
Pakistan moves against tax-dodgers
The Pakistani government is to offer an amnesty to tax dodgers while seeking to
catch a further 1.3 million people in its very small tax net. Top taxman Ali
Arshad Hakeem says he has the data to hit "politicians, businessmen, cricketers
or showbiz people", but Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf may just have eyes
on the next election. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Nov
20, '12)
Bhutan switches focus to China
Concerned it will one day be swallowed by its giant neighbors, Bhutan is
aggressively seeking a bigger role in international relations. For the first
time, it is turning to China to meet its ambitions, raising security fears for
long-term friend and ally India and forcing a re-evaluation in New Delhi of
diplomacy towards countries in its traditional sphere of influence. - Vishal
Arora and Vijay Simha (Nov 19, '12)
Obama doubles up on Myanmar visit
The United States doubled up on President Barack Obama's historic visit to
Myanmar today by lifting its ban on imports from the Southeast Asian nation.
Myanmar also aims to boost trade with neighboring Bangladesh, though it
acknowledges it first has to "improve conditions" in Rakhine State, where
Muslim Rohingyas are being driven from their land. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Nov 19, '12)
EU grants Pakistan flood deal
Two years after floods devastated Pakistan, the European Union has agreed to a
trade concessions package initially intended as relief aid that would help the
important textiles sector get back on its feet. An energy crisis will limit
manufacturers' ability to take advantage of the deal, which comes with many
strings attached. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Nov
16, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Indian liberalism has a rough week
A literary controversy rooted in sensibilities over how the majority treat
Muslims in India has underlined an paradox for local liberals: while they tend
to prove their liberalism by upholding their secular credentials, those
championing the rights of minorities have a keen sense of a discomfort over the
latter's intractable zeal for religion. - Mosarrap Hossain Khan
(Nov 16, '12)
India's inflation pressures stay
high
India's latest inflation data offers superficial evidence that price rises are
easing, with revisions likely to reverse the initial picture. Even with
weakness across the economy, the Reserve Bank of India has little scope to cut
interest in the near future. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Nov 16, '12)
Indian-Americans climb US political
ladder
Tulsi Gabbard's election victory this month made her the first Hindu American
congresswoman (she will take the oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita). The
representative hails from the same state - Hawaii - as President Barack Obama,
and in the not-too-distant future six more Indian-Americans may be joining her.
- Dinesh Sharma (Nov 14, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Pakistani rhetoric blind to reality
Words such as blasphemy, enforced disappearances, ethnic violence and grinding
poverty were conspicuously absent when Pakistan presented its human-rights
record to the United Nations. Normal Pakistanis may have wondered what country
the delegation was describing. No matter the token legislative changes made by
Islamabad, life is increasingly hard for the majority. - Dawood I Ahmed
(Nov 9, '12)
Bangladesh boosts cash ties with
China
A series of agreements between Bangladesh and China will boost the South Asian
country's power sector and tourism industry, in deals certain to please Civil
Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan. Opposition leader Khaleda Zia is also
trying to get in on the act. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Nov 8, '12)
India performs fiscal deficit magic
India's first-half fiscal deficit showed a remarkable turnaround, thanks
largely to a revenue surplus in September. The secret lies in the country's
fuel subsidies - and some sleight of hand. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Nov 8, '12)
Pakistani terror toll fails to stir
offensive
Pakistan this year has witnessed numerous attacks on security forces and
politicians, bombing of schools, killing of civilians, and attacks on military
bases - all allegedly by armed groups including the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and
their affiliates. Yet there appears great reluctance to take the fight to their
territory in North Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan. - Zofeen Ebrahim
(Nov 8, '12)
China 'pivot' trips over McMahon Line
Beijing is looking for a "Western" pivot to counter the United States'
diplomatic and military inroads with its East Asian neighbors. The Central
Asian "stans" lacks disputed islands and the Seventh Fleet, but cozying up to
India will prove trickier. In particular, there is the contentious issue - and
shady history - of the hastily drawn McMahon Line and New Delhi's insistence
that it has historic legal standing. - Peter Lee
(Nov 5, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
India waits for democracy with
benefits
More than 60 years of nearly uninterrupted democratic rule in India has failed
to deliver good health and even moderate levels of human development for a
majority of people. That record hardly makes the country a glowing endorsement
for the benefits of democracy. - Pushkar (Nov
2, '12)
Pakistan's minorities fail to see
progress
The Pakistan government claims the past four years have been the most active
period for human-rights legislation in the past 65 years, with all citizens now
guaranteed equal rights and status. Independent groups say fear and
discrimination is still a fact of minority life. - Isolda Agazzi
(Nov 1, '12)
Taliban talk prospects dim, not dead
The facade has crumbled on the grand designs for political reconciliation with
the Taliban that gained traction after the 2009 "surge" of international troops
into Afghanistan to the extent that Afghan and Western officials view a
settlement as being years down the road. With talks suspended, however, the
Taliban is thought to be questioning the value of re-entering negotiations. - Abubakar
Siddique (Nov 1, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
The death of human rights in Nepal
The Nepali government's promotion of a colonel accused of crimes during the
country's 10-year civil conflict underlines an apparent lack of political will
to achieve transitional justice. Unless clear evidence of unlawful killings and
torture during the war is examined by a truth commission or investigation, the
country is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. - Gyan Basnet
(Nov 1, '12)
Kashmiris demand the right to
know
Whether forcing state officials to abandon extravagant trips by helicopter to
take to the bumpy road, or helping uncover possible corruption, the Right to
Information Act has proved an incisive tool for impoverished Kashmiris to find
a voice. Yet the law has is limits, and the Kashmiri government now stands
accused of undermining its power to the people. - Athar Parvaiz
(Oct 31, '12)
Crime bludgeons Karachi business
Organized crime in Karachi, with kidnapping and brutal extortion threats
against businesses already shackled by energy shortages, is taking a deepening
toll of Pakistan's economy. One result is a drastic two-thirds decline in net
foreign direct investment. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Oct 31, '12)
Drugs addict sons,
make
widows in Punjab
Rahul Gandhi, scion of India's political dynasty, kicked up a storm by pointing
to the indigestible fact that about 70% of male youths in India's traditional
bread-basket state of Punjab are addicted to drugs. The deadly trade and ready
profits to be made from illicit production has destroying once vibrant villages
and is a potential threat to national and food security. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Oct 30, '12)
SINO-INDIAN WAR: 50 YEARS ON
Ghosts of '62 can't rest in peace
Half a century after blood was spilled in the world's highest battlefield, the
brief Sino-Indian War is bitterly remembered in India and largely forgotten by
the Chinese public. As the borders fought over remain under dispute, and the
giant neighbors locked in a state of mutually assured destruction, fertile
ground for improvements in economic, political, and cultural ties is still
being lost. - Brendan O'Reilly (Oct 30, '12)
Yesterday: Beijing,
Delhi tread fine line
Sri Lanka's poor under the
weather
Sri Lanka's farmers are feeling the brunt of extreme weather as floods and
drought undermine their ability to survive. Even the country's urban poor,
their shanty houses built on land unwanted by others, are exposed to the
life-threatening and home-destroying flash floods. - Amantha Perera
(Oct 29, '12)
SINO-INDIAN WAR: 50 YEARS ON
Beijing, Delhi tread fine line
The 1962 conflict between India and China was in many ways a mere blip, limited
in time, range and use of force. The next time tensions reach breaking point,
war will not be confined to a disputed land border, will involve air forces and
navies, and will have repercussions for global security. All the more reason
for Beijing and New Delhi to avoid extreme rhetoric. - Chietigj Bajpaee
(Oct 29, '12)
Tomorrow: Laying the ghost of war
Malik takes on PIA challenge
Pakistani defence secretary Asif Yasin Malik is to take over as chairman of
loss-making Pakistan International Airlines following the resignation of his
predecessor after barely four months. Malik faces a tough job, including
getting some aircraft off the ground. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Oct 25, '12)
India risks unity with Naga deal
With the prospects of a peace deal with Naga insurgents looking better than
ever, Delhi now has the chance to end a long-running conflict that's been
fueled by geographic and cultural separation and the government's use of
extreme force. However, promises of greater autonomy and a pan-Naga social body
raise concepts that threaten India's federal structure. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Oct 22, '12)
Hall-Mark, Sonali scam
nets
highest arrest yet
Police investigating Bangladesh's biggest-ever embezzlement case, involving
little-known Hall-Mark Group and state-owned Sonali Bank, the country's largest
commercial lender, have made their highest-level arrest so far in a scandal
threatening to suck in leading political figures as well as top Sonali
officials.- Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Oct 22,
'12)
SPEAKING FREELY
New thrust to India-Australia
relations
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's recent visit to India provided a new
thrust to bilateral relations that have been in the doldrums for years. By
overturning the ban on uranium sales to India and paying attention to emerging
areas of cooperation, Gillard has create a landmark opportunity for progress on
many fronts. - Sudhanshu Tripathi (Oct 22,
'12)
Internet freedoms squeezed in
Kashmir
Authorities in Indian Kashmir have harassed web cafes, blocked popular websites
and questioned youths over social media posts in response to what the
government calls a "surge" in anti-Delhi protests. While students openly admit
posting pro-freedom slogans on the web, they say free thinking in itself should
not be a crime. - Athar Parvaiz (Oct 19, '12)
The alliance from hell
The United States and Pakistan are a classic example of a dysfunctional nuclear
family. While the two governments and their peoples become more suspicious of
each other with every passing month, Washington and Islamabad are locked in an
embattled embrace, an awkward post-9/11 relationship that neither can afford to
leave. - Dilip Hiro (Oct 19, '12)
Bad loans add stress to India's
banks
Non-performing loans in the Indian banking system are at their highest in six
years. They are set to worsen even more - and put further stress on banks - as
the economy slows and inflation takes its toll on industry. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
(Oct 19, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Telangana issue sparks more
turmoil
Long-held resentment among those seeking autonomy for Telangana in India's
Andhra Pradesh erupted into violent protests last month. Rooted in the British
colonial period and exacerbated by issues related to discrimination and water
resources, New Delhi needs to realize that this situation will not resolve
itself. - Francesco Brunello Zanitti (Oct 18,
'12)
India's aircraft carrier
hits
more troubled waters
Russia has announced that delivery of a reconditioned aircraft carrier will yet
again be deferred, to some time next year. India has voiced its "serious
concern" over the drawn-out and increasingly expensive project, especially
disappointing as Moscow's announcement comes on the heels of China's launch of
its own carrier, the Liaoning. Still, India relies heavily on Russia for
its military procurements, and can do little more than grumble. - Siddharth
Srivastava (Oct 18, '12)
India chases down new energy
supplies
India, facing a huge deficit in its indigenous energy production and with a
power sector struggling to pay for fuel imports as the economy tries to
maintain annual growth of 6.5%, is chasing down all possible sources of energy
supplies to achieve efficiency and meet demand. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Oct 17, '12)
A wake-up call for Pakistan's
broken society
Pakistanis are asking how could the Taliban, even though long known for their
atrocities, shoot a young girl for pursuing education declared as her right by
the Prophet Muhammad - and be allowed to do so by authorities aware of her
vulnerability. But the Taliban's rise has been at the behest of Pakistanis
themselves. As she fights for her life, Malala Yusafzai cries silently to her
compatriots to act now to save their nation - her nation - from these monsters.
- Karamatullah K Ghori (Oct 16, '12)
An Afghan test for civil
servants
Hundreds of candidates are facing difficult questions as Afghanistan rolls out
revamped hiring procedures for positions in the civil service. Part of an
effort to change an entrenched culture of favoritism, the new tests aim at
finding the right people for posts ranging from lofty gubernatorial assignments
to modest secretarial roles. (Oct 16, '12)
India's first family comes out
fighting
Indian social activist Arvind Kejriwal can get no closer to the heart of the
establishment after turning his high-profile corruption campaign on the first
family of politics. Yet his target Robert Vadra is coming out fighting and can
count on heavyweight support mustered by his mother-in-law, Congress party
chief Sonia Gandhi. - Siddharth Srivastava (Oct
12, '12)
Indian 'reforms' fragile
in face of poor growth
The Indian government's recent, and at times radical, reforms could
give a much-needed boost to the economy - a ray of light quickly clouded over
by revised International Monetary Fund and other international forecasts for
the country's growth. - Kunal Kumar Kundu (Oct
12, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Ashes of Sino-Indian war stay warm
Half a century after the China and India war in the eastern Himalayas,
aggressive posturing by both sides has seen increased militarization of the
region - Beijing plans to deploy new fighters to support its 300,000 troops
there, and Delhi has stationed Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles in Arunachal
Pradesh. The region continues as a Sino-Indian flashpoint. Frameworks are
required that can deal with misperceptions on both sides. - Namrata Goswami
(Oct 10, '12)
US losing IED war in Afghanistan
Media focus on the increasing frequency of "insider" attacks on US troops in
Afghanistan ignores rising levels of amputation injuries caused by Taliban
improvised explosive devices. The trend reflects the failure of costly
high-tech and counter-insurgency strategies to destroy IED networks, with even
senior generals now admitting this "may be impossible". - Gareth Porter
(Oct 10, '12)
Shadow blocks Modi's road to
power
Progress in Gujarat under Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the last 11 years has
seen the state welcome big-ticket investments and achieve higher than average
income and literacy rates, leading to speculation he'll be given the chance to
replicate the success nationwide. Doubts over Modi's involvement in a 2002
pogrom could deny him the Muslim support needed to become premier. - Siddharth
Srivastava (Oct 9, '12)
India delivers risky
half-promise to overseas insurers
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest efforts to show he heads a reformist
government may have reached a limit with its pledge to increase limits of
foreign direct investment in the insurance sector. Parliamentary opposition, of
less consequence for earlier reforms, could kill the move, with dire
consequences. - Swati Lodh Kundu (Oct 9, '12)
Debt bricks in Pakistani
'slaves'
Illegal bonded labor conditions in Pakistan's Punjab province have kept
families enslaved for generations as workers on brick kilns. The treatment of
the workers, paid a pittance for back-breaking work and traded like
commodities, reminds of chapters in history thought closed. - Irfan Ahmed
(Oct 5, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
India renews Taiwan embrace
India is promoting itself as an alternative market for Taiwan to mainland China
as a thaw in cross-strait relations eases Beijing's sensitivities over such
flaunting of the "one-China" policy Delhi adheres to. The newfound push for
improved trade ties with Taipei also reflects a new Indian assertiveness as its
counters a Chinese encirclement strategy of building ties with countries like
Pakistan and Myanmar. - Anindya Batabyal (Oct
4, '12)
India split on retail opening
The entry of foreign companies into India's retail markets may create as many
as 10 million jobs in three years, claims the government. Shopkeepers are less
enthusiastic, fearing for their futures even as farmers and consumers are
promised better deals. - Sujoy Dhar (Oct 3,
'12)
Moscow beckons Pakistan's Kayani
Historic rapprochement between Russia and Pakistan, seen in Pakistani army
chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's visit this week to Moscow, rests on mutual angst
at US plans for a long-term Afghan presence. Moscow and Islamabad know
Washington could deploy a missile defense system there that neutralizes nuclear
capabilities, and that regional rivals may welcome an extended US stay. Russian
President Vladimir Putin hopes Central Asian visits will rally the "near
abroad", but elbowing the US out is growing harder by the day. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Oct 2, '12)
Kelkar rejection underlines
India's fiscal imprudence
The Indian government's rejection of the fiscal consolidation roadmap set out
by its own Kelkar Committee signals clearly that pre-election populism will
stay and the economy will pay the price. In the longer run it is the poor who
will suffer as growth stalls and inflation rises. - Swati Lodh Kundu
(Oct 2, '12)
Iron ladies of Indian democracy
While India's women leaders are equally ruthless in politics, they differ
greatly in style. Chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee's down-at-heel
image is carefully crafted to appeal to the poor, while the glamour of Uttar
Pradesh chief Mayawati presents her dalit caste with an aspirational figure.
Rising above all in ability to make male politicians squirm is Congress leader
Sonia Gandhi. - Siddharth Srivastava (Sep 28,
'12)
Vaccines get past Taliban,
finally
A Taliban ban on vaccinations in Pakistan's tribal regions amid claims of a
United States ploy to render the recipients impotent and infertile left
hundreds of thousands of children living under the shadow of polio and other
preventable diseases. Earlier this month, health officials mounted their own
offensive against the ban. - Ashfaq Yusufzai (Sep
28, '12)
The Ganges: All plan, no action
The failure of a decades-old Indian government initiative to clean the Ganges
has seen the sacred river become more polluted than ever, with 1.3 billion
liters of sewage pumped into it daily. Poor planning and corruption have turned
the waters into a lethal cocktail of waste, raising concerns for the 2 million
who ritually bathe in them daily. - Neeta Lal
(Sep 27, '12)
India's cheap drugs under threat
India's role as a vital supplier of drugs to the developed world is being
undermined by international agreements and an impending free-trade pact with
the European Union. A further threat is growing from the takeover of local drug
makers by multinational companies. - Martin Khor
(Sep 27, '12)
Afghanistan prognosis looks
gloomier
The rise in insider attacks and reduction in joint operations between Afghan
and international forces are just two signs that things are not going well for
the United States and its allies with an eye on the 2014 withdrawal. A
pessimistic report by one of the most astute observers of the US war adds to
the gloom, and even die-hard Republican supporters of US intervention suggest
throwing in the towel. - Jim Lobe (Sep 26,
'12)
China's security czar surveys Hindu Kush
An historic visit by Politburo member and security czar Zhou Yongkang to
Afghanistan on Saturday signaled China's readiness play a much larger role
there following the 2014 Western withdrawal. Zhou's focus on futue
reconstruction, security and economic cooperation was unlikely to have been
missed by the United States or Russia. Beijing's interest gives Kabul added
leverage with Washington, and has momentous implications for China's
"all-weather friendship" with Pakistan.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 26, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
A notice warranting reform in India
India's police have a new method of making cash - the non-bailable warrant -
related to minor offences that require suspects stay overnight in
mosquito-infested cells, unless an "arrangement" is made. It is a symptom of a
legal system so corrupt and backlogged that most authorities - from cops to
lawyers to petty court officials - have a little work on the side. - Siddharth
Srivastava (Sep 26, '12)
Anti-corruption dream split down the
middle
Those wishing to battle the rampant graft in Indian politics by the
establishment of a Lokpal, or independent ombudsman, have been opposed at every
turn by the political class. Now the latest pro-Lokpal crusade, India Against
Corruption, has been put in jeopardy by a rift between social activists Anna
Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal that will likely ease pressure on the government. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Sep 25, '12)
India tries easy fix for huge power
debt
A plan to restructure as much as US$35 billion of debt linked to India's state
electricity boards is a measure of the risk posed to banks and the broader
economy. It will do nothing to resolve the core problems of skewed tariffs,
local government control, and populist financing.
- Swati Lodh Kundu (Sep 25, '12)
Karachi in the grip of extortionists
Kidnapping for ransom and protection rackets by the "bhatta mafia" are endemic
in Karachi, leading to calls from fearful shopkeepers for the imposition of a
night curfew in the southern Pakistan port city. As extortion runs out of
control, the Taliban have also been demanding a slice of the pie. - Zofeen
Ebrahim (Sep 25, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Seeking truth and reparation in
Nepal
A proposal to grant amnesty to serious violators of human rights in Nepal's
decade-long civil conflict as a founding provision for a truth and
reconciliation commission seeks to deny justice to victims of the insurgency.
If the transitional justice process contradicts the rule of law, there is
little hope of Nepal becoming a a viable democracy. - Gyan Basnet
(Sep 25, '12)
Honda boost for Bangladesh
Honda is set to start a joint venture in Bangladesh for assembling motorcycles.
The move could open the way for further diversification of overseas investment
in Bangladesh beyond the all-important garments industry. - Syed Tashfin
Chowdhury (Sep 25, '12)
UPA enters into risky alliance
Threats to the existence of India's United Progressive Alliance raised by the
withdrawal of key member the Trinamool Congress have eased after Uttar
Pradesh's Samajwadi Party lent the ruling coalition its support. Samajwadi
Party leader Singh Yadav's objections to UPA reform plans and his support for a
regional "third front" suggest the partnership could be short-lived. - Priyanka
Bhardwaj (Sep 24, '12)
India grinds in the US pivot
The United States has been exhorting India to move from a "Look East" policy to
an "Act East" policy as part of the strategic reset towards the Asia-Pacific.
Happy to avail itself of US military technology but reluctant to raise tensions
with China, India is understandably cautious yet resistant to remaining
non-aligned. - Ninan Koshy (Sep 24, '12)
Taliban outflanks US war strategy
The Taliban appear have achieved a strategic coup with the US-NATO decision to
halt joint operations with Afghan security forces amid the rising toll of
deaths caused by locals turning on their foreign mentors. Though not strictly a
product of Taliban infiltration, the fear and mistrust the deaths have sown may
embolden the militants. - Gareth Porter and Shah Noori
(Sep 21, '12)
Ratan Tata powers down
The two-decade reign of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, now coming to a close,
has been a microcosm of Indian industry's failure to make a mark in the world.
He had the power to create an Indian Mercedes or Rolls; instead, what do we
have? The Nano. - Raja Murthy (Sep 21, '12)
India's politics rule - economy be
damned
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee's negative reaction to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's go-ahead for overseas interests to pour funds into India's
retail and aviation sectors is only too typical of how self-serving politicking
has pushed aside rational economics in the tussle for popular support before
the next general election. - Swati Lodh Kundu
(Sep 20, '12)
India's retail reform of little
substance
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to allow foreign investors into
India's retail trade banishes the notion of "policy paralysis" while in reality
giving little to overseas retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco - so taking
the wind out of opposition protests. Manmohan may have pulled the proverbial
fast one. - Raja Murthy (Sep 18, '12)
Russia's 'big bang' in Central Asia
Moscow this week is beginning high-level talks with its Central Asian allies as
it prepares for life after the expected withdrawal of NATO troops from
Afghanistan in 2014. Pakistan is also high on the Kremlin's agenda, with
Vladimir Putin scheduled to visit in early October. At the same time as Moscow
and Islamabad coordinate a strategy for a stable Afghanistan, Russia's grand
Eurasian project is taking shape from Minsk to Kabul. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Sep 18, '12)
Manmohan returns to path of reforms
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's go-ahead for economic reforms such as
opening the organized retail sector to international companies like Walmart and
Tesco may have rejuvenated the credentials he earned decades earlier as a
reforming finance minister. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Sep 17, '12)
General ducks Afghan scandal
evidence
Lieutenant General William B Caldwell, a former NATO commander in Afghanistan,
denied he blocked a corruption probe into "Auschwitz-like" conditions at a
military hospital because US congressional elections were looming at the time.
The hearing where Caldwell made the claim itself reflects lack of interest in
Washington in a scandal significant enough to warrant national debate. - Gareth
Porter (Sep 14, '12)
Blaze wakes Pakistan to industrial
realities
The deaths of nearly 300 people in a garment factory blaze in Karachi have
exposed the grim, corrupt intimacy of industrialists and authorities in
Pakistan's industrial and financial hub. Laws and regulations are ignored and
unions curbed in the pursuit of profit, already squeezed by extortionist gangs
and dire energy shortages.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Sep 14, '12)
Dhaka lets billions of aid dollars
lie unused
Bangladesh is failing to use as much as US$16 billion in foreign aid even
though it ranks among the world's poorest countries. Corruption and
inefficiency are cited as just two of the reasons for much-needed cash being
unused and important infrastructure projects being delayed. Meanwhile yet more
foreign funds are heading to Dhaka. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Sep 13, '12)
Tribals blame Haqqani offshoot for
blast
A bomb-blast that took the lives of at least 14 Shi'ites and injured score more
in a busy Pakistani tribal area marketplace has left furious Shi'ite and Sunni
elders pointing the blame at an offshoot of the US-proscribed Haqqani Network,
which earlier vowed not to slaughter innocent Muslims. - Malik Ayub Sumbal
(Sep 13, '12)
India scores in space
The Indian Space Research Organization has demonstrated its ability to deliver
in spite of being a state-owned entity with its 100th successful mission,
sending French and Japanese satellites into orbit from its space center north
of Chennai. Fifty-eight more money-earning missions are already on the books,
but the big target is Mars. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Sep 13, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Food justice for women in India
About three-fourth of India’s population living in the rural sector is reeling
under abject poverty, illiteracy, ill-health, unemployment, and other factors
that lead to a low quality of life. A gendered analysis of poverty reveals not
simply its unequal incidence but also that both cause and effect are deeply
gendered - women face a greater risk of poverty than men. - Kiran Sharma
(Sep 12, '12)
No easy peace for Myanmar
A Norwegian government initiative in support of talks between the Myanmar
government and ethnic armed groups can be seen as a positive sign for potential
peace. Critics are yet to be placated by Oslo's claims that funding cuts
affecting several aid groups are unrelated, and faltering efforts to take on
board community organizations may indicate the process is inherently flawed. - Brian
McCartan (Sep 12, '12)
Manmohan's rendezvous with history
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, credited with the reforms of 20 years ago that
put India on the path toward a modern and prosperous economy, has more recently
been getting a rough ride at home and in the Western media for his government's
slow progress against the many problems that still plague the nation. The fact
remains that Manmohan's India stands at an important geopolitical crossroads as
a "swing state" between China and the United States.
- Dinesh Sharma (Sep 12, '12)
'Last Indian village'
embraces lost Tibetan link
Mana, a town of uncertain age near India's border with Tibet, has managed to
retain its unique ambience and culture born millennia ago near the Himalayan
passes that link those two lands. Here and there the 21st century intrudes, and
the journey to the village can be perilous. But all in all, it reminds the
traveler that sometimes the hard road is the most rewarding. - Raja Murthy
(Sep 12, '12)
Justice at last over Gujarat
massacre
India's judicial process 10 years to pin down then reach a verdict on people
responsible for mass killings in Gujarat in 2002. One name is notably missing
among 32 who have now received long jail terms for their role in the Naroda
Patiya massacre - that of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi - leaving him
free to pursue his goal of reaching the country's highest office. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Sep 11, '12)
Afghanistan overdoses on military
bases
The remarkable number of military bases scattered across Afghanistan make it
probably the world's most thoroughly militarized country. All that might has
been unable to decisively defeat a rag-tag, minority insurgency of limited
popularity - yet that is not stopping the creation of yet more outposts, bases
and associated facilities. - Nick Turse (Sep
11, '12)
India's Eurasia strategy
leverages Iranian ports
India's strategic and economic interests are driving its growing involvement in
building Iran's infrastructure in the face of United States wishes to isolate
Tehran. Central to its plans is the development of Chabahar port and its links
north to Central Asia. - Roman Muzalevsky (Sep
11, '12)
Detention powers in flux in
Afghanistan
The United States has been using internment in Afghanistan for many years, with
people held for "imperative security reasons" rather than being accused of a
crime and tried in a court. Afghan authorities have set up their own similar
regime to prepare for a handover of detention power. Who in future will be
held, who released, and what might happen in between is raising concerns. - Jasmin
Ramsey (Sep 10, '12)
US risks chaos on 'new Silk Road'
As North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces prepare to leave Afghanistan,
broad cooperation between the major (China, Russia, Iran et al) and minor
powers in the region is essential to avoid chaos that is in no one's long-term
interests. The chances of this happening are diminished by the US obsession
with security over development. - Fabrizio Vielmini
(Sep 7, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Popular protests rile India's
leaders
Warnings from India's Congress Party leadership that endemic protests "flirt
with chaos" seem an attempt to glaze over the genuine grievances drawing people
onto the streets. A more likely source of chaos is the failure of politicians
on all sides to devise coherent policies that address economic and political
issues. - Pushkar (Sep 7, '12)
COMMENT
Karzai culture spreads
disillusionment
The international community's failure to pressure the Hamid Karzai government
over its refusal to decentralize power has spawned a culture of
unaccountability that is fueling the insurgency as disillusionment spreads
among average Afghans. If the West can expand elected government and help
democracy mature, it could yet rescue its Afghan legacy. - Inge Fryklund
(Sep 6, '12)
India's coal output failure
An independent audit has uncovered massive mismanagement of India's coal
sector, but even this indictment does not reveal the whole picture, which is
black indeed. While demand for electricity soars, production of coal, the
predominant fuel for generating power, has stagnated amid populist policies to
keep prices artificially low. Meanwhile costly imports are on the rise. - Siddharth
Srivastava (Sep 6, '12)
Afghanistan's base bonanza
A reminder of the profligate madness of war comes with news that to withdraw US
combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the US military may have to
send in extra troops to sort out the logistics for more than $60 billion worth
of equipment in its vast network of bases. It's not so much an urge but a surge
to depart. - Nick Turse (Sep 5, '12)
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ATol
Specials
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Syed Saleem Shahzad in
Pakistan's Swat Valley (May '09) |
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By Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Jan '09) |
Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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A series by Syed Saleem Shahzad
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