India’s economic self-reliance is not about shutting the doors to the world. It is about standing firm during crises, reducing vulnerabilities, and becoming globally competitive. The philosophy of Atmanirbhar Bharat represents a pragmatic approach: be self-reliant in areas where dependence is dangerous, and globally integrated in sectors where India can lead.
The Indian software and IT services giants have for long been accused of running body shops, a business fashioned out of what essentially is labour arbitrage turned into a fine art. The sector has consistently denied this, arguing that they have moved up the value chain and that they compete on quality, not price.
When I think back to Wagah, what stays with me is not the barbed wire, but the wind -- the same wind moving across the border without asking permission. I think of rivers that carry stories of children whose laughter sounds the same in Lahore, Delhi, Dhaka, and Kathmandu.
On the face of it, the misplaced hysteria surrounding the visit made by Sri Lankan journalists to Israel is fuelled by shadowy factors intending to promote a one-sided narrative in which the State of Israel stands as the perennial villain. The beguiling picture planted in Sri Lankan society is portrayed through the moral binaries: good vs evil, victim vs oppressor, and Palestine Vs Israel.
If a true aristocrat is to be defined by courtesy and good manners, then the Mahatma was no less than the most refined princes and maharajas of India. His interactions were marked by legendary grace, respect and courtesy even in times of acrimony and division. He even addressed Mr. Jinnah, a political opponent, as the Quaid-I-Azam, the title given to Mr Jinnah by his supporters.
Balochistan remains a Pakistani faultline and it must be understood that it is a ‘political problem' even though the Pakistani state has been trying to deal with it all through as 'security problem'. The clear dissatisfaction of the people during accession to Pakistan is yet to be resolved. Forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are now the trademark policy impulses of the oppressive Pakistani regime.
The recruitment of Nepali Gorkhas into the Indian Army being stopped after 77 years post-Independence is not only going to be a major loss to the Indian Army but also a serious and avoidable blow to cordial India-Nepal relations.
While there are uncertainties with regard to the possibilities and prospects of generating green hydrogen in a cost-effective manner it is surprising that green hydrogen is being hailed as the ultimate solution to overcome the emission issue and prevent climate disaster.
Many of us spend hours on social media doom scrolling, which then ceases to be just a source of recreation; it becomes an alternative world where algorithms and trends decode and shape individuals.
Peace and progress go hand in hand. To stabilize the economy, Pakistan needs a conducive political environment to focus on investment, education and health care. Whatever the economic challenges, the solutions would have to come from within. External funds, loans, debts are only temporary solutions
The very idea of Pakistan was based on the Two-Nation Theory which emphasized Muslims’ different way of life from that of the Hindus in the subcontinent. However, the mere religious identity of a nation without reconciling Pakistan’s diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups was not enough to hold it together.
Bangladesh is home to people of different religions and cultures, both in the hills and plains. The extreme polarization of thought and ideology between opposing ideological groups is impacting Bangladesh's social fabric.
The BJP is not really taking on the immense political challenge of explaining and then persuading the people to go with the right-wing turns in policies it seeks to implement; it is sneaking it in, and in that it is being met with defeat after defeat.
When the world descended on Afghanistan in 2001, Afghans believed it was about them, about a better life for them. It never was. It never is, writes senior reporter Kathy Gannon, who has covered Afghanistan since the 1980s. Looking back at the second Taliban takeover in 2021 she looks at why the ironically named ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ of 2001 failed and how the aspirations of Afghans have been ignored.
Sri Lanka’s current HDI score stands at 0.78 and is the highest in South Asia.
A message from the Kolkata case is to rebuild our healthcare workplaces with the intent of making them safe and gender inclusive.
The exams for IITs, IIMs, Civil Services, in particular, are strong pointers on how traditional pedagogy and mindset of our educational institutions towards learning is found severely inadequate and deficient, and call for a paradigm shift towards critical thinking and building wider perspectives.
Many of the oligarchic business syndicates that formed around the deposed Sheikh Hasina are now on the run. But their vast industrial establishments remain. It is essential to sustain these industries. Millions of people are working in these establishments that are playing a critical role in the production sector of the country. These industries cannot be shut down because of the crimes of their leaders.
After the Nirbhaya case in India, the laws were tightened against sexual violence. We also have stringent laws against child abuse. Yet the laws have not stopped reported sexual crimes from growing as the NCRB data shows.
