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

Bin_Salman__Reuters_ Courtesy:
9 November 2017

Saudi purge: Arab Spring 2.0?

The removal of 11 top ministers in the Riyadh government last week by the young crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, is a geopolitical upheaval, the implications are serious. Domestically, the kingdom is seeking to liberalise its conservative society and move away from oil-dependency – evident from the expected listing of its crown jewel Aramco. For India, which imports oil largely from West Asia, instability could cause a spike in prices, leaving less for its ambitious reforms. Globally, there is now space for new alignments – in the Great Power plays, in the Shia-Sunni rivalry, and in the war on terrorism.

1000x563_346129 Courtesy: Euro News
29 September 2017

Civil security lessons from Germany

The German civil security industry is in the throes of change: it was once an avenue of employment for the less educated or the jobless. Today, companies are increasingly selling comprehensive security solutions. India will gain by being prepared for such trends and technological innovations

_96278695_6dce5a47-502a-4f67-95ff-17f4295e53c8 Courtesy: BBC
21 September 2017

India, Germany and Africa: the new priority

Germany and India have revealed a dual priority for Africa: creating opportunities for prosperity and promoting stability. For both, these are uncharted waters and represents a shift in the locus of global dynamism, away from an Anglo-Saxon world order to a more diverse yet potentially fissiparous one

old photos bombay Courtesy: Live Mint
15 August 2017

Bombay, Karachi, linked by sea and refuge

The 70th Independence Day for India and Pakistan – August 15 and 14 respectively – is a reminder of how Partition displaced 15 million people, causing untold hardship. What is less known is that the cities of Karachi and Bombay have had a shared colonial history and economy: the parting of ways left one bereft of a host of spirited citizens, who went on to rebuild their lives in the other