In the late seventies and early eighties one of the common phrases that Indian politicians and the members of the media used as a response to what ails India was the phrase “the hidden hand”. The hidden hand (the West, their government and intelligence agencies) was the reason that India was in the bad shape [...]
As an Indian who has lived in the United States for a long period of time I am generally in favor of improved relationship between the two nations. For India its relationship with Pakistan, China and the United States are its three most important ones. For the United States its relationship with India is important [...]
In an yet another blow to the Indian Premier League English cricketer Ravi Bopara said that he had concerns about the security situation in India and indicated that he has postponed his trip to India to play for Kings XI Punjab. In a statement he to the Daily Mail he said that “Cricket is my [...]
India became an independent nation in 1947 after the British left India. Pakistan was created immediately thereafter. For the past 62 years the two countries have grown dramatically differently. Today there is no comparison between the two nations in terms of economics, education, health care, freedom and civil liberties and military and space technology.
There were two major terrorist attacks on Indian soil this month. The first was the attack in Pune at a German bakery in Koregaon. An explosive device was left in a shopping bag which later exploded killing at least 10 individuals including two foreign nationals. A group calling itself Laskhar-e-Taiba Al Alami has claimed responsibility [...]
A few weeks ago I wrote an article on what I thought was discriminatory practices by the Indian Premier League cricket when it came to selecting players from the World T20 Champions Pakistan. The reasons provided by the IPL for not picking players from Pakistan went from availability issues, to lack of visa guarantees by [...]
Last week leaders of 70 nations met in London to discuss the future of Afghanistan. The goal of the Western nations is to increase the size of the Afghanistan security forces to about 300,000 by mid next year. This will enable the NATO and other forces to drop down the number of military personnel and [...]
India has invited the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Salman Bashir to meet with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao for talks later this month (Nirupama Rao has already met the Pakistani High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik to discuss the possibility of these talks). New Delhi has indicated that it is willing to discuss any issue [...]
Former American Presidential candidate John Edwards was known for his “Two America” speech during his campaign trail. He says “today, under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one: One America that does the work, another that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks. One [...]
One of my old history teachers was fond of saying that “all Indians are equal but some Indians are more equal than the others”. I was not sure what he meant that time but I have a better understanding of it now. Some of us whether we are politicians, businessmen or the social elite enjoy [...]
India is celebrating its 60th Republic Day today. South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak is the guest of honor at this years Republic Day parade in New Delhi. Most of the major cities in India are under heightened alert and the security measures are very tight.
I live in the United States which is a country that has a long history of racial discrimination. Slavery was abolished in 1865 but legalized segregation lasted for more than a hundred years and ended only in 1968. During segregation minorities (mostly African-American) lived in their own separate communities, went to segregated schools and had [...]
The Indian Premier League (IPL), the nations top cricket league and one of the most important cricket leagues in the world held their player auction Today in Mumbai. The base price varied from $200,000 for players like Kieron Pollard (West Indies) and Wayne Parnell (South Africa) to $50,000 for Adam Voges (Australia) and $20,000 for [...]
In an interview to The Economic Times India’s Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna has disclosed that China has placed a “technical hold” on the inclusion of Maulana Massod Azar in the “Consolidated List of the 1267 Committee of the United Nations”. This list is setup and maintained by the United Nations. The list includes individuals, groups, [...]
The Hindu had a small article about the inaugural lecture delivered at the Center of West Asian Studies (School of International Relations) at M.G. University. The university is in Kottayam (Kerala). The lecture was delivered by Professor Anwar Alam who is the Director of the Center for West Asian Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University [...]
Events like 26/11, 09/11 and the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina exposed the vulnerability of nations like India and the United States. People in Mumbai, New York, Washington DC and New Orleans thought they were safe and well protected. But the reality was different. In India millions of dollars of public funds are spent yearly [...]
Most graduate engineering programs in the United States will have a high percentage of Indian and Chinese students. In the early nineties I was one of them. I always enjoyed chatting with my fellow Chinese classmates. They are down to earth, hardworking and very strong in fundamental sciences (something Indians lack to this very day).
I am a strong believer in a liberal democracy. I think that it is the only form of government that a country as diverse as India can have. Of course India can have an authoritarian regime like in China or a military dictatorship like you have in Pakistan and Myanmar but that would be against [...]
Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray indicated that “If you don’t want to salute the motherland, then whom do you salute? What is the shame in saluting Bharat mata? Those who don’t want to salute Bharat mata should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh.
