Dear Readers, The Taliban victory in Afghanistan unleashed anger at U.S. President Joe Biden, his critics accusing his administration of, among other things, leaving a regional vacuum in Central Asia that China and Russia will rush to fill. The U.S. along Western nations, and of course, India (His Master’s Voice) shut down their Embassies in Kabul after the…
Many philosophers and historians have written time and again that just like the seasons, planets, ecosystem and the orbit of galaxies, time itself is circular in nature. History repeats itself in different forms, time and again. In the views of the great Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, if a person has lived till the age of…
When looking at the map there are mainly three North-South connecting routes that would come to mind. The first is the route coming from China/Tibet through Nepal and India reaching down to the western ports of Bangladesh at the Bay of Bengal, Mongla or the forthcoming port of Payra. Parts of this connection are already…
The idea of an economic zone is certainly what one could call a long shot. Mostly it is dependent upon India. If India choses to allow the construction of three or even four North-South Road and rail corridors emanating from China and passing through the Himalayas and then through North-east India (Seven Sisters), to the…
India’s North Eastern Region (NER) includes the states of Assam, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pradesh, Sikkim and Tripura. Together, they represent a distinct geographic, cultural, political, and administrative entity. Ethnically and culturally, this part is more connected to Tibet and South-East Asia. Part of the Eastern Himalayas, the area is also of geo-strategic significance…
Shipping and maritime travel has a long history around the Bay of Bengal. While the Portuguese conquered of the western coast of the subcontinent in 1498, the capture of Melaka in 1511 started Portuguese activity on the east of Cape of Comorin and Bengal was clearly the initiative of Portuguese privateers for numerous reasons, viz…
The eastern fringe of South Asia comprising of Bangladesh and north-eastern India known as the “seven sisters” are a region that has been suffering over the decades from multiple problems including poverty, underdevelopment, overpopulation and others. While one hardly ever learns much about the seven sisters, Bangladesh is much more often in the news but…
Some worrying conversation from people here have seen words such as, the Taliban ‘may not be that bad’ and are looking towards ‘change’. As a woman living here, my only reply is, why would I agree? Or perhaps they were trying to test me to see my answer. Here is my answer in print. No,…
Our western borders may temporarily cease being hostile, simmering hostility by disparate groups inimical to Pakistan will persist. Consequently the evoking of dormant activists within Pakistan cannot be ruled out. We must retain credible deterrence capability for both the Eastern and Western fronts. The difference between the two fronts is in the nature of the…
Speaking on 6th September at the British security think tank, Royal United Security Institute (RUSI), Tony Blair confirmed that not only (1) he hasn’t learnt any lessons from history but (2) keeps to his old policy of denying established fact and substituting them with what he is universally known for, blending of outright lies with…
