Lessons from the Venezuela Takeover: When Laws Are Irrelevant Without Enforcing Mechanism
It is clear that in those 'virtual' negotiations, the participating sides were the US, Russia and China. The EU, including Denmark, the country whose territory Greenland is, was not. India neither. The old rule that if you are not part of the negotiations, you are likely a subject to the decisions, holds true. Possible future steps would include annexation of Greenland, as indicated by Trump on multiple occasions, including also in interviews after the Venezuela takeover. This would achieve another objective – to weaken the EU further, as no EU state will likely challenge the US if the annexation happens.
Do Not Allow Politics To Colonise Our Shared Games
When cricket is weaponized against Bangladesh while India’s own internal challenges are ignored, the message is unmistakable: power, not principle, is guiding moral judgment. This undermines the very spirit of Neighborhood First, which depends on trust and even‑handedness. Over time, such practices erode confidence, deepen asymmetry, and weaken the foundations of cooperation.
South Asia's Youth Bulge Risks Becoming Long-Term Liability
South Asia’s unemployment challenge is unfolding differently across different regional countries, yet driven by almost similar structural failures. India’s scale magnifies the risks of jobless growth; Pakistan’s instability deepens youth disillusionment; Sri Lanka’s educated unemployment reflects long-standing policy neglect; and Bangladesh’s export-led success masks limited employment diversification. Unless these states move beyond fragmented schemes and adopt employment-centred growth, skill-linked education, and gender-inclusive labour reforms, the region’s youthful population will shift from being a potential dividend to a shared strategic vulnerability.
When Christmas Becomes a Test of India’s Pluralism
Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state, offers an even starker illustration of how symbolic minority marginalisation is being normalised. This year, the BJP government of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed schools to remain open on December 25 and mandated programmes commemorating former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary instead of observing Christmas as a holiday. In isolation, such decisions may appear administratively defensible. Taken together, they signal a deeper shift in which civic space for religious minorities is steadily shrinking.
