BUSINESS
How Indian Americans in Virginia may have derailed a second term for US President Joe Biden
Indian Americans constitute only one percent of the US electorate, but Virginia is a state where they have influenced state politics far in excess of their numerical strength or political fund-raising clout.
POLITICS
India’s reaction to the Bhutan-China MoU reflects a shift in its neighbourhood policy
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Thimpu in 2019, there has been a sea change in New Delhi’s attitude. It is a huge change from the Manmohan Singh government’s withdrawal of cooking gas and kerosene subsidies, piling immense hardship on Bhutanese people in 2013, and turning public opinion against India
BUSINESS
Shakti Sinha was a politician by instinct, and a street fighter for causes he believed in
Shakti Sinha’s role in the PMO became larger than life also because of his thoroughness. If AB Vajpayee was meeting someone new, Sinha went over that visitor’s antecedents with a fine toothcomb. No wonder that Vajpayee has never been caught out posing for a photograph with a dubious character
INDIA
There’s a diplomatic crisis in the Indo-Pacific and all eyes are on India to save the day
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar succeed in keeping the Quad’s focus on the issues which its leaders took up in March summit, and include more such subjects for the common good, they would have succeeded in insulating it from the storm unleashed by the AUKUS
POLITICS
The ‘September 11 mindset’ and the heavy price to pay for it
In nearly two decades since 9/11, the ‘September 11 mindset’ has gained global acceptance as reflected in several defensive or pre-emptive wars. These wars began in Afghanistan in October 2001, escalated to Yemen a year later, spread to Iraq in March 2003, grievously hurt Lebanon in Israel-Hezbollah fighting in 2006, and has since engulfed Libya, Syria and many more countries
POLITICS
Crisis in Afghanistan turns the spotlight on Central Asia
The Central Asian republics can influence events on the ground in Afghanistan in a way Nato never could, except with brute military force
BUSINESS
US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a busy night in New Delhi back in 1979
The departing US forces, like the defeated Soviet forces, did not learn from the history of a deep-seated Afghan resolve not to tolerate any foreign invasion throughout its history
BUSINESS
UNSC presidency a chance for India to highlight its 5-S approach
India has a new Panchsheel that will guide its UNSC presidency next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appropriately summed it up as ‘India’s 5-S approach’: samman (respect), samvaad (dialogue), sahyog (cooperation), shanti (peace) and samriddhi (prosperity)
BUSINESS
The role of India’s foreign ministry in the 1991 economic reforms, and how it has adapted since then
India’s economic diplomacy has to pull itself up by its bootstraps to keep up with global challenges
POLITICS
100 Years of CPC | Explaining a changing China through its foreign office
Chinese diplomatic practices and interactions hardly changed in the first half of the 100 years of Chinese communist diplomacy. It was not until Beijing became a member of the United Nations in 1971 that its communist rulers had full exposure to global diplomatic practices
POLITICS
Benjamin Netanyahu’s exit and India-Israel ties
Loss of power blinds politicians to political realities. This appears to be as true for Benjamin Netanyahu as it has been for Donald Trump since he was ousted from the White House in last November’s election
POLITICS
As Costa Rica joins OECD, New Delhi must improve ties with San José
The absence of Indian representation in San José has inhibited people-to-people contacts which provide oxygen for relations with other Hispanic countries
POLITICS
Domestic consequences of Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Singapore strain’ statement
Singapore’s economic recovery, especially its aviation sector’s, would be in jeopardy if rumours like the one floated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were to go unchallenged
POLITICS
A restless US keenly watches Iran-Saudi Arabia talks
What is upsetting Washington about any reset of Iran-Saudi Arabian relations, midwifed by Qatar, is that the US is not in the driving seat of this initiative
BUSINESS
COVID-19 and Foreign Policy | India must review its policy of accepting foreign aid
This is a time for India to be discriminating in accepting aid and exercising discretion can avoid regrets in future. Accepting aid with which controversial Indian origin politicians abroad are associated has its risks
POLITICS
Modi’s foreign policy prescience with Cuba could help India's vaccine needs
As Cuba undergoes a leadership change, Narendra Modi’s decision to strengthen ties with Havana early into his prime ministership is likely to pay off
POLITICS
Why India and Pakistan will be closely watching political developments in Jordan
Jordan’s stability, rocked by the royal spat, is of interest to India in multiple ways. In the divisions within the Hashemite family, Pakistan sees a chance to claw its way back into Jordan
WORLD
Foreign Affairs | Quad, China, and India’s multi-polarity
It is bewildering that in India it is taken for granted in all the public discourse about the first Quad summit that it is all about China when Modi made it plain that the Quad’s role under the present global circumstances is about everything else.
POLITICS
Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees vs white, male American establishment
Joe Biden’s will be most racially and ethnically diverse Cabinet in US history if all his nominees are confirmed. But as of now, the Senate is taking its own time to let go of its privileges that are the relics of a bygone era
POLITICS
Iran nuclear deal is a maze that will test Joe Biden’s presidency
If the Iran nuclear deal is resurrected on the lines of the recent US-European joint statement, the credit for this should go to Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who first mooted the proposal in an interview to CNN about a fortnight after Joe Biden’s inauguration as US President
BUSINESS
Amazon and The Washington Post | Two sides of the Jeff Bezos coin
Contrary to the dark underbelly of the business model practised by Amazon for two decades and its ruthless and predatory practices, the story of The Washington Post under Jeff Bezos’ ownership presents an entirely different picture
BUSINESS
Thanks to a complex US Senate, Donald Trump might not be impeached
Donald Trump may not be impeached, but much is about to change in the US Senate. That will be a Trump legacy even if he had no clue how this chamber functioned with its time-honoured rules
POLITICS
A Republican Senate would have been a blessing in disguise for Joe Biden-Kamala Harris
‘Socialism’ is a spectre for most in the US and a Republican victory in the Georgia run-offs would have been a palliative against the so-called red scourge
BUSINESS
Capitol Hill Violence | US is a democracy manipulated by lobbies
Donald Trump sees his supporters who invaded Capitol Hill and attempted to stop the final certification of Joe Biden as the next US President merely as one of his lobbies. It is not a coincidence that a succession of Trump’s campaign managers in both elections have been lobbyists, not political strategists
