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…

26/11 and the Media: Where were the Protocols?

Walking down the Colaba Causeway, past the renovated face of Cafe Leopold, in the shadow of the iconic Taj Mahal, or in Kalaghoda, abutting the Jewish Chabad house where scars of violence have been swallowed up by the cracks in its decaying walls, it takes a minute to remember the bloodshed and mayhem let loose…

For New Delhi, the relationship with Tel Aviv is an exercise in balance

The still-damaged corner wall of the blue-and-white building and a police van permanently parked outside the Chabad House that was attacked during the worst terror strike in Indian history in Mumbai on 26.11.2008 (where the now 11-year old 'baby' Moshe lost his parents), is both a testament to a strengthening relationship between India and Israel,…

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…

Two pieces: After the India-US visit, Terror Convergence ‘Trumps’ Controversy

World leaders who pride themselves on having shaken up their respective systems by taking on the "liberal elite" and "draining the swamp", US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi have more in common than many of their counterparts. As many compared the two for their propensity towards populist politics, distaste for critique, and disregard…

Cracks in a Faustian Pact in Kashmir

Last week, it was video of the army using a local boy as a human shield as they tried to evacuate a group of polling officers under attack by stone pelters. This week, it is the chilling video of gau-rakshaks attacking Gujjars, traditional cattle herders, including women and a 9-year-old child taking shelter inside a…

The Clash of Civilizations-revisited.

At the end of the Cold War, political scientist Samuel Huntington who taught at Harvard University created a hypothesis. As the break up of the Soviet Union resulted in ethnic conflicts – across Central Asia and Eastern Europe most government officials and foreign policy analysts used his Clash of Civilizations as a prescient bible –…

India Overplayed the Pakistan Issue at BRICS in Goa.

This piece appeared on my page at ndtv.com In keeping with the message the Government of India has been pushing even before the Uri attack, the Prime Minister's stream of tough words aimed at isolating Pakistan for its support to terror groups that act against India, made headlines through the two day BRICS and BIMSTEC…

Kashmir: Behind the Rage

Over a month after Burhan Wani’s killing in an encounter by security forces, the question of whether the ongoing protests are about glorifying a terrorist or whether his death was simply a trigger for simmering rage to boil over is moot. As ‘Azadi’ protests pierce the silence of curfew, and the stillness of strikes brings…