The missing ingredient in India’s soft power “We have allowed,” today’s Pax Indica contends “our misunderstanding of secularism to keep religion out of the foreign policy toolkit.” Excerpt: No one bats an eyelid when someone argues that we should use democracy, free-market capitalism, socialism or “South-South solidarity” to promote India’s interests abroad. But mention religion ...
To oppose the UID project on the grounds that it makes government services efficient is bizarre Over in the op-ed pages of The Hindu there’s a surreal op-ed by R Ramakumar that argues that Aadhaar, India’s new Unique Identification (UID) project will lead to an invasive state security-wise and a retreating one development-wise. Now reasonable ...
It’s up to you to find your partner In my Business Standard column today argue that “the (East Asia Summit) club only provides the dance floor. India will have to court its dancing partners on an individual basis.” Excerpts: [Although] the EAS is set to become the pre-eminent regional grouping, bilateral alignments remain in a ...
Illegal immigration can only be tackled by allowing legal migration In an email exchange last week, Sanjoy Hazarika, author of one of the best books on India’s North East, told me that he has been advocating work permits for the last two decades. The proposal needs a serious consideration now. [The] blunt, impractical and half-heartedly ...
The United States can only delay making the real strategic decision It was interesting to see, towards the end of Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars, members of the Obama administration realise that the United States is in the same place today as it was in early 2009. Recent events validate that assessment. Frustrated with the Pakistani ...