May 2008
Praful Bidwai
Instead of abandoning nuclear weapons, India is trying to have them legitimised through the US nuclear deal.
Imagine being asked whether you’d undergo a high-risk operation under a surgeon who’s unaccountable to you. Or being asked to let a distant, supposedly wise, uncle decide about your family’s safety in your absence during...
May 2008
Zia Mian
It is 10 years since India and Pakistan went openly nuclear. The dangers of a nuclear South Asia are becoming more and more apparent, yet the governments of the two countries continue to build their arsenals. Both countries continue to produce plutonium for more and more bombs, both countries have been testing new kinds of delivery vehicles and...
May 2008
Praful Bidwai
Relations between India and Iran, which deteriorated over the past three years from traditional friendship and warmth into mutual suspicion and tension, have started looking up again.
NEW DELHI, May 2 (IPS) - Relations between India and Iran, which deteriorated over the past three years from traditional friendship and warmth into mutual suspicion...
March 2008
Praful Bidwai
India’s military spending has reached sky-high proportions, but the defence services have become increasingly unaccountable and are mired in scandals.
WHEN the last Union Budget was presented, many newspapers reported – some with a hint of pride – that India’s defence spending would breach the Rs.100,000-crore barrier for...
March 2008
Praful Bidwai
JUST days after the United Progressive Alliance launched what looked like a determined last-ditch effort to ram through the United States-India nuclear deal, the agreement seems ready to go into cold storage, if not oblivion.
It’s almost certain to miss the US political timetable, which requires that the deal be sent to the Senate by May for...
March 2008
Praful Bidwai
As the United Progressive Alliance-Left joint committee on the US-India nuclear deal meets today, it’s highly unlikely that the Left will agree to any further negotiation on the agreement. Whether or not this meeting substantively discusses the safeguards (inspections) agreement drafted with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Left’s veto...
March 2008
Praful Bidwai
With elections 14 months away, the Congress Party lacks a clear political strategy: if is to win the elections it should rely less on 'media training' and more on the policies and programmes that prioritise the interests of the majority.
NOW that India has to have the next general election within 14 months, if not earlier, the Congress is making...
February 2008
Praful Bidwai
Instigators of hate speech in Mumbai have enjoyed impunity for too long, and the release of Raj Thackeray, the leader of xenophobic Navnirman Sena party, after only three hours, will not spread the message of tolerance.
AFTER much dilly-dallying, the Mumbai police finally arrested Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Mr Raj Thackeray last week for inciting...
