While it’s speculative, I find a connection with the unfortunate event of the targeted killing of Hindus by Islamic terrorists in Pahalgam yesterday, which fits within highly recognisable pattern of proxy conflicts and covert retaliatory attacks that have long characterised India-Pakistan dynamics especially around Kashmir and Balochistan. The connection forms in such a way that the Pahalgam attack, perpetrated by militants of the Pakistan-linked terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF), is directly a predecessor to the Jaffar Express hijacking (11th March 2025), which was carried out by militants of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA), an outfit that Pakistan claims has links with India.
Tag: India
India and the FATF: Earning the Watchdog’s Praise
In a move, though not as relatively new as it is significant, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to place India in the “Regular Follow-Up” category, its highest rating category. For perspective, the FATF places the member countries into four groups: Regular follow-up, Enhanced follow-up, Grey list, and Black list (ordered from best to worst). With this, India joined the umbrella of France, Italy, and the UK. There is a comprehensive list of criteria which a member under evaluation needs to meet in order to find a place in the above list.
The Vital Role of Cultural Diplomacy in International Relations
Apart from the traditional notion of hard power that involves quantifiable military and economic might, soft power as a facet of power has found political resonance in the realm of international relations in recent decades. Pioneered by Harvard scholar Joseph Nye, soft power is a non-coercive facet of power that has become increasingly important in maintaining hegemony in the world. Soft power entails the art of subtly influencing outcomes by shaping the preferences of other countries and actors outside your own country via the tactics of attraction, appeal, and persuasion.
Book Review: “Does the Elephant Dance?”
Does the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy is a study of Indian foreign policy and its evaluation on various parameters. The author of this book, David M. Malone, a diplomat, author, and former Rector (leader) of the United Nations University, has witnessed the firsthand development of Indian foreign policy and held discussions with the key decision-makers. Throughout ‘Does the Elephant Dance?’ Malone exercises this confluence of diplomatic and scholarly authority artfully, tracing the key tenets of Indian foreign policy from its independence, till 2011.
Digital Arrest: A Rising National Security Threat to India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio program “Mann Ki Bhat” alerted the citizens about the emerging cyber crime in India known as Digital Arrest. Prime Minister cautioned the citizens about the digital arrests where fraudsters impersonate themselves as law enforcement officials threatening citizens with fake arrests. The Digital arrest scam is widely occurring across India deceiving Indians and looting their hard-earned money through these scams. These scams are not isolated cyber crime incidents but rather a perpetrated by well-organised criminal gangs that have extensive knowledge of cyberspace.
H-1B Visa Politics: US Immigration Policy and its Impact on India
The triumph of the Republican leader Donald Trump as the President of the United States has brought the political focus on immigration issues and the H-1B visa programme to the forefront. The tough posture on the H-1B programme in his first tenure has softened his stance in his second tenure with courtesy of his Silicon Valley ally and supporter Elon Musk whose company thrives on a global talent pool for whom he says “we cannot do without them…go to war for visa issue if necessary”. With Musk appointed as the head of the New Government Efficiency Commission tasked with cutting down the federal budget from US$6.75 trillion to US$2 trillion, Trump intends to make the US into a manufacturing superpower to accomplish his mega project of ‘MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN (MAGA).
India’s Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy
In modern era, India’s journey to leverage its soft power capital, which had begun influencing its interactions with foreign states and societies even during the colonisation phase. Intellectual and radical interactions of luminaries like Swami Vivekananda, Tagore, MN Roy signalled an intrepid internationalism in their minds. To quote Gandhi, “I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”. As one of the few uninterrupted surviving civilisations, with its unique values and worldview, India offered new meanings to concepts like war, peace, power, religion, and similar others.
United States under Trump 2.0 wants the Panama Canal
Donald Trump recently claimed that the United States is being “ripped off” by the Panama Canal’s administrators and alleged that “Chinese soldiers” are operating the canal. He has threatened to “demand the return of the Panama Canal” to the United States. On December 23rd, Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, responded by asserting that “every square metre of the Panama Canal” is the country’s property, a stance supported by opposition parties. Trump’s actual objectives might be less extreme, but their specifics remain unclear
BRICS: India’s Position in the Emerging Global South Alliances
The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) grouping has been the forerunner of global economic and political developments for over a decade. The BRICS countries account for over 40% of the world’s population and over 25% of global GDP. They are also among the fastest-growing economies in the world. India is an important player in the BRICS grouping. It is the second most populous country in the world and the sixth largest economy. India has also been growing swiftly in recent years, with GDP growth comprising over 7% per year over the past decade.
Special Packages: Unpacking India’s Fiscal Federalism
Earlier this year, the chief ministers of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh had demanded special financial packages for their respective states from the Centre. Special Packages for both states were announced in the Union Budget 2024-25. The issues catered in the package ranged from subjects like Irrigation, Flood Mitigation, Purvodaya: Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi, Airports, Medical Colleges, Sports Infrastructure, Highways, Industrial Corridors and Tourism development. Special Packages refer to the support provided to states facing geographical and socio-economic challenges, offering them additional financial assistance and other benefits.