Courtesy: Sputnik India
Pakistan’s peripheral regions have long been treated as colonies to benefit the Punjabi core. This neglect is facing a vigorous pushback, in the form of peaceful protests and violent resistance. The economic crisis has exacerbated tensions in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, which remain poor despite abundant natural resources.
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The result of India’s national elections will be out June 4. An eight-day, four-state road trip revealed hotly contested elections where the central issue is competitive and elaborate welfare schemes versus further development and a future for youth. There’s lots of money sloshing around, making elections as lucrative as wedding parties, and plenty of political and family splits for a soap opera.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping's three-nation tour to France, Serbia and Hungary in early May highlighted China's aim to bolster ties and navigate shifting global power dynamics. The trip's implications are significant for all major powers, including India, which must inject more creativity and energy in building up its strategic partnerships with G7 nations after the elections.
Courtesy: Bayerischer Rundfunk
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation turns 75 this year. It has exceeded its original mandate of a collective defence for Europe and is expanding rapidly. From restraining the rise of Russia, it is now seeking non-NATO allies in Asia who wish to restrain China. This requires a nimbler, more dynamic alliance. Can NATO respond to the transformation?
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The burgeoning of international students in Australian private and state universities are a source of consternation and contention for Canberra. Though student visas are misused, specific skilled migrants are still needed, and the fees paid by these students fund essential university research. Regulators are clamping down hard, but once again, students will bear the brunt.
Courtesy: Economy
The long-delayed Iran-Pakistan pipeline has put Pakistan in yet another bind of its own making. Abandoning the project will expose it to Iranian penalties, while completing it will violate the sanctions imposed by the U.S., its financial benefactor, and its other patron Saudi Arabia which competes with Iran for West Asian leadership.
Courtesy: Business Insider India
Since 2014, India has been deliberate in its efforts to build stronger ties across Africa. It is characterised by high-level visits, increased diplomatic presence and the integration of the African Union into the G20. The continent’s significance will only grow. India must continue to deepen cooperation across the political, security, economic, and socio-cultural domains and promote Africa’s interests.
Courtesy: Suresh Mehta and 'Fragrant Folios: The Palanpur Story' by Jitendra C. Mehta and Amrit Gangar.
In Antwerp's global diamond exchanges that trade in rough and polished stones, the Gujarati-speaking Palanpuri Jain merchants are known as intrepid businessmen with a reputation for keeping their word. These traits has enabled them to live and work amongst Hassidic Jewish diamantaires and cutters-polishers who dominated this market. They carved a niche for themselves in small diamonds. Bombay played a key role in their success.
Courtesy: Business Standard
In April 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debts kicking off its worst economic downturn in over 70 years. In a paper for the Institute of South Asian Studies, Ganeshan Wignaraja examines key policy, the benefits of IMF support, and the role that Indian aid has played in Sri Lanka’s recovery while emphasising potential risks of its upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Courtesy: Business Standard
As 960 million Indians set out to cast their votes in the on-going electoral fray, a good number will be concerned with India’s global image and policy, now more front-and-centre than ever before. The contesting political parties have differing views of how India should engage internationally. How will these resonate with the vast electorate? The foreign policy agendas in the various party manifestos are worth assessing.