shutterstock_233927803 Courtesy: Shutterstock
28 November 2019

Strengthening democracy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh fulfills an important stabilising role in South Asia. It has been able to perform this function in the last decade because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to fortify the domestic scenario by first cracking down on terror outfits – and their political fronts. The clean-up was necessary, but a robust Opposition and democratic institutions need to be nourished too

BN-WC464_BURMAP_GR_20171113114119 Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal
6 June 2019

Suu Kyi, more politician than icon

The Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy, which has been in power for three years, has shown a modest score card, winning more censure than praise. Suu Kyi’s civilian-military equation has been good, but not her reluctance on the Rohingya issue. What chances does her party have of winning in Myanmar’s elections in 2020?

The problems of populism
7 February 2019

The problems of populism

This vivid portrait of socialist India, by giving primacy to the political background that determined Indira Gandhi’s responses, is different from the yearly ritualistic denunciations of her and the Emergency. It also has a story-teller’s flair, making it accessible to readers born well after 1975

A Biluchi Soldier and Hindu Trader of Sindh Courtesy: Archive.org
24 August 2017

The making of Bombay’s mini Sindh

Many of the Hindu Sindhi refugees who fled to India post Partition succeeded in rebuilding their lives afresh, their native entrepreneurial spirit enabling them to rise up from the destitution that displacement caused. Ulhasnagar, Thane district, which was a refugee camp 70 years ago, is a microcosm of how the community rehabilitated itself--with the help of a well dispersed and generous Sindhi trading network

1042327973 Courtesy: Sputnik News
6 July 2016

Terrorism in Bangladesh

The recent terror attacks in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, turned the spotlight on the country’s increasingly violent and volatile political situation. The interplay of deep political divisions, the rise of radicalised student politics, religious extremism, which the government has failed to rein in, and the spread of trans-national terror networks has created a toxic cocktail in Bangladesh with dangerous implications for India.