It is 15 years since the Right to Information Act was introduced as another piece of legislation, only to cheat the masses once again. Touted as a sunshine act, a panacea for corruption and to introduce accountability of public servants to the public, it has grown into one of the biggest, yet unrecognized, scams. Before we proceed, let us do some back of env...
Saudi efforts to position the kingdom as a key player in global soccer resembles a train crashing multiple times with the locomotive continuing to barrel ever closer to an abyss. The train’s last crash, Saudi Arabia’s decision to drop its US$ 392 million bid to acquire English Premier League club Newcastle United, has not brought the train to a standstill. ...
“Give the devil his due” applies aptly to Pakistan’s perseverance in pursuing its evil terrorist agenda. It keeps the pot boiling against India (particularly in Kashmir) and against beleaguered Afghanistan, despite all pressures by the international community. To ward off this pressure Pakistan has a well-honed process of creating proxies in the form of...
Animal rights front PETA and British retailers and media have teamed up to deliver a collective and politically-motivated blow to Thailand’s agricultural exports and in particular its large coconut industry (second largest coconut exporter in the world). PETA makes the absurd claim that Thailand’s immense coconut industry depends on “monkey labour” to collec...
The pan-Islamist Turkish fixation of Indian Muslims took an anti-British turn due to certain events that took place in World War I. In addition, certain events in India and around the Muslim world caused Indian Muslims to graduate from amity (1911-1922) through armed truce (1911-1922) to open warfare with the British (1922 onwards). It is incumbent to brief...
The mind-set of John Bolton, and the actions abroad associated with it, are the distillation of this evolution. So, why was he forced out – despite positive personal chemistry with Trump and basic agreement on a chauvinistic foreign policy? Two peculiarities of Trump’s persona provide the answer. First, there was his rogue attitude toward open-ended...
Political autobiographies by former high officials are notoriously self-serving and economical with the truth. Only the former charge is applicable to John Bolton’s book. For Bolton is foremost a crusader for a hawkish foreign policy agenda, someone who measures success solely in terms of advancing it rather than in tactical victories in the struggle for...
Saudi support of religious ultra-conservatism in Indonesia contradicts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s promotion of an undefined form of moderate Islam intended to project his kingdom as tolerant, innovative, and forward-looking. It also suggests that Saudi Arabia is willing to work with the Muslim Brotherhood despite its denunciation of the group as a te...
Without a doubt, Jean Castex is a brilliant senior civil servant. But that does not make him the right man to become Prime Minister of France. He has not thought about how to restore the social pact in the face of financial globalisation and is satisfied with measures to buy social peace in the short term. As soon as he was appointed, he showed that he did n...
China is contemplating greater political engagement in the Middle East in what would constitute a break with its longstanding effort to avoid being sucked into the region’s myriad conflicts and a bid to counter mounting US pressure to force Gulf States to curtail relations with the People’s Republic. Prominent Chinese scholars, close to the government in Bei...
Indian analysts seem indifferent to the threat of India losing the railway line from Iran’s Chabahar port to Afghanistan and Central Asia, and suggest that New Delhi should focus on ties with Arab countries that provide energy security and jobs to millions of Indians. The view that India must choose between the Sunni Arab world and Shia Iran is myopic and...
The British believed that the 1857 uprising had been staged by the Muslims, who had not yet reconciled to the loss of Islamic rule and the privileges that came with it. They were not very friendly with the Hindus whom they considered their subjects. From this sullen dejection arose the need for Muslim solidarity and thus was born the Aligarh Movement. Its pr...
On the eve of Kargil Vijay Divas, Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi, Army Commander, Northern Command, one among the heroic commanding officers who led their units in the Kargil War in 1999, gave an interview to CNN News 18. The 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles that the then Lt. Col. Y.K. Joshi commanded in the Dras-Muskoh sector of Kargil was conferred the citation of “Braves...
An old proverb says “Agriculture in India is a gamble in the monsoon”. When we say monsoon, it includes the main south-west monsoon, which normally spreads between early-June and October-end and north-east monsoon which normally lasts from mid-late November until February-end. Summer rain lasts about 40-45 rainy days, but are quite unpredictable. It occurs m...
For several weeks, just as most states across the United States began to reopen following three months of lockdown to “flatten the curve”, several states including Texas and Florida began reporting record new numbers who tested positive for the coronavirus. At least that is what the world is being told. More careful investigation suggests what is unfolding i...
Prudence dictates it is better to let sleeping dogs lie. But wisdom demands that the unpalatable and unpleasant, at least those in public domain, be discussed publicly and thrashed out in public interest. On July 4, 2020, The Hindustan Times carried a report under the heading ‘NSA Doval coordinated PM Modi’s surprise Nimu visit’. I was too shocked at the ...
As Eurasia’s geopolitical sands shift, Iran is touting a sea and rail hook-up involving Iranian, Russian, and Indian ports that would link the sub-continent to northern Europe as a viable alternative to Egypt’s Suez Canal and addition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Iranian and Indian officials suggest the route would significantly cut shipping time and...
Violent demonstrations have broken out in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Thousands marched, dozens were arrested, but more citizens continued to arrive and join the protests. The people of the only Jewish state are upset and unhappy. They expected a better outcome from their fight with corona. Israel was the first state to implement a full lockdown. The Chinese...
The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) was a scripturally ordained movement with a history in India that dates from the time when the first Islamic invader set foot on Indian soil. In modern times, the fixation for the Ottoman Khalifa amongst Sufis, ulama, middle-class Muslim intelligentsia, Muslim press and common Muslims started at least since the 1830s. The id...
Everything in life is relative. A truism that actually is true. Make 50% of your field goals in the NBA and you’re on your way to stardom. Complete 50% of your passes in the NFL and a quarterback would be lucky to make the Jets’ taxi squad. Sport a career batting average in the .260 range, be a butcher in the field, yet if you manage 400 home runs and...