Sonam Wangchuk

Can Ladakhis' trust be restored by freeing Sonam Wangchuk?

Wangchuk was arrested - he has since been released -  obviously to allow allotment of land to corporates without engaging with the locals. Under the circumstances, how much trust of the Ladakhis the government can regain, remains questionable.

Delivering West Bengal From Its Vice-Laden Politics: Voters Must Draw Strength From Their Electoral Power

As owners of the republic—not merely beneficiaries of electoral inducements timed for political gain—electorates must act as empowered, assertive and demanding citizens, carefully examining party positions on substantive issues. They must insist on time-bound job creation strategies and measurable improvements in key sectors such as education and healthcare, rather than settling for vague manifesto assurances.    

India Needs to Reclaim its Lost Tolerance and Plurality

What has gradually been lost is not faith, but the culture of debate that once accompanied it. Public debate – śāstrārtha - was once central to intellectual life. Ideas were examined, challenged, and defended through reasoned argument. Today much of that space has been replaced by shouting matches, where volume often substitutes for thought - unfortunately even within our legislatures. Questioning, once considered an essential part of the search for truth, is now too easily mistaken for disrespect.

N.Q. Dias: Sri Lanka’s Clausewitz, a Man With a Strategic Vision for the Island

Dias promoted civil–military cooperation on an unprecedented scale, facilitating the large-scale settlement of Sinhalese populations in the dry zone as a bulwark against Tamil separatism. In some respects, this approach resembled the Jewish settlement policies in the British Mandate of Palestine, which may have influenced Dias’s thinking.

More on Perspective

As Nepal limps back to normal after mayhem and regime change, questions aplenty but few answers

The burning of Kantipur TV points towards a troublesome point in Nepal’s history, where journalism has been vilified. Yes, some journalists do take shortcuts, and all legacy media is funded by businesses. But they’re also run by journalists who believe in truth-telling. Free and fair journalism is the foundation of democracy, and pulling down a media house like Kantipur TV signals the close of a period that trusted independent media.

Remembering 1965 War Heroes: Indian Army Regiment, Where Ayub Khan’s Father Served, Wreaked Havoc On Pakistan Army

By the end of the war, Pakistan had lost 3,800 personnel killed, over 400 tanks destroyed or captured, more than 40 aircraft shot down, and suffered a sharp drop in morale. The Indian Army captured the vital 2,637-meter (8,652-foot) high Haji Pir Pass, reached the outskirts of Lahore, captured Phillora, and created “Patton Nagar,” a graveyard of nearly 100 destroyed Pakistan's famed Patton tanks at Khem Karan.

India's Gandhian Resolution on Trumpian Tariffs

This is aiming for a high moral ground, but Gandhian satyagraha will demand much more from India. It will challenge India on aligning with Israel while it bleeds Gaza. And it will raise many other difficult questions that if followed through will help India stand erect and tall in a world that still bows to Gandhi.

Rethinking the EV Push: India's Transition to Electric Mobility Must Factor Socio-Economic Realities

The transition to EVs also introduces geopolitical challenges, particularly concerning critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs). China plays a dominant role in the global supply chain for these REEs, not only as a leading extractor but also as the largest processor and refiner. This centralized control gives China significant strategic leverage over countries that depend on these resources, including India.

Message from Tianjin: Balance of Power Issues Can Upset SCO Applecart

Despite the public display of bonhomie at Tianjin, however, the SCO is ridden with major differences in harmonising national interests of member States, with some entering into active skirmishes, trade barriers or imbalances, equations with major powers and double standards on issues such as countering terrorism or protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Student Suicides In India A Cause For Concern

Most children are always afraid of failing exams. The pressures by parents to perform well in competitive exams create a sense of fear. Such accretion of fears  at a young vulnerable age make the mind highly strung emotionally, and any trigger can snap it. So, saying that pressures of education, ragging, break-ups etc. lead to suicide is wrong. These kids were already prone to suicide – the trigger could be anything.

Trump & Modi: Rekindling the Bromance!

Yet, amid this global chess game, the Trump-Modi tweets reminded us of one undeniable fact: politics is now as much about social media bromance as it is about border disputes and trade wars.

Maharashtra: An important stakeholder in India’s para diplomacy

Several countries have presence in Maharashtra. Some of the countries which have shown interest in recent years are Germany, Japan and South Korea whose leaders have taken great interest in establishing manufacturing centres in Maharashtra. The Pune industrial belt has drawn car manufacturers the world over, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and General Motors. It is often referred to as the ‘Detroit of India’

Teachers as daily wagers: To Become Knowledge Economy, India Needs to First Fix its Education Foundations

The combined effects of teacher shortages, contractualisation, and parallel schooling are devastating for India’s long-term competitiveness. It leads to poor learning outcomes, misaligned workforce skills where employers consistently complaining of skill shortages, because curricula lag hopelessly behind. No wonder that of the college educated youth in the age group 24 to 29, the unemployment rate is more than 30 percent.

Trump Tariffs in South Asia: Bangladesh Has an Advantage

Several Indian export firms have begun approaching Bangladeshi manufacturers to produce apparel jointly, underscoring Dhaka’s emerging advantage after US tariff hikes on India and China. Chinese investors, too, are showing interest in building garment factories in Bangladesh, drawn by its new trade advantage. Bangladesh, by capitalizing on India and China’s relative “disadvantage now has the opportunity to expand its export footprint. 

Whither Growth? India’s failing health and education systems signal deeper malaise

In that, the failing health and education sectors in India are a symptom of a larger disease, of an imagined growth story and a fantasised giant economy that sees numbers but not the purpose, that has ignored those at the lower rungs of the ladder in the quest to shine in its fancy airports and bullet trains

Will Modi’s tax-reform promise work to unshackle Indian industry?

However, execution will determine whether Modi’s second GST gamble succeeds. Missteps could mean fiscal slippage, strained centre–state relations and political blowback in a crucial election cycle. What is being promoted as a festive bonanza risks being remembered as another midnight reform whose lofty promise faltered in practice.

With Rising Global Condemnation, India Should Rethink Close Economic Ties With Israel

Clinging to the narrative of “strategic autonomy” while doubling down on a partner facing escalating global condemnation will not safeguard India’s sovereignty. Instead, it risks compromising India’s diplomatic standing and economic resilience.

Alternate Dispute Resolution Growing in India - the Amika Way

The Amika assures non-adversarial ways to dispute resolution, informs clients that they save time, money, and, most importantly, the relationships, and ensures complete confidentiality of the material exchanged during mediation sessions.

Saving The Last Green Lung: Fight To Save India's City Forests

The grassroots movements taking shape, like the one in Jaipur, tell us that the issues of the environment are increasingly resonating with ordinary people. Ordinary citizens, particularly the youth, are tending to stand up for the rights of nature, for their right to breathe clean air and live with nature around them, even in crowded urban landscapes.