China is not competing with India for influence in Nepal, but hopes its neighbouring countries, including Nepal, will benefit from Chinese development. Beijing also hopes that Kathmandu can be a bridge between China and India and to promote the China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor, which will bring development and prosperity for all three economies. However, the Indian […]
Following the recent drama at the SAARC meeting in Islamabad, Modi will be faced with two contrasting points of views in Delhi. First, is it worth attending the next SAARC summit in Islamabad where its minister claims that he was mistreated? Second, Modi should visit Islamabad for the scheduled summit (5–6 November) to ensure that […]
There is a lot of political activity around the crisis produced by the Madhesi agitation in Nepal. But it is far from clear this is adding up to an enduring solution to a crisis that now goes to the heart of Nepal’s constitutional future. Nepal can have a vibrant and prosperous future but, as is […]
The fundamental issue is that – be it Nepal, Maldives, or Sri Lanka – the obsession with China’s growing influence in the region has warped the Indian thinking, which in turn prevents Indian diplomacy from coming on its own to realize its full potential. Read Here – Asia Times
2015 marks an often overlooked anniversary, the 250th anniversary of the start of de jure British rule over India. The history of 18th century South Asia is a complicated whirlwind of competing powers and conflicting interests. By 1707, when the last great Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, died, his empire controlled most of South Asia, but was also teetering due […]
New Delhi’s response to the constitution has come as a surprise to many. As a democratic country itself, India has arguably overstepped the limits of suggestion and rather tried to impose its views on its much smaller neighbor. In various international forums, India has repeatedly advocated for a country’s right to self-determination. Unfortunately, this seems […]
Any policy, however consistent and well-crafted, yields results only if implemented properly. The time to use Indian influence by working with our friends was during the first half of the year. What was needed was to sensitise the leaders of the ‘big three’ parties to the risks of brinkmanship and get the agitating groups to […]
India has enjoyed substantial regional influence across South Asia due to its size, comparative economic might, and historical and cultural relevance to the region. China’s history of involvement in South Asia is limited in comparison, though its long-standing ties to Pakistan are a notable exception. But over the past decade, China has become a significant […]
A series of meetings over the last two weeks — especially between Maoist chief Prachanda and K.P. Sharma Oli, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) — to bury their bitter past seems to have sent across a message that it was poor leadership that came in the way of the timely […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comparison of the boundary settlement with Bangladesh to the fall of the Berlin wall a quarter century ago might be surprising for many. The PM, who spent much political capital to get Parliament to approve the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Dhaka, was reacting to the insufficient public appreciation of […]
looking beyond borders 