Mahendra Ved

Mahendra Ved

About Mahendra Ved

The author is President, Commonwealth Journalists Association

More From Mahendra Ved

Why is Trump Betting Big on Pakistan? New Oil and Gas Finds Stir Regional Geopolitics

This is also the terrain through which the US 62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) traverses, facing security threats from north to south, losing men and material in attacks by militants. That being the case, the US entry brings in another global player, ready to guard its interests against China’s looming presence. Is the South…

भारतीय सिनेमा में प्लेबैक सिंगिंग के एक युग का अंत

वैश्विक संगीत उद्योग, जहाँ लाखों गीत गाए जाते हैं और अरबों का लेन-देन होता है, एक अलग और व्यापक कहानी है। लेकिन एक गायिका जोड़ी के रूप में उनकी भूमिका भारत, और शायद पूरे दक्षिण एशिया में, आज भी प्रतिष्ठित बनी हुई है, जहाँ कई कलाकार आए, संगीत रचा और आगे बढ़ गए।

End of an Era in Playback Singing in Indian Cinema

The global music industry, where millions of songs are sung, and billions are spent and earned, is a larger story. But the duo’s role as singers remains iconic in India, and perhaps South Asia, where numerous others have come, stayed to make music,  and gone.

National anthems and identity crises continue to haunt South Asia

However, religion, domestic compulsions and failure to improve political conditions, with or without national elections, have embroiled Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all compounded by economic woes, in issues that impinge on their national identity.

An Indian TV series ignites cross-border cultural discourse over a romanticised bygone era

Even so, Bhansali’s project has evoked considerable interest in Pakistan since the word went out that he was once considering casting Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, two of the top stars who have acted in Bollywood films. “Then, politics entered,” one of them rued.

With new government in Pakistan, is the US preparing to return to the AfPak theatre?

The US, it would seem, was awaiting the formation of the new government in Pakistan to nudge Islamabad to act against the various outfits operating from Afghan territory and this suited Pakistan. Simultaneously, the much-awaited tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been cleared at the staff level to help Pakistan ease its…

Nepal's political instability impacts India ties

Last month, after Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met his Nepali counterpart Sewa Lamsal in Kathmandu, a press note issued on this meeting mentioned the two sides discussed “multifaceted cooperation”. However, it did not reference PMP, which is by far the biggest bilateral power project conceived between the two sides.  

Acknowledging a 45-year-old 'injustice': The Bhutto hanging and Pakistan's 'doctrine of necessity'

“It shows that even popularly elected prime ministers can be humiliated, incarcerated and even sent to the gallows when the state desires it and that the legal system can be manipulated to suit the whims of powerful forces.”

Nikki Haley: The doughy Indian American who is taking on Trump

Will American women respond to Nikki, count her as one of them, and make her the President of the USA, now or in 2028? 

Is the diplomatic road to Kabul re-opening? Human rights be damned

If India and China are changing, so are many other countries who realise the futility of trying to persuade a bunch of religious fundamentalists, now enjoying absolute power, to change their way of treating their people.