Search

Announcing the deaths in Parliament nullified the goodwill the Centre had earned by engaging with the families of the missing Indians.

We live in a day and age where justice is, more often than not, meted out on the streets and our courts are busier waging internecine war amongst themselves. The average citizen finds himself left out in the cold with neither justice nor governance within his grasp.

India is among the countries in the world that are most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming. While there are notable efforts for both mitigation and adaptation, these have failed to consider issues of gender equity even as evidence shows that women and girls bear the disproportionate burden of climate change. This is a gap that needs to be bridged, given the complex interlinkages between climate and gender that encompass livelihoods,

A study undertaken by ORF on the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) found that there is a need to work on the loopholes of the scheme and take corrective measures for its better implementation.

The Indian parliamentary delegation's visit to Sri Lanka was not expected to fast-track a solution to the ethnic issue. Yet, it has facilitated continued Indian engagement on the subject with various stake-holders, the Government, the TNA and the UNP Opposition.

Nepal needs to be proactive in safeguarding the tourism industry centred around Mount Everest

US President Donald Trump is desperate to pull American troops out of the war-torn country, even if it means clearing the way for the Taliban's ascent to power in Kabul

To those gathered in Marrakech to respond to what is inarguably one of the most important political and economic challenges of our times—climate change

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is popularly known as Bangabandhu or Friend of Bengal. He became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1972. He was a close friend of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel in October was different for its content and long-term implications. A careful analysis of his statements and speeches in Amman, Ramallah and Jerusalem indicates a new Indian template for its engagement with the Middle East. While some of his observations were a reiteration of the traditional Indian positions since the early 20th century, they also signal a more nuanced approach t

Mullah Omar's latest statement shows that despite his amicability to the reconciliation process, the prospects for the new Afghan president to achieve a breakthrough with the Taliban are quite remote.

Instead of dealing with the Mullaperiyar dam controversy as a geo-political conflict, it should be tackled as an institutional, legal and administrative failure in the region. Equitable distribution of the benefits of the shared resource is not an impossible task to achieve.

It makes more sense to enable domestic multi-brand retailers to become strong and see how they develop the village infrastructure and supply chains. It would be risky to usher in oligopolistic global retailers without any strings attached and allowing them to take a big slice of India's huge retail market.

New security challenges confront India today. Newer areas of conflict and contestation are emerging on the horizon. These challenges call for dynamic and autonomous response mechanisms.

As the Pakistani People's Party (PPP) Government struggles to get the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) passed into legislation, an international team of IMF experts are scheduled to meet with political parties this week to be the mediators for a much-needed consensus.

BRICS and SCO are two key non-Western multilateral platforms where India and Russia cooperate closely. In the past decade, both these countries have seen shifts in their foreign policies, which has also impacted their approach towards multilateralism. At the same time, BRICS and SCO have also seen their initial agendas widen to include a greater engagement with regional and global issues, including the creation of a multipolar world order. Along

The future of the internet is by no means simple, and that the deeper the analysis became, the more complicated it would be, according to Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google.

The Mumbai serial train blasts that killed over 200 persons on July 11, 2006 is the most serious attack on the Indian state and its people since the attack on Parliament in December 2001. To assure the people that they will be protected, the government should immediately formulate a National Counter-Terrorism Strategy, create a separate Ministry of Internal Security affairs.

Terrorism follows no rules and is not likely to disappear suddenly. Counter-terrorism can be harsh but is required to follow some rules. We need state-of-the-art intelligence but we need the freedoms. It is always going to be a difficult choice.

The demolition man has been halted. It seems that Mumbai will have to wait for that gleaming, polished look. Its dream to look in the mirror and say Shanghai has been abruptly broken.

Municipal governance has once again taken centre stage in Indian polity. There is a current re-shaping of narratives within the national government to make local governance effective. It is realised that deficit in the delivery of urban services results in chaos, which forms the basis for citizens doubting the functioning of the local government.

The process of reforms in the electoral system to ensure electoral integrity has began, but much remains to be achieved. Ultimately, electoral integrity could be restored only by the will of the people and it is in people's power to do so.

When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf speaks, he gets lots of attention in Washington DC and other capitals in the western world. For the past three years, he has been saying that he was determined to root out terrorism from the world. He was quickly dubbed as a staunch ally by the Bush administration.

Disappointed at the lack of progress in resolving the Kashmir issue through the Indo-Pak composite dialogue, Gen Pervez Musharraf is reported to have said, ¿Let me give another bombshell, I propose, one way of moving forward.... Take three towns, Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramula. Let all the military move out of the cities to the outskirts. (We) will ensure there is no militancy inside....

The October 8 earthquake devastated large parts of Kashmir on both sides of the border, and left thousands dead and millions homeless. It also exposed the Pakistan Army's abysmal lack of experience in handling civilian disasters, a clear absence of higher leadership in coordinating and conducting rescue and relief operations in areas that have been traditionally trodden by the troops.

The internal security situation in southern Thailand, which has seen a recrudescence of long dormant Muslim anger against the Government since the beginning of this year, has again taken a turn for the worse with the death of six Muslims allegedly due to firing by the security forces outside a police station in the Narathiwat province on October 25,2004,

The political weight of the Muslims is undeniable in Uttar Pradesh. With nearly 18% of the population, they potentially constitute one of the largest consolidated vote banks, notwithstanding the larger Hindu community, which is highly fragmented along caste and class lines.

The form of engagement between India and Africa should be defined by the idea of long-term mutual benefit and sustenance, and not merely by development and aid-giving.

The opening up of Myanmar has added a new strategic value to the Bay of Bengal. Isolated for decades, Myanmar is actively engaging the world's major players in redefining its geopolitical identity today. This has further encouraged naval exchanges, exploration of energy resources and development of connectivity infrastructure in a vital littoral of the Bay. Within this evolving context, this paper attempts to examine the implications of these cha

The upcoming by-elections in Myanmar on April 1 have generated a lot of hype and justifiable attention. The polls have also generated a lot of expectations, but may not deliver much in real terms. However, in terms of trends and moods, it could be a pointer to the future.

A delegation of Myanmar civil rights groups was of the view that civil society groups could be used as a catalyst for social change in their country. They hoped that the civil society would be able to play a critical role in further transforming the seemingly changing political system of the country.

The opening of Myanmar, which till recently was considered a black hole, has unfolded a new situation, with that country becoming an important bridge for India looking northwards, eastwards and into the Bay of Bengal region.