The title of Shashi Tharoor’s new book, Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century, can mislead an unwary reader. The book does not offer a blueprint for India’s rise to imperial status in the current century. A more modest role is envis
India’s relations with its neighbours need to be analysed frankly and unsentimentally, without recourse to the usual platitudes when pronouncing on the subject. It is fashionable to assume that there is some larger moral imperative that governs rel
US elections are a spectacle and attract enormous media attention. Barring countries like China that have no political interest in exposing their public to such a democratic extravanganza, the media in most others revels even in the trivia of this el
We are constantly reviewing the state of our relations with Pakistan in think tank discussions and in the media even when progress in the relationship is inordinately slow. Many think that as a society we pay exaggerated attention to Pakistan, almost
President Obama win in 2008 was a truly historic occasion as the election of a non-white to the presidency represented the far reaching social change that had occurred relatively undetected in the American society over the years. His second win conso
Much is sometimes made of India’s “soft power” as a diplomatic force multiplier. This kind of power is defined as the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce, use force or give money as a mean of persuasion. Through this power a countr
The 50th anniversary of the 1962 India-China border conflict provides an appropriate occasion to reflect on border differences between the two countries and the outlook for the future. India’s view of China is heavily etched by the 1962 events. At
We have to deal with China pragmatically, within the framework of our serious political differences and opportunities for economic engagement. China has grown into a formidable economic power, with swelling military muscles. It has sucked in inves
The upcoming presidential election in the United States lacks the excitement of the election four years ago when Barack Obama made history by being the first black person ever to occupy the White House. He cannot make that kind of history again. T
In the background of a perceived shift in global power from the West to the East, future relations between a rising China and India are a fit subject for analysis and speculation. The title of Bertil Lintner’ book - “Great Game East: India, Chin