There has been some talk concerning American intentions to forge an Asian NATO, i.e. a US led military alliance meant to advance its members' geopolitical interests in the region. During the Cold War, the US created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) which also encompassed France and the UK as well as regional pro-Western States such as
[On 8 November 1948, Nathuram Godse (19 May 1910-15 November 1949) rose to make his statement in court. Reading quietly from a typed manuscript, he sought to explain why he had killed Gandhi. His thesis covered ninety-pages, and he was on his feet for five hours. Godse's statement, excerpted below, should be read by citizens and scholars in its ent
When authoritarian forces seize control of a government, they typically move first against the public's access to information, under the theory that a confused populace can be more easily manipulated. They take aim at the radio stations, TV and newspapers. In the case of George W. Bush in 2001, he also took aim at historical records, giving hi
Twenty-nine years ago, President Jimmy Carter adopted the radical and dangerous policy of using military force to ensure U.S. access to Middle Eastern oil. "Let our position be absolutely he clear," he said in his State of the Union address on January 23, 1980. "An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf regi
Some months ago, mocked by orthodox international groups for hosting the world’s largest Kartikeya murti, Muslim-majority Malaysia felt stressed enough to plan a Bamiyan-style demolition. The iconoclasm was staved off only by the fear that this would expose Malaysia as a grim and joyless hub in Islam in South East Asia. It would dim the glitt
During the end of the 1970's into the 1980's British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the City of London financial interests who backed her, introduced wholesale measures of privatization, state budget cuts, moves against labour and deregulation of the financial markets. She did so in parallel with similar moves in the USA initiate
[As India wakes up to the reality that the new US administration could mean more, and not less, violence and instability in our neighbourhood, besides heightening tensions over Kashmir, we reproduce this article written on 18 January 2009, before Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States – Editor]Martin Luther King Day in 20
A war is coming – I was forewarned some weeks ago by a most unlikely expert on the subject, an old fisherman called “Charlie”. We sat at a small café by the Sea of Galilee and looked at the dry mud where the sweet waters of the lake used to rollick, at its waterline, which has now receded like Charlie’s hairline; we g
Among the two major coalition formations, the BJP has the distinct advantage of having an agreed prime ministerial candidate; political parties that may join the NDA in the post-election period will have no interest in re-opening this issue. The Congress, by contrast, has already hinted that Dr. Manmohan Singh will be shoved aside for Amethi MP Rah
British foreign secretary-with–an-attitude, David Miliband, was sent to India by Her Majesty’s Service with two difficult tasks, both of crucial importance for London. And, when Miliband found that the old colonial subjects were not in any mood to accept his proposals, he put on a freak show to the chagrin of the Indians.India’s s
I chose a Saturday evening to watch this historic film that won India its biggest-ever international film award. I decided to watch Slumdog Millionaire because like any normal Indian, I got excited over the international award. A Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali or Madhur Bhandarkar never won an international award of this repute;
Dear Mr. President:Like FDR three-quarters of a century ago, you're taking charge at a moment when all the old certainties have vanished, all the conventional wisdom been proved wrong. We're not living in a world you or anyone else expected to see. Many presidents have to deal with crises, but very few have been forced to deal from Day One with a c
As Barack Obama approaches the helm of the American ship of state, he is facing many challenges. Just as she was being born at the dawn of her journey into history, the American nation is poised on the brink of a new beginning. In those revolutionary times, America faced a roiling sea of danger, uncertainty and trepidation. Today, after
On Dec. 18, Indian media reported an agreement signed by the French industrial giant Areva, for supply of uranium to India. The agreement includes a commitment from Areva to the Indian Department of Atomic Energy to supply 300 tons of uranium to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to power its reactors under International Atomic Energy A
Only yesterday, it seems, we were bemoaning the high price of oil. Under the headline "Oil's Rapid Rise Stirs Talk of $200 a Barrel This Year," the July 7 issue of the Wall Street Journal warned that prices that high would put "extreme strains on large sectors of the US economy." Today, oil, at over $40 a barrel, costs less than
The first of 20,000 to 30,000 additional US troops are scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan next month to re-win the war George W. Bush neglected to finish in his eagerness to start another one. However, "winning" the military campaign against the Taliban is the lesser half of the story. Going into Afghanistan, the Bush administration calle
The aerial war against Gaza launched by Israel just after Christmas, and the ground offensive, with which it rang in the New Year, were shocking in their brutality, but should constitute no surprise, if viewed from the standpoint of long-term Israeli strategic aims. The Israelis have argued that the offensive was launched in response to eight years
[On 19 January 1990, Kashmiri Hindus were asked to quit home and hearth in their own country. Lakhs were killed, homes looted, girls and women subjected to unspeakable atrocities. The Central Government provided them refuge in camps lacking even basic amenities. Today, even after 28 years, they have not been adequately rehabilitated, nor serious at
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on Tuesday as president of the United States. Candidate Obama said much about what he would do as president; now we will see what President Obama actually does. The most important issue Obama will face will be the economy, something he did not anticipate through most of his campaign. The first hund
On the eve of another Republic Day, we face the tragic continuity between a freedom struggle of litigants to the British Crown and a contemporary regime of supplicants before imperial Western capitals. Nothing underlines the sad disconnect between the challenges facing the nation and the Marie Antoinette-like nature of the ruling coalition as the s
India’s major business magazine, Business India, reported on July 29, 2008 that over 78 million Indian households, or roughly 390 million people, lack access to electricity. On Aug. 13, the news daily The Hindu carried an article by S.K.N. Nair, a former member of the Central Electricity Authority and a former consultant to the National Counc
We consider ours a singular age of individual psychology and self-awareness. Isn't it strange then that our recent presidents have had nothing either modest or insightful to say about themselves in their first inaugural addresses, while our earliest presidents in their earliest moments spoke openly of their failings, limitations, and deficiencies.
A very large delivery of US weaponry to Israel consisting of 3,000 tons of "ammunition" is scheduled to sail to Israel. The size and nature of the shipments are described as "unusual": "Shipping 3,000-odd tons of ammunition in one go is a lot," one broker said, on condition of anonymity. "This (kind of request) is
Condemnable incidents of idol desecration date back to the black history of Portuguese invasion in Goa. During their rule, the Portuguese compelled the Hindus to convert to Christianity. They committed horrible atrocities on the Hindus, attacked their temples and desecrated the murtis in order to create terror. Goa has a black history of the infamo
Economic liberalization has demolished large parts of the economic edifice assiduously built by Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi. But some bastions have managed to survive. They keep reminding us what the dynasty has done to the country’s economy. India’s sugar industry must be regarded amongst the last and strongest bast
The countdown for Ukraine's presidential election, to be held on January 31, 2010, has already started. The much-anticipated electoral process will be decisive due to its deep geo-political implications. Its result will have a considerable impact on the world's balance of power. A fierce battle on Ukrainian soil approaches and it will be fought, on
"Terrorism is a tactic, a technique, a weapon that fanatics, dictators and warriors have resorted to through history. If, as Clausewitz wrote, war is the continuation of politics by other means, terrorism is the continuation of war by other means." - Patrick J. Buchanan The 60-hour brutal rape of Mumbai, India's commercial and cultur
The military invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Forces bears a direct relation to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves. This is a war of conquest. Discovered in 2000, there are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline. British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, the Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Com
The Devolution of Al Qaeda For the past several years, we have published an annual forecast for al Qaeda and the jihadist movement. Since the January 2006 forecast, we have focused heavily on the devolution of jihadism from a phenomenon focused primarily on al Qaeda the group to one based primarily on al Qaeda the movement. Last year, we argued tha
Nowadays, most International Relations analysts acknowledge China's potential to achieve superpower status over the course of the next decades due to its impressive economic growth, which was triggered by Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms programme (inspired by theorists like Friedrich List). Chinese power has also increased considerably in military
Odd appears to be the new normal with the Indian Judiciary. It is at odds with every other institution, at odds with established convention, and proud to be so. The gains to the nation, if any, from the Judiciary’s sudden desire to defy all norms and emerge as primus inter pares of the Indian polity, are questionable. To cite just two recent
Israel is now in the 12th day [now 17th – Ed.] of carrying out Operation Cast Lead against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas has been the de facto ruler ever since it seized control of the territory in a June 2007 coup. The Israeli campaign, whose primary military aim is to neutralize Hamas’ ability
Over the years, a myth has been created through a sustained campaign, and that myth has come to be accepted as the self-evident truth. The myth says resolution of the Kashmir dispute is the only way to usher in a durable peace between India and Pakistan. This campaign is the handiwork of the Pakistani military, and has been swallowed hook, line and
I rarely watch TV. It was early evening, about 6 pm in Delhi, when a friend called and said, 'Have you seen it?' I asked, 'Seen what?' 'Switch on the TV and watch CNN or BBC', said my friend. One tower was smouldering. Perhaps this was on the channels many minutes before I switched on. No one, it seemed, knew what had happened. One chan
Afghan war and the takeover of PakistanThe decision to invade and occupy Afghanistan almost immediately following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks denoted Washington’s strategic resolve to position its forces across Central Asia, to exercise predominant influence in the resource-rich region in Russia’s and China’s bac
The tragic terrorist attack which struck Mumbai from 26 to 29 November 2008 evinced in its ruthless efficiency the hand of the Special Forces’ operatives who trained the terrorists for this audacious urban raid.It is now universally acknowledged that an operation of this scope and complexity, involving many months of preparation and training,
Israel-born musician and writer Gilad Atzmon, who has renounced his Jewishness and Israeli nationality, explains Israel's massacre of Palestinians in Gaza in terms of Israeli culture, which is imbued with racism and a murderous hatred of Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular.In order to grasp the latest devastating and murderous Israeli e
It may finally be 2009, but in some ways, given these last years, it might as well be 800 BCE. From the ninth to the seventh centuries BCE, the palace walls of the kings who ruled the Assyrian Empire were decorated with vast stone friezes, filled with enough dead bodies to sate any video-game maker and often depicting - in almost comic strip-style
It was said that ten terrorists entered Mumbai on 26 November, via the coast. Then, another ten entered Mendhar (district Poonch, J&K) over the last 40 days. The Mumbai encounter lasted 62 Hours. The Mendhar encounter has entered the seventh day (and still counting, though the army is now said to be closing in). Thus India entered 2009 with an
NATO pays Taleban for security, a Canadian is appointed governor of Kandahar. When will the madness cease.The war in Afghanistan is spreading its tentacles around the world. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai are now being explained as a plot by Lashkar-e-Taiba to divert the Pakistani military away from the Afghan border areas, a replay of the attack
In a world that dithers in the face of minority separateness and secessionism, tiny Sri Lanka has demonstrated lion-hearted resoluteness in crushing the three decade old Tamil insurgency, refusing to surrender to minority unreasonableness in order to maintain national unity. For an India which made its armed forces fight with one hand tied, first a
The aerial bombings and the ongoing ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli ground forces must be analysed in a historical context. Operation Cast Lead is a carefully planned undertaking, which is part of a broader military-intelligence agenda first formulated by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001: “Sources in the defense
Thinking & Common SenseGod gave us a brain to think, to think naturally and in simple terms, and not in a complicated way. When we think naturally and use common sense to address problems we will be able to arrive at simple solutions.But our education system tortures us mentally and forces us to think in complicated ways. Our teachers, economis
“An unknown Indian has taken on proponents of the Aryan invasion/migration theory, demolished their case, and established that northern India is the original home of the Aryans and the Indo-European family of languages. The importance of this remarkable achievement cannot be exaggerated. In course of time, it can compel the revision of the hi
Dialogues of civilizations are for the sustenance of the eternal and perennial processes of evolution and continuity of the cultural streams. The harmonization of diverse cultures can only be realized through civilized means. Whenever natural and orderly flow of these multi-dimensional processes gets disrupted due to external factors; the inbuilt f
Following the Mumbai massacre (Nov. 26-29), a lot of “important” personnel moved through the Indian subcontinent, ostensibly with the intent of unearthing the ghastly plot that killed at least 200 people and made a mockery of India's security. During the visits of these “important” personnel, and subsequently, nobody, e
Since 1947 we have fought three bloody wars with Pakistan, besides rebuffing the invasion of Kargil. Pakistan has post-1974 engaged in a cross-border proxy war, which has steadily escalated from a low-intensity war of attrition to a deadlier and more lethal denouement, the latest example of which was Mumbai 2008. There have been regular attacks in
Amy Goodman: A top Republican internet strategist who was set to testify in a case alleging election tampering in 2004 in Ohio has died in a plane crash. Mike Connell was the chief IT consultant to Karl Rove and created websites for the Bush and McCain electoral campaigns. He also set up the official Ohio state election website reporting the 2004 p
The wealth from the colonies and the power of the gun gave Europe a flying start in catalysing what came to be regarded as Western Civilisation. Newtonian Science and the Cartesian separation of the physical from the metaphysical greatly accelerated this process. Consequently, vast differentials in power and wealth within European countries became