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The Nepalese revolution is only the latest manifestation of the power of the people in compelling dictatorial forces to yield. In February 1986, the Philippine people had brought down a dictatorship and restored democracy in their dramatic four-day People Power Revolution.

The United Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN-M or the Maoists), the single largest party in Nepal's Constituent Assembly, held its much-awaited sixth plenum at Palungtar in Gorkha district on November 21.

Ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa-colleague, Tensing Norgay, set their foot on the summit of Mt. Everest 60 years ago, the desire of the alpinists the world over to scale the world's highest peak has grown vigorously.

As China exerts greater pressure on the Communists-led Government in Nepal to curb all anti-Chinese activities emanating from its soil, those Tibetan refugees wanting to transit Nepal or seeking refugee status are having rough days ahead.

As Nepal sees rising tensions on the political front, New Delhi cannot design temporary solutions which can hardly bring lasting peace in the country.

The road ahead in Nepal's fragile political landscape is becoming much bleaker with increasing power tussle. While Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is insisting that he will hand over power only to an elected government.

Amid all political and economic impasses Nepal¿s incumbent Government under Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, announced ¿amnesty¿ to the Maoist insurgents on December 18, 2003 and called them to surrender along with their weapons, relatives and friends before February 12, 2004.

After a long spell of mistrust among political actors, the peace process in Nepal has returned to a constructive and progressive stage. This week the Maoist-led government of Dr Baburam Bhattarai ordered the Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force to take total charge of Maoist cantonments, the former fighters and their weapons.

Among the many areas of cooperation and assistance between India and Nepal, a very important one is that of power. Nepal has a huge potential for generating hydropower but is constrained due to the lack of supporting infrastructure as well as its geography.

As Nepal is set to go to polls on 19 November, the political scenario in the country is turning increasingly foggy. Technically, the people of Nepal should be looking forward to the polls and the prospect of a new Constitution.

It is almost certain now that the proposed Constituent Assembly (CA) election in Nepal, slated for June 21, is a remote possibility, given the lack of cooperation from the opposition forces to the Interim Election Council headed by Chief Justice Khil Raj Rehmi and the delay caused in finalising election-related processes.

The recent arrests of some of India's top terrorists along the Indo-Nepal border indicate the vulnerability of the porous border between the two neighbours. More importantly, it reflects on the bilateral cooperation in intelligence-sharing and joint-operations,

The tussle for supremacy and one-showmanship between Maoist Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Babauram Bhattarai is indicative of the internal weakness of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

Baburam Bhattarai's resignation from the post of vice-chairman of the Maoist party has brought intra-party rivalry to the fore once again, adding to the worries of the party chairman, Pushpa Kumar Dahal alias Prachanda.

Has paralysis struck Nepal? Or, would the country be paralysed next month? What awaits the 29-million people of the Himalayan kingdom? These are some of the questions which are being debated among knowledgeable circles and friends of the country.

Political parties in Nepal should preserve at any cost the newly-found consensus. All other contentious issues must be handed over to an independent body to deal with. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Disappearances Commission should be formed without delay to address the issues of grievances.

With the elections date to the Nepal Constituent Assembly now being announced, it is time for all political actors to unite for the larger cause. The poll announcement should be the beginning of a new rapprochement between the parties.

Despite former king Gyanendra's attempts to revive the golden days of monarchy in Nepal, it will not be an easy return given the monarchy's past role in muzzling the voice of democracy.

A well-known political scientist from Nepal, Prof. Lok Raj Baral, says that there is no convergence of ideology in Nepal now. He says that every political group has its own interpretation of liberal values and norms and the central leadership is unable to take its own decision.

This paper analyses the debate surrounding federal restructuring in Nepal and the position taken by various political stakeholders. It argues that an early political consensus on federalism is imperative; otherwise, the country may slip into greater ethnic conflict. Nepal is currently experiencing perhaps one of the most turbulent phases in its contemporary political history. In 2008, Nthe 240-year-old institution of monarchy—for long seen a

By most indications, India has arrived at a principled affirmation of net neutrality; the country must now turn its attention to its regulatory aspects. This essay examines whether the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can assume the primary role in enforcing net neutrality. It will trace the Commission?s short history to determine whether it has adequate jurisdiction and the strength of precedent to regulate the internet.

Like the Arab Spring, the netizen revolt was against a "perceived" threat to their empowerment. In this case, cheap access to the internet, which ironically is also one of PM Modi's promises to the entire nation.

The rail connectivity schemes in the Northeast, if implemented in a timely manner, would possibly achieve what decades of politico-administrative soft power and military hard power struggled to - bring about peace and economic development in a region embroiled in protracted ethnic conflicts.

Bangladesh needs full closure of the war crimes aspect of her history and a move away from fundamentalism that threatens it today. Bangladesh has to see the fulfillment of its Shahbag moment. The recent hanging of Mollah, is a process in that closure.

It may not mean much in terms of substance. Symbolic as it may seem, the more recent Spanish re-identification with the Franco-German European combine in the post-Iraq War era still has a message for the world. It has sent out fresh signals that multi-polarity is still alive and kicking, and a 'New World Order' may be yet to emerge years after the 'Cold War' ended - and is still going through the inevitable processes.

Lieutenant General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan's appointment as the new Chief of Bangladesh Army on June 25 has evoked a keen interest in India and elsewhere. There are two reasons for this interest in an other-wise routine succession--General Bhuiyan succeeded General Abdul Mobeen on his retirement.

The High Commissioner of Australia to India, H.E. Mr. John McCarthy, delivered a talk at ORF on "The new administration in Australia and Asia" on 22nd January, 2008. He gave a comprehensive account of the new administration's foreign policy.

The Iran nuclear deal could mark a strategic realignment between the US and its traditional Sunni allies in the region. The Arab countries have been vocal in criticising Washington's policies in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, which they say have given an upper hand to "Iranian allies".

The visit has been mutually beneficial, especially with the signing/renewal of MoUs, adapting the Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership vision, and India’s offer of financial assistance.

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Party has decided on retaining the Executive Presidency and ‘power-devolution’ under the existing ‘unitary State’ model

Like Moscow and New Delhi, Riyadh and Islamabad are old allies. There are numerous issues which will ensure that closeness between New Delhi and Riyadh will not cause bilateral ties to spiral downward. If Riyadh gives up on Islamabad, the latter will move closer to Tehran, something the Saudis want to avoid.

The Vietnamese are carefully balancing their ties. At one level they maintain healthy party-to-party ties with China and seek to boost trade and investment from China. On the other, they want to build better ties with the US, Japan and India to offset the Chinese.

The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan-based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important. Conceivably, the first test for the Modi government will be in Afghanistan.

For a nation such as India, which is among the countries most affected by terrorism, this is a time to take the lead in continuing to keep the spotlight on the menace of terrorism

New Delhi's active contribution to brokering a deal with Pyongyang would not only capture its growing stake in regional and international stability, it will also send a clear message to one of the prospective partners in that endeavour, Beijing, that Asia can only have a multipolar order.

India’s recent outreach to Sri Lanka and Mauritius suggest a renewed focus on the Indian Ocean region.

China’s bid to ‘internationalise’ the issue could push India to hurt its larger neighbour’s interests.

New digital age won't be as much fun if we don't talk about privacy. Privacy should not be limited to headline grabbing revelations about surveillance, Snowden and Sony; these conversations need to be mainstreamed to every citizen-consumer.

Having historical ties that date back to Nehru and Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi, both India and Japan and their leaders are aware that if the 21st century belong to Asia, India and Japan are the two nations that could really shape and guide this progress.

Winds of change in the Arab world left Israel initially distraught with the fall of Mubarak. But then the mood changed. Changes elsewhere were seen as popular quest for empowerment in which, for once, Arab-Israeli peace was not the centre piece.

India and Saudi Arabia are re-defining their foreign policy priorities: For New Delhi, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states are becoming key interlocutors in the Middle East. For Riyadh, India is one of the eight major powers with which it wants to forge strategic partnerships as part of its Vision 2030.

After a long delay, the government has finally announced the much awaited new foreign trade policy, with thrust export promotion, reducing trade transactions costs, e-commerce, services exports and ease of doing business. It is a welcome relief to see that economic reforms on the trade front are back on track and in full swing.

The Maldives became the second country in South Asia, after Pakistan, to enter into a free trade agreement with China. The Yameen government pushed the FTA through the nation's Parliament, the Majlis, stealthily, with the opposition not attending the parliamentary session.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's recent decision to give the US a miss needs to be seen in the context of the changing narratives of internet governance and the control for cyber resources.

For Afghanistan, it was the first time that it entered into any such strategic pact with any country as it did with India.