K S Venkatachalam

There are several issues in the Pew survey that has not been addressed, especially the ones that relate to human development issues. In the Social Progressive Index 2016 released recently, China and India has both been ranked 84 and 98 respectively, and have been placed under the category of “Low Middle Class Progress” and “Low […]

The Pew Research Centre, a nonpartisan American fact tank that conducts public opinion poll on a broad range of issues, recently released its poll report: “India and Modi: The Honeymoon Continues.” The poll results show that most of the Indians were upbeat about Narendra Modi’s leadership, especially the general direction he has provided for the […]

The historical relations between India and Nepal are bound by strong religious, cultural and linguistic ties. India has a reciprocal arrangement with Nepal, which allows the people to travel to each other’s country without a visa. There are many Nepalese working in India, and there is a separate regiment that has both ethnic Nepali Gorkhas […]

Ever since the partition in 1947, India-Pakistan relations have always been plagued by mistrust and mutual acrimony. At the core of the dispute is Kashmir that has led to three wars between the two countries. In spite of several attempts of confidence building measures (CBMs) initiated by both the countries, the relations seem to be […]

North Korea has done it again. In a blatant and utter disregard to a series of resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council imposing sanctions against it for continuing with its nuclear and missile development programmes and export of ballistic missile technology, North Korea, on September 7, 2016 detonated an underground hydrogen bomb, the […]

We are now seeing a paradigm shift in the geo-political landscape in the Middle East. Yesterday’s enemies are becoming today’s friends. One example is the recent overtures of the Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, trying to reach out to Israel to form a unified alliance to act as a counter weight […]

The 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit concluded in Kathmandu on November 27, 2014. The summit was heading for another failure as the Prime Ministers (PMs) of Pakistan and India did not greet each other, leave alone acknowledge one another’s presence, but the timely intervention of other members, especially the PM of […]

The news of an Indian and a Pakistani sharing the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 has temporarily put the tension at the border on the back burner. The sharing of the award has come immediately after the fiercest hostilities ever seen since 2003 with every possibility of escalating into a large-scale war. It is estimated that […]

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came to global attention because of large-scale human rights violations by its troops in Mosul. Escaping Iraqi soldiers were mercilessly killed and so were innocent women and children belonging to the Shia community. Young girls were forced into sexual slavery. These barbaric acts shook global consciousness because […]