Why India’s offer of talks with Pakistan might not be that bad
So India has offered Pakistan “open-ended talks on all outstanding issues affecting peace and security”, emphasising counter-terrorism, at the level of the foreign secretaries. The offer was made two weeks ago and Pakistan is yet to respond. Also, Siddharth Varadarajan reports that “this is [...]
It is in India’s interests to be the subcontinent’s talent magnet
If you have been reading this blog for some time you might have noticed that The Acorn has consistently been against any measure that falsely conveys an impression that Pakistan is no longer a sponsor of international terrorism in general and proxy-war against India in [...]
The Obama administration is demonstrating poor judgement in appointing Robin Raphel to a sensitive position
“Despite nearly universal misgivings about the Taliban movement,” said the senior US state department official, “it must be acknowledged as a significant factor in the Afghan equation and one that will not simply disappear anytime soon.
The Taliban control more than two-thirds [...]
The strategic consequences of Manmohan Singh’s vulnerability
So he stood his ground, and didn’t make use of the lifelines that were created for him by the foreign ministry.
Whether he intended it or not, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made himself personally vulnerable. Whether he intended it or not, his Sharm-el-Sheikh lollipop is a gamble: if [...]
Reinforcing the Denial in Pakistani society is setback for India
Mirror-imaging is not uncommon in popular conceptions that Indians and Pakistanis have of each other. You hear it from Indian lofty-softies when they declare that Pakistanis are “people like us”. But while Indian mirror-imaging generally stops with an innocent notion of the nature of Pakistani society, [...]
Let’s call Pakistan’s bluff with Operation Markarap
In today’s Mint, Sushant and I argue that moving our troops back will compel the Pakistan army to act against the Taliban; and because it is incapable of doing so, will cause the United States to realise that there is no alternative to dismantling the military-jihadi complex.
Sooner or later, [...]
Did he snub or was he scared?
In another sign of new strains in the relationship, the head of Pakistan’s intelligence service, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, refused to meet separately with Mr. Holbrooke and General Mullen, who had requested a meeting, according to Pakistani officials and an American official, who sought anonymity because he did [...]
Calling out the Financial Times’ anti-India prejudices
The editors of Financial Times have time-and-again demonstrated an anti-India bias that is unfathomable. Or it is perhaps a ‘poison-pill strategy’ to prevent Anil Ambani or Vijay Mallya from buying over the paper and casting out the condescending snobs who sit on its editorial board. If these are strong [...]
Overstating the power of Washington’s lobbyists
As headlines go, this one at ForeignPolicy.com scrapes the bottom. India’s opposition to President Obama’s plans to include the Kashmir brief in the special envoy’s portfolio was neither secret nor directed specifically against Richard Holbrooke. So to describe India’s actions as a “secret war on Holbrooke” is factually incorrect, demonstrates [...]
India’s outrage over David Miliband’s gross insensitivity and atrocious behaviour was near universal. After a scathing critique of Mr Miliband’s words and antics, a Mint editorial held that "Miliband’s misadventure in India is unlikely to have any lasting impact on relations between India and his country; it will, however, leave a bad taste for some [...]
Recent Comments