Indo-Pak relations: Fresh dawn or false start? Invitation to the SAARC leader to attend Prime Minister-elect’s swearing in ceremony has electrified diplomatic atmosphere in South Asia. In this context Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit and his scheduled meeting with the Indian Prime Minister has generated a lot of interest. Given the strong mandate, Mr. Modi is in a strong position to put his stamp on the further evolution of Indo-Pakistan relations right from the beginning of his tenure. Smruti S. Pattanaik , Arvind Gupta May 25, 2014 IDSA Comments
Defence Reforms – Agenda for the New Government A country’s response to external threats and internal security challenges is based on its defence preparedness, advance planning for contingencies and the political will. The new government will have to make key decisions on different aspects of defence reforms. This Policy Brief puts forward some suggestions. Military Affairs Centre , Defence Economics & Industry Centre May 22, 2014 Policy Brief
Obama’s visit to Japan: strategic significance A Sino-Japanese conflict is not in the US interest and certainly not in Japan’s. Stability in the regional security landscape cannot be solely guaranteed by reaffirming the US-Japan security alliance, which provides space for the US to flaunt its military might through deployment. Titli Basu May 20, 2014 IDSA Comments
Moving on with the Defence & Security of India Ministry of Defence which accounts for 13-14 per cent of the central government expenditure, if one also takes into account the expenditure on defence pensions, could come under some pressure to prepare an action plan as the outcome of what it does is often intangible, undisclosable, or simply unmeasurable. The author puts forward some suggestions. Amit Cowshish May 20, 2014 IDSA Comments
Internal Security Priorities for the New Government: Institutional Reforms The IDSA policy brief looks into the complexity of internal security challenges and how best to deal with it. The brief suggests building a Centre-State synergy to cope with contemporary trends like increasing urbanization, growth of mega cities, demographic shift, rising expectations of the youth and social media. Internal Security Centre May 19, 2014 Policy Brief
Politics of Illegal Immigration and India Bangladesh Relations The rhetoric and the politics surrounding illegal immigration issue is neither new nor is the stance of the BJP on illegal immigration unknown. It has always made a distinction between the Hindus and Muslims emigrating from Bangladesh considering the former as refugees and terming the later as illegal immigrants. Smruti S. Pattanaik May 16, 2014 Issue Brief
Challenging Stereotypes: Reinventing the national discourse on the North East If the larger goal is to understand the challenges of the North East, it would require a strong national narrative which reconciles its many identities and adds to the peace process. Till development in the North East is achieved the stereotypes will continue to gain traction in policy approaches. Shruti Pandalai May 16, 2014 IDSA Comments
CPI (Maoist) and Urban Movement The Urban Movement has a defined role in the political strategy and military strategy of the CPI (Maoist). In the Maoist schemes, Urban Movement is to broadly to mobilise and organise the basic masses and build the party on that basis ; build the United Front ; and military tasks . P. V. Ramana May 12, 2014 IDSA Comments
National Investigation Agency: Do states have right to reject? The NIA was established in a concurrent jurisdiction framework, with provisions for taking up specific cases under specific Acts for investigation and prosecution. The NIA may be seen to conflict with responsibility that is exclusively with the states but it cannot be conclusively said that the Agency is unconstitutional N. Manoharan May 12, 2014 IDSA Comments
Bodo violence: Contest for power and territory It is imperative that the government immigration agencies generate reliable verified data on the number of people coming in from Bangladesh into Assam. It is also the government’s constitutional obligation to maintain the veracity of electoral rolls listing only citizens with the right to vote. Namrata Goswami May 09, 2014 IDSA Comments