April 2014

Will henceforth mob decide who is to rule the country, not the ballot box? Is mobocracy now going to be the order of the day, and not democracy? Perhaps yes, if some current events are any guide. In Ukraine, an elected president has been driven out by protestors holding the capital city of Kiev hostage to their months-long street protest. …

A friend who has followed the Bric story noted sardonically that they are probably “fresher” than the Brics. What they really share beyond having a lot of people, is that at least for the next 20 years, they have really good “inner” demographics’ they are all going to see a rise in the number of people eligible to work relative …

There is a notable difference between the intensity of support for Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Seven-in-ten Indians are dissatisfied with the way things are going in India today. The Indian public, by a margin of more than three-to-one, would prefer the Hindu-nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to lead the next Indian government rather than the Indian National Congress …

Afghanistan recently celebrated the 25th year of withdrawal former Soviet soldiers from its soil. Exactly 25 years later, forty other countries, combating with Taliban and al-Qaeda for over 12 years, are in a process to pull out. The withdrawal of last of Soviet troops from the Hairatan border brought huge joy among Mujahideen who viewed themselves as the winner of …

Today, the CIA, the RAW and many others spy agencies are out to weaken the province and malign Pakistan army and the ISI. Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qayyum is a person of diverse talent and unrivalled administrative qualities. Besides having a decade’s worth experience in the Pakistan Army, he has also served as chairman for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) at …

Three Gulf monarchies’ “ Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain – are so annoyed with a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Qatar, that they have recalled their ambassadors from Doha. This was done in protest against Qatar’s interference in their internal affairs. It’s hard to believe that a pro-Western emirate like Qatar would interfere in the internal affairs …

On February 7, 1845, US Congressman John D. Cummins rose in the US House of Representatives to clamour for US possession of the Oregon Territory, then occupied jointly by the United States and Britain. He declared that these opulent Northwest lands were ‘the master key of the commerce of the universe.’ ‘Put that territory under US jurisdiction,’ he argued, ‘and …

Europe is in the throes of its most dangerous crisis since the end of the cold war. When President Viktor Yanukovich, recently, was toppled in Kiev, the world wondered how the Kremlin would respond to the fall of its cherished ally and the threat that Ukraine might shift westwards. But, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, gave his uncompromising answer when …