Little help for Afghanistan

OIC meeting in Islamabad offered little succour to Afghanistan as a humanitarian trust fund set up to help the beleaguered nation where millions face acute hunger and poverty amid a bitter winter, received no donations. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Islamabad on December 19, 2021 offered little … Read More

Taliban in Moscow

The United States and European Union are said to be considering offering help to the National Resistance Front under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, as the Taliban has failed to fulfill the commitments made at Doha. The split in the Taliban is now public; the Doha negotiators have been sidelined … Read More

Can Taliban government last?

It is easy to overthrow a decrepit regime after its external military backer withdraws, but far more difficult to install a viable and durable alternative. This lesson in realpolitik was driven home on September 11, 2021 when the fledgling Taliban regime was forced to cancel official celebrations of the swearing-in … Read More

Book Review | Blinkers Off: How Will The World Counter China

In a cogently argued work, backed by meticulous data, journalist Gaurie Dwivedi records how China worked single-mindedly to entrench its preponderance in trade vis-à-vis major countries and regions of the world in pursuit of its goal to rise as the premier world power. Beijing strove to achieve this geo-strategic dominance … Read More

Taliban moves cautiously to form government

It took Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder of the Taliban, one week after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan to arrive in Kabul (August 21, 2021) to initiate talks on government formation. Amidst hints of factional strains within the militia, the group hinted that it is seeking an “inclusive” government … Read More

Mission Kabul: What next?

Taliban is moving cautiously to win international approval. As inexorably as night follows day, the Taliban has returned to Kabul. The whole of Afghanistan has fallen to the Islamic Emirate, barring Panjshir where former Vice President Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, are trying to raise … Read More

Bengal violence premeditated

On June 30, 2021, the NHRC panel submitted its interim report to the Calcutta High Court, citing the team’s interaction with over 100 families in 168 places and mentioning complaints about 41 murders and allegations of rape of 13 women A fact-find team of the National Human Rights Commission that … Read More

Stanislaus Lourdusamy: A new martyr?

If left-leaning activists, intellectuals and sympathisers feel that Lourdusamy’s end was suspicious, the Government of Maharashtra would do well to order an enquiry into the circumstances of his death. Missionaries and leftwing activists quickly labelled Jesuit priest, Father Stanislaus Lourdusamy, 83, as a martyr after his death at Holy Family … Read More

Delimitation is the way ahead in Jammu and Kashmir

After four hours of closed-door deliberations, the much-hyped meeting of June 24, 2021, between the Centre and the dethroned politicians of the Kashmir region ended with the Prime Minister’s bland assurance that elections would be held after the ongoing delimitation exercise is concluded. There was no mention of a time … Read More

Damning admission on Coronavirus development

While health experts are now demanding serious studies on the efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) that was initially touted as a cheap and effective way to control COVID-19, Ivermectin advocates say that the drug can treat all stages of COVID-19 and reduce hospitalisation and mortality rates due to its anti-viral and … Read More