We cannot both applaud the defence minister's wish to get friendly with the Chinese and at the same time join the Nepal government forces to suppress the Maoists there. Either the defence minister should go back on his revisionism or he must cajole his prime minister to desist from lending active support to the Nepal government for liquidating home-bred Maoists over there.
Issues of security have all too often focused on military aspects, emphasising elements of 'masculinisation'. But for long lasting solutions, it is necessary to involve groups that have remained 'marginal' so far - in particular the women's movements and action forums. A gender-based perspective could offer radical solutions, as women's viewpoints, attitudes and 'coping strategies' - as seen in Northern Ireland and South Africa, could bring in far-reaching, positive and provide durable security in the long run.
A sense of history should help policy-makers in India and Pakistan to put into perspective their respective expectations of the US - as in any relationship among unequals - as the latter pursues its longterm global battle against 'international terrorism'. Our past experience provides ample grounds for caution.
With ever increasing linkages to the global economy, China is beset by the dilemma of decentralisation. Gradual devolution of power to the provinces and the localities, once seen as an avenue to build up power, now appear as a chaotic mesh of competing markets. The challenge must be to bring on re-centralisation; at the same time, new forces need a secure base to help strengthen China's claims as a global power.
Islamisation in modern times is not simply a throwback to the past. It evolved in the schools in Deoband as a form of Islamic revival to form trans-regional identities under colonialism. And jihad may seem like a reasonable option in establishing these identities.
In a follow-through that has taken the world by surprise, and contrary to the apprehensions raised initially, the US has shown growing restraint in its pronouncements and its apparent intentions in the pursuit of its war against terrorism. Whatever the internal and geopolitical compulsions that have moderated the early rhetoric, this in retrospect makes the Indian government’s response to the World Trade Centre disaster appear notably naïve.
For better India-Pakistan relations, of which Kashmir is undoubtedly a critical component, and peace in South Asia, good intentions are no substitute for intimate knowledge of the ground realities. The case of Stephen Cohen's 'Moving Forward in South Asia'.
