Rajesh Singh | Vivekananda International Foundation

Contributions

September 03, 2024 Rajesh Singh

Of late, the Modi government has made a renewed push to further its relationship with two important regional groupings, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). While New Delhi has been constantly engaging with several individual member-co...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Commentary, Russia, European Union, Ukraine, Rwanda, G20, African Union, South Africa, Uganda, India-Arica Forum Summit

Despite Hiccups, India-Malaysia Ties on Track

August 20, 2024 Rajesh Singh

The India-Malaysia relationship has come a long way since 2019, when Malaysia’s the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad ruined the ties with his uncalled-for remark on Kashmir—he said that ‘New Delhi had invaded and occupied Kashmir’. He ha...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, Commentary, Kashmir, Zakir Naik, CAA, Mahathir Mohammad, Anwar Ibrahim

Dazzling Architecture of Our Temples

August 05, 2024 Rajesh Singh

Not many of us who periodically visit important temples in the country and pay our obeisance to the gods and goddesses consecrated there, bother to understand the architecture of those temples. If we were to do so, we would be left dazzled by the var...

Tags: Historical and Civilisational Studies, Commentary, Nagara, Khajuraho, Gopuram, Chola, Kakatiya, Pandya, Chera, Rashtrakuta, Kadamba, Pallava, Kedarnath, Katyuri, King Bhudeva

Changing Colours of Nepal’s Governance

July 22, 2024 Rajesh Singh

Nepal has had more than a dozen governments since the monarchy was formally abolished in that country in 2008. Prime Ministers have come and gone before they had the time to settle down or had enough time to leave behind far-reaching impacts for the ...

Tags: Neighbourhood Studies, Nepal, Commentary, Oli, Prachanda, Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN, Mohan Baidya, Mohan Bikram Singh

Saying ‘No’ to Religion-Centric Reservations

July 04, 2024 Rajesh Singh

Every now and then, especially during election seasons but even otherwise, the subject of providing reservations based on religion is raised by somebody or the other, whether in the political field or outside. On occasions, a few state governments ev...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, Commentary, Constituent Assembly, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, 42nd Amendment

more

Book Published / Book Reviews

The Sherpa Trail: Stories from Darjeeling and Beyond, Authors: Nandini Purandare & Deepa Balsavar; Roli Books, Rs 695/

June 19, 2024 Rajesh Singh

A Tribute to the Sherpas If you want to learn about the legendary courage of the Sherpa people, feel what they feel, understand their triumphs and disappointments and get a glimpse into what makes them tick, there is no better book—at l...

Tags: Historical and Civilisational Studies, Nepal, Book Reviews, Tibet, Himalaya, Sherpa

Kathmandu Chronicle: Reclaiming India-Nepal Relations Author: K.V. Rajan & Atul K. Thakur Vintage (An imprint of Penguin Random House India) Rs. 499/-

May 01, 2024 Rajesh Singh

Few inter-country relationships are as socially and culturally close as the India-Nepal one. But also, few such ties have been as blow-hot-blow-cold as this one. The situation is akin, if one may say, to that of a married couple who, having pledged t...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, Book Reviews, India Nepal Relations, Maoist insurgency, Kathmandu Chronicle

Bharat Rising: Dharma, Democracy, Diplomacy; Author: Utpal Kumar; BleuOneInk; Rs. 599/-

March 27, 2024 Rajesh Singh

When a colonised nation gets rid of its masters, one of its first acts is to reclaim its civilisational and cultural narrative, a legacy that had been pummelled and distorted beyond recognition and replaced by the coloniser’s worldview. For, what b...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, democracy, Book Reviews, dharma, Diplomacy, Bharat

Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory, Aanchal Malhotra, Harper Collins Publishers, India, Pages 400, Price Rs 799/-.

November 13, 2017 Rajesh Singh

It was Elie Wiesel who had said, “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilisation, no society, no future.” The Holocaust survivor would know, as would those in India and Pakistan who went through the trauma of ...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, India, Pakistan, Book Reviews, Mahatma Gandhi, 1947, Islamic nation

Half Lion: How PV Narasimha Rao Transformed India; Vinay Sitapati; Penguin Viking Books

July 28, 2016 Rajesh Singh

When Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao became the country’s Prime Minister, he came with few expectations. His track record as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (then undivided) and many years later as Union Cabinet Minister was mediocre. The party ...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, Narasimha Rao, Book Reviews, 10 Janpath, Congress leader, Gandhi

Outreach

Scarcity of diplomats at Centre affects India's global outreach

January 28, 2019 Rajesh Singh

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