Conflict · Kashmir · Politics

Kashmir: Betrayal, Uncertainty and Fear make a Potent Brew

The drive from Srinagar to Shopian in South Kashmir on the sixth Friday since the nullification of Article 370 is eerily calm. On one stretch of the road near Kakpora, just before Pulwama, stones and the odd, felled tree trunk appear as makeshift roadblocks- laid by local youth to prevent any vehicular movement- military or… Continue reading Kashmir: Betrayal, Uncertainty and Fear make a Potent Brew

Conflict · Media · World

When Professional Is Personal (lessons from the field)

No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main… Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind… And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee. —John Donne Nothing breaks a heart more than… Continue reading When Professional Is Personal (lessons from the field)

Conflict · Poetry

Untitled. Or A Reporter’s Diary. (Written, 2017)

They arrive in darkness from the depths of memory of faraway lands and blood soaked streets. Shadows move noisily in the night. Fingers point accusingly Wails a cacophony of regret. Dismembered, limbless, sightless sometimes lifeless faces, bodies, voices questioning. Asking when I will return. If I will return. I am the itinerant, welcomed into hollow… Continue reading Untitled. Or A Reporter’s Diary. (Written, 2017)

Conflict · Poetry

Silent River (Or Whose Side are you On? Written November, 2016)

A mother sings a lullaby. In the moonlight stars sparkle over the Jhelum. A father walks outside to lock the gate. And looks across the bund on to the silent river, black as night. Footsteps in the dark Stomp, crush Tar and leaves Dry as paper. Where are they headed? He wonders and hurries back… Continue reading Silent River (Or Whose Side are you On? Written November, 2016)

Conflict · Diplomacy · Kashmir · South Asia

After Balakot, time for a diplomatic offensive

War is politics by other means, said Karl Von Clausewitz, the Prussian military strategist in the eighteenth century. As societies change, and politics changes, so does the nature of war, and the battlefields wars are fought on. The two weeks since the Pulwama attack has shown us that the battlefield is now also on television… Continue reading After Balakot, time for a diplomatic offensive

Conflict · Diplomacy · Foreign Policy · Rights

UNHCR, OCHCR Urge India not to Deport Rohingya  

New Delhi. October 3, 2018 Officials from UN High Commissioner for Refugees based in India have said that seven Rohingya men being deported from the Silchar central jail in Assam to their home village in  Central Rakhine in Myanmar should be given a chance to make an “informed decision”  about their return in the current… Continue reading UNHCR, OCHCR Urge India not to Deport Rohingya  

Conflict · Religion · World

Israel’s Nationality Bill Is Challenging the Core of Jewish Identity

As the sun sets over the Mediterranean off the coast of Tel Aviv on Sabbath evening, Israelis, young and old, head down to the many bars along Ben Yehuda Street, or to the beach to cool off in the July heat. Ideally, Jewry across the world is meant to be indoors on this day, focused… Continue reading Israel’s Nationality Bill Is Challenging the Core of Jewish Identity

Conflict · India · National Security

CVE: Lessons for India

Have spent the last few months learning about, understanding and critiquing policies that focus on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE in policy jargon)- in order to look at what India can do. This report- a result of all the studying- emphasises the need to go beyond law enforcement-based approaches to terror and extremist violence, and recommends… Continue reading CVE: Lessons for India