Amit Ranjan

Talking about India-Pakistan peace, praising Lahoris or Delhi-wallas for their warm hospitalities, or questioning why there is a conflict despite having similar culture, food, language, etc, has become part of a behavioural norm followed by almost all who visit the other side of the India-Pakistan border. Bluntly speaking, this type of norm is far from […]

Recently I was in Lahore for a conference organised by The History Art and Architecture of Punjab (THAAP), a society run by Professor Pervaiz Vandal and Professor Sajida Vandal. I was very enthusiastic about the invitation because this was my first visit to a foreign country and that also to Pakistan, which is my area […]

Discussing the reasons for war, Immanuel Kant wrote that ‘anything’ can lead to it. His view is appropriate to explain the India-Pakistan relationship. The two countries do not need any reasonable cause to fight a war. ‘Anything’ — even a statement by a non-state actor — can lead to a state of war between them. […]

In his Clash of Barbarians: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder, Gilbert Achcar writes that each civilisation has its own barbarism. Terrorism and counter-terrorism activities in the post-Cold War world are illustrations of the barbarism of contemporary civilisation. Countless innocents have lost their lives in conflicts of interest between two groups; […]

First time in more than 65 years of its existence as a sovereign country, Pakistan has witnessed a democratic transfer of power. This is not a small achievement. The political galleries were occupied with rumours and fears of stopping of election or delaying the electoral process. Nothing of that sort happened. Defying all odds people […]

Defying all negative predictions about its continuity in office and amidst all sorts of political troubles, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led government under President Asif Ali Zardari has successfully completed its fixed term in office. In the beginning and middle of its term the incumbent government faced resistance from various quarters. That made many […]

The Dr Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in India and Asif Ali Zardari-led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Pakistan are facing strong public ire in their respective countries. During Dr Singh’s premiership, various scams have been unearthed in which a few of his cabinet ministers are involved neck deep, while Asif Ali […]

Pakistan democratically is passing through a difficult time due to a growing power tussle between two important institutions — the judiciary and the elected civilian executive. After the verdict by Pakistan’s Supreme Court on June 20, which disqualified the now former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from continuing in office, the court has attracted the […]

Once again, as was pragmatically expected, India and Pakistan failed to get a much-propagandised breakthrough on the issue of demilitarisation of Siachen. This should not be a tad shocking to people from the two countries, who have not resolved even a single issue between them through their bilateral negotiation processes and mechanisms. The reasons are […]

On May 25-26, 2012, once again, India and Pakistan were engaged in a bilateral dialogue. Prior to it, umpteen times they have carried on this process but have failed to resolve even a single contentious issue out of many lying between them. The mother of all conflicts between the two is the present status of […]