Dec 28, 2020 | Geopolitics
Here is an insightful piece from former head of RAW, AK Verma. Much before Manmohan Singh and Gen. Musharraf tried to resolve Kashmir, Gen Zia and Rajeev Gandhi had come even closer. Hours before his death in 1991, Rajeev said this in an interview about the progress during Gen. Zia’s tenure, ‘ India and Pakistan were close to finishing agreement on Kashmir. We had the maps and everything ready to sign.’ The Pakistani Army seemed to be fully on board.
Dec 28, 2020 | Geopolitics
The fact is our nation states are recently imagined realities. They are an amalgamation of ethnic, communal and linguistic identities – each driven by powerful political forces with vested interests. So, it is easy for an invading power to divide and rule – historically and even now.
Dec 28, 2020 | Geopolitics
The Chinese don’t want to fight a war any more than we do. Their raw soldiers are being chewed by the nasty winter every day and they are not nearly as well-geared as they lead us to believe. Sure, India is decidedly the weaker side. But can we give the Chinese a bloody nose? Surely yes. So, China wants to win the war by subduing our will to fight. Propaganda is thus a force multiplier for China.
Dec 28, 2020 | Reviews
The warmth and brutal realities of a time gone by in Hyderabad evoke bucket loads of nostalgia – much like Malgudi Days does. But the medium is predominantly black humour of the ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ variety. There are depth and pathos in the apparent silliness, deep longing in the quarrels, and a rhythm to the risque routines of a brothel.
Dec 28, 2020 | Connections
We guard our individual and societal identity zealously. But little do we realise that both identities are highly fluid. We derive our identity from merging it with our immediate society and often by rallying against an ‘outsider’, ‘enemy’ – real or imagined. Apes behave similarly.
Dec 28, 2020 | Connections
Why is Northern Cyprus Turkish and Southern Cyprus (Greek) European? Why is Malta European when it is just a couple of hundred kilometers from North Africa? Both Cyprus and Malta lie at 35 degrees Latitude… which is closer to the ‘Middle East’ than ‘Europe’. Why is Finland referred to as a Scandinavian country and not as an Eastern European country? It does not share the Germanic-origin languages as its Nordic neighbours. And a direct Helsinki-Delhi flight is just 6 hours when a Delhi-Munich flight is at least 8 hours.
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