37019468915_3c74a9c724_o Courtesy: Government of South Africa/ Flickr
25 January 2018

South Africa leads BRICS, IORA in 2018

Internal political constraints dog it currently, but if overcome, South Africa can be a good chairman to BRICS and IORA in 2018. It also has a tough balancing act to perform between two great Asian powers, China and India

aa-Cover-aku7um6k6ta50ut215mv8qrrj6-20180107020128.Medi Courtesy: AP (Courtesy of The Asian Age)
7 January 2018

The unchanged U.S.-Pakistan dynamic

Logistical support for this mission, movement of heavy equipment, fuel and other supplies, needs connectivity via Pakistan.

2017-11 7389 Courtesy: Independent
1 January 2018

Trump’s NSS and Great Power competition

The camaraderie that Trump and Xi projected in November 2017 generated unease. At year end, Trump’s National Security Strategy did away with the multipolar niceties, but the challenges remain: for the U.S., it’s promoting rule of law while opting out of multilateral bodies. For China, it’s taking stock of how its image corresponds to reality

'Kwan Tai Kung, the Great Warrior King, is the main deity in the Chinese Temple on Nawab Tank Road. In the Chinese religious hierarchy he is on par with Confucius, the great teacher and philosopher. Courtesy: flickr
6 December 2017

Bombay’s Chinese cultural links

Bombay city has always had a soft corner for everything Chinese. It was a taste created by the early Parsi merchants, who profited significantly from the cotton and opium trade with China in the second half of the 19th century. There is no confirmed date on when the Chinese first came to Bombay, bringing with them some unmatched skills, besides their cuisine. But today, it’s a reinvigorated economic engagement: Chinese goods flood Mumbai’s markets. Chinese companies and a bank are setting up base, while Indian conglomerates, in turn, are acquiring a growing presence in China