Category : Democracy & Governance/Public Health
Title : Some Crucial Lessons as we Prepare for ‘Lockdown 3.0’
Author : M A Kalam 02-05-2020Covid-19 is a jolt to the way we work and live. India has been under, what IMF has called, “The Great lockdown”. As India moves into ‘Lockdown 3.0’, M A Kalam explores, in his opinion piece, the challenges faced by different segments of the Indian population. The economic impact is seen to be huge, and as we return to work and business gradually, we will witness huge behavioural changes that will necessitate how we address the new economic challenges.
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Category: External Articles
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Some Crucial Lessons as we Prepare for ‘Lock Down 3.0’
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Going for Broke
Category : Democracy & Governance/Public Health
Title : Going for Broke
Author : Deepak Sinha 21-03-2020
Spanish flu of 1918-20 was the worst and biggest pandemic in the modern age. By various estimates it killed 50-100 million people worldwide. In India the death toll was 17.5 million. This was at a time when vaccines and antibiotics were not yet widely used and the pandemic exploded in the wake of a globalisation of different sort, returning soldiers of World War I who carried the flu from the battlefields to all parts of the world. The world survived it. Covid-19 threatens a similar fate which calls for concerted effort from the global community as Deepak Sinha observes in his article.
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Modi’s move to engage SAARC on COVID-19 shows his capacity to surprise
Category : Global Health/SAARC
Title : Modi’s move to engage SAARC on COVID-19 shows his capacity to surprise
Author : Kanwal Sibal 16-03-2020
Former foreign secretary, Kanwal Sibal, observes that Prime Minister Modi’s initiative to organise a video-conference of Saarc leaders to develop together a roadmap to fight the challenge of COVID-19 is a well thought out strategy and shows his capacity to surprise. Modi’s move could inject new life into Saarc, just when India was seen as downgrading the Saarc platform for stronger regional cooperation and promoting Bimstec.
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India Meets Myanmar at a Bustling Bazaar in Chennai
Category : Heritage, Culture & Civilisation
Title : India Meets Myanmar at a Bustling Bazaar in Chennai
Author : Yamuna Matheswaran 12-03-2020
Refugee/Migrant issues have plagued countries both in their domestic governance and international relations. While nations gain immensely from migrants’ contribution, governments and politicians do not hesitate to throw them out when their utility is more relevant or they become the scapegoat of their politics. Indians have migrated to various lands in search of employment, trade, and better prospects as entrepreneurs. Tamils have travelled to Burma and many other countries through trade over millenniums. In recent times Tamils and other Indian migration happened during the British Raj. Indians in Burma – primarily Tamils hailing from Tamil Nadu, but also Bengalis, Telugus, and other groups – worked as farmers, civil servants, traders, moneylenders, day labourers, and security personnel. Their world came crashing down in 1962 when military dictator Ne Win seized power and stripped ethnic minorities of their businesses, land, and claims to citizenship leading to an exodus of refugees to India, mostly Tamils. Yamuna Matheswaran revisits the Burmese refugees in Chennai and its issues 50 years down the line.
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An unmitigated disaster
Category : Democracy & Governance/Governance, Law & Order
Title : An Unmitigated Disaster
Author : Deepak Sinha 04.03.2020
The ill-conceived CAA act and the fears induced by it and the issues of National Population Register have led to nation-wide protests. The resultant police actions at various places culminated in the Delhi violence and police inaction that has given rise to world-wide condemnation. That it coincided with US President Trump’s visit should be even more worrisome for the government. Deepak Sinha analyses the issue in his Op-Ed.
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Will the US Revert to ‘Just like in Grand Ma’s Time’ Again?
Category : International Affairs/USA
Title : Will the US Revert to ‘Just like in Grand Ma’s Time’ Again?
Author : Andrei Korobkov 11-02-2020
Donald Trump’s opponents persist in their delusion that his arrival to power was an accident, and if they manage to throw him out of office, history will resume its natural course, and everything will be just like in grandma’s time again. This is a battle between the views of Washington’s elite and the general public resulting in a systemwide crisis. Should the elite further refuse to recognise how serious the crisis has become, and if they will not acquiesce to curtail their ambition and search for compromise, it will be disastrous for the United States and the rest of the world, argues Andrei Korobkov.
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China Tightening its grip on Indian Ocean
Category : International Affairs/China
Title : China Tightening its grip on Indian Ocean
Author : G Parthasarathy 10-02-2020
In comparison to India, China has moved ahead to strengthen its maritime ties with countries across the Indian Ocean. With the expansion of its submarine fleet and commissioning of its aircraft carriers and fifth generation aircraft, China has augmented its naval strength significantly. Ambassador G Parthasarathy looks at China’s expanding profile in the Indian Ocean and India’s response.
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India’s impending Fighter Aircraft Choices: Finding the Elusive Solution?
Category : Defence & Aerospace/India
Title : India’s impending Fighter Aircraft Choices: Finding the Elusive Solution?
Author : M Matheswaran 02.02.2020
The Indian Air Force has been afflicted with decreasing force strength due to phasing out of old aircraft and increasing obsolescence of its fleets. Despite the induction of Rafale and Tejas, the IAF will continue to face challenges of reducing numbers and a large chunk of old platforms in its inventory. The IAF is facing serious shortages in its fighter aircraft strength. Air Marshal M Matheswaran examines the possible strategy that can best address IAF’s choice of fighter aircraft for its future.
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Think tanks’ role growing: Is that a good thing?
Category : Education/Think tanks/Policy Research
Title : Think tank’s role growing: Is that a good thing?
Author : Mohan Guruswamy 20.01.2020
The word “think tank” owes its origins to John F. Kennedy, America’s 35th President, who collected a group of top intellectuals in his White House – people like McGeorge Bundy, Robert S. McNamara, John Kenneth Galbraith, Arthur Schlesinger and Ted Sorenson, among others, to give him counsel on issues from time to time. In India, while the number of think tanks are now increasing, neither the government nor the think tanks have a culture of serious and in-depth research that would aid government’s policy making. Mohan Guruswamy analyses the think tanks and their culture in India.
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Tectonic shift in US’ Attitude
Category : International Affairs/ USA-Iran
Title : Tectonic Shift in US attitude
Author : Deepak Sinha 18-01-2020
The targeted execution of a serving Iranian General and war hero, Qasem Soleimani, while on an official visit to Iraq raises serious questions of sovereignty, morality, ethical conduct and can never be justified in any civilised society. It is a blatant act of aggression in clear violation of international law and a war crime, made even more heinous because neither America nor Iran is at war with each other. Deepak Sinha comments on American motives and likely impact of this assassination.
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