Algeria Reborn on March 22, 2019After nearly a month of countrywide protests, the Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, yielded to public demands and rescinded his decision to seek a fifth term of office. On the same day, he made the announcement for the postponement of the April 18 elections. According to the Algeria Press Service, the official news agency of the […]
The Resurgence of Hindu nationalism II on March 19, 2019While the saner elements in Indian society are piqued by the spate and intensity of religiously-motivated violence, fear of incarceration at the hands of Hindu zealots prevents them from publicly airing their indignation. In its 2018 annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that the ‘conditions for religious minorities had deteriorated over […]
The resurgence of Hindu nationalism Part-I on March 18, 2019In May 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Indian national elections, claiming a resounding 51.9 percent of seats in the lower house. For the first time in 30 years, a single party was given a mammoth mandate by the people of India to run the country. Narendra Modi, a self-avowed Hindu nationalist and […]
Anatomy of Pulwama-II on March 9, 2019The political ideology of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) derives strength from the ‘Hindu First’ concept that seeks to reinvent India. In simple terms, it is based on the belief that India’s national identity should be based on Hinduism, and that India should become a Hindu state. In the lead-up to […]
Search for Peace in Afghanistan — II on March 2, 2019The preclusion of President Ashraf Ghani’s ‘democratically elected and internationally recognized’ administration from the peace talks portends no good for the country’s future, and raises questions about the legitimacy of the process. President Ghani has in the past tried and failed to entice Taliban into negotiations by promising various concessions. As such, being left out […]
Search for Peace in Afghanistan — I on March 1, 2019The fresh round of peace negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban which took off on Monday, 25 February in Doha picked up ‘from where it was left last time’. In their last meeting, also held in Doha, both sides had reportedly agreed on a framework for a possible U.S. drawdown of troops in exchange […]
Pulwama: In the Aftermath on February 18, 2019The Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of more than 40 CRPF troops was the deadliest to have occurred in Kashmir in terms of casualties. The Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) or Army of Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the attack while Adil Ahmed, a young man from Pulwama who joined JEM in 2018, was […]