South Asia

Image: Haolenphai Village, Manipur / Ms. Hatneihoi Haokip

Climate Change and the Tribal Communities of Manipur, India

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Climate change is bound to have far-reaching implications on tribal societies even though they have traditionally lived in close harmony with nature. For them, climate change is an issue of human rights and equity as it threatens to disrupt their traditional ways of life and production through land degradation, agricultural shifts, changes in rainfall patterns, higher incidence of pests and diseases.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 April 2022

Photo: TS Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the UN, said India chose to abstain on the UNSC resolution on Ukraine because the path of diplomacy was given up. Credit: ANI | HT_PRINT

Ukraine-Russia Conflict: India Re-Asserts Strategic Autonomy

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Washington has failed to push India into taking a stand against Moscow in the ongoing US-Russia confrontation, where Ukraine is a victim of both the superpowers. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is indefensible, as war or the use of military force is unacceptable as a means of dispute resolution. Equally indefensible is the US and the US-led West using Ukraine as bait to set the bear trap of the war, in which Russia has now got snared.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; South Asia; 11 March 2022

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2021. Credit: PTI

Russian Assault on Ukraine: India’s Tough Call

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

COLOMBO (IDN) — Sri Lanka announced its neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and urged the parties to solve their issue through negotiations. India, though considered to be the best peace broker to intervene to solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict due to its strong relationship with the two countries, is in a dilemma over the issue.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; South Asia; 03 March 2022

India’s Domineering Role Over Sri Lanka

By Mulaffer Khalid

The writer is a political analyst, a Senior Lecturer at the Chartered Institute of Supply & Materials Management and Visiting Lecturer both at the National Institute of Business Management and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration.

COLOMBO (IDN) — India, one of the major nuclear powers in South Asia, has long gained a notoriety as a political bully in its own neighbourhood—and Sri Lanka has continued to be one of its victims.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 23 February 2022

Photo: A general view of the UN Security Council. Credit: UN

India Trapped on A Tightrope in Big Power Games

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

This article was issued by WION and DNA, and is being re-published with the writer's permission.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — India’s diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing this week was another balancing act of a piece with its position on Ukraine in the UN Security Council meeting last week. In both cases, the Government of India made a virtue of not taking a stand by appearing to take a stand.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; South Asia; 12 February 2022

Photo: From left to Right- Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

India-UK Free Trade Agreement: Band-Aid or a Band of Democracies

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

Manish Uprety is an ex-diplomat & ALCAP’s Special Adviser for Asia & Africa and Jainendra Karn is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Post Magna Carta and the Treaty of Westphalia, international relations between nations are like the sacred marriage vows of Henry VIII or Elizabeth Taylor; and no one knows what the future might unfold. Indo-British relations can also be seen explored in the same light.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 January 2022

Image: Subhash Chandra Bose. Source: Indian Express.

Hindu Nationalism in India Attempts Appropriation of 'Netaji' Bose

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 18th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 January 2022

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, Saturday, February 8, 2021. Credit: PTI

Sri Lanka: Calling For Indian Intervention Will Not Help Tamil Aspirations

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

The writer is a senior Sri Lankan journalist and political commentator.

COLOMBO (IDN) — “Solicitation of foreign interference in an election represents a betrayal of public trust because it threatens to undermine the people’s right of self-determination—a foundational norm of our Constitutional order,” said Dean of Cornell Law school, Jens David Ohlin in his book ‘Election Interference’ published by Cambridge Press.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 23 January 2022

'Unity in Diversity' Is an Essential Part of Indian Culture

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 17th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator. This article was first published on NEWSclick on January 3, 2022.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 05 January 2022

What the Sialkot Lynching Means For South Asia?

Viewpoint by Chulanee Attanayake and Chirayu Thakkar

This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

COLOMBO | SINGAPORE (IDN) — On December 3, 2021, the South Asian headlines were dominated by the unfortunate lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager, Priyantha Kumara. An Export Manager working in Pakistan since 2010, Priyantha Kumara, was beaten, killed and set on fire for removing posters with religious verses printed on them. The mob construed this as an act of blasphemy. The gruesome incident shook the conscience of many, with protests sparked within Pakistan and demands for justice in Sri Lanka.