Decolonizing History and Fiction in a Neo Colony Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake* “Fair is foul and foul is fair”— William Shakespeare’s Macbeth COLOMBO | 7 August 2024 (IDN) — Why are there no Booker Prize-winning novels about mundane multicultural families that inter-married for generations, shared religion/s, language/s, histories, and co-existed for centuries, while living in relative […]
Bangladesh Student Protests: More Than an Anti-Discrimination Movement
By Tajul Islam DHAKA, Bangladesh | 27 July 2024 (IDN) — The student protests in Bangladesh began as a legitimate and peaceful movement aimed at addressing inequalities within the educational system and government job reservations. Students were particularly concerned with the country’s quota system in government jobs, which reserved a significant portion of these positions […]
Government Crackdown Sparks Bloodshed and Fury Across Bangladesh
By Shahidul Alam* This article was originally published in The Wire and is being republished with the author’s permission. DHAKA, Bangladesh | 25 July 2024 (IDN) — The televised murder of Abu Sayeed, an unarmed student of Begum Rokeya University, is an indictment of a rogue government that has long lost its right to rule. […]
A Worm’s Eye View of the World of India and China
By Sanjaya Baru* Shastri Ramachandaran’s “Beyond Binaries: The World of India and China (2008-2022)”, published by Genuine Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd., 1 January 2024, is a reminder for Indian media organisations to look abroad. This review was pubished by The Wire. NEW DELHI | 22 July 2024 (IDN) — Foreign correspondents have always been […]
The Forgotten Trophy of India-Russia Friendship
By Shastri Ramachandaran* This article was issued by The Wire and is being republished with the author’s permission. If there is one single individual icon who epitomises India-Russia cooperation above and beyond politics, diplomacy and transactional ties, it is India’s greatest chess player and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. NEW DELHI | 20 July 2024 […]
New Report Faults Deterioration of Civil Rights in India, Urges UN To Interfere
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 14 July 2024 (IDN) — CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, has documented the use of restrictive legislation against activists, journalists and others critical of the state, along with harassment and attacks. In its report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in India, CIVICUS […]
India: Homage to the Veteran Diplomat Muchkund Dubey Who Died at 90
Prof. Dubey was an expert on disarmament and development cooperation. He served as India’s foreign secretary in 1990-91, and as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Permanent Representative to UN Organisations in Geneva. He died on 26 June 2024 at the age of 90. By Saurabh Kumar* NEW DELHI | 6 July 2024 (IDN) —I […]
Sri Lanka: Perversity of Ex Post Facto Commendation
By A. L. A. Azeez* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 4 July 2024 (IDN) — Many people now speak and write about the late R. Sampanthan, the leader of Tamil National Alliance in Sri Lanka, following his passing recently. Much of it is a glowing tribute—sorrowful and deeply touching. But the irony is that not all […]
After the Election: What Next in India?
By Herbert Wulf* India has voted in a new parliament. The strongman, Prime Minister Modi, suffered a setback, as the opposition did very well, beyond all expectations. With the support of smaller parties, Modi has received a third term in office. Will these results change India’s foreign, economic and socio-political policies? This article was issued […]
Next Asian Hotspot: “Outsiders” Could Trigger Conflict in The Himalayas
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK | 27 June 2023 (IDN) — Current geopolitical tensions in the Asian region — what China calls “outsiders interfering in the region to create conflict”— spreading to India’s Himalayan borders, threatening India’s and the region’s security. The conflict in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur bordering Myanmar is already beginning to […]