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S P O T L I G H T

E D I T O R I A L 

Sonia Gandhi: The de facto Prime Minister?

Siddharth Srivastava

She may not be the de jure prime minister of India, but as dynamics within the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) unveils itself there is no doubt that Sonia Gandhi is the de facto ruler of the country. It was earlier predicted that Sonia would limit herself to playing political mentor to new premier Manmohan Singh as it is no easy task heading a coalition of parties owing allegiance .......More >>>>

Natwar Singh: Foreign Policy Mess Up

What others say..........

Natwar Singh should never have been made the Foreign Minister in the first place. In less than a week, the self-opinionated Natwar has come close to undoing the good work done by the Vajpayee Government in the field of foreign relations. The former career diplomat has shown a remarkable lack of tact and responsibility in handling his new job. With an ossified mindset, this haughty cold .......More >>>>

C O M M E N T

F E A T U R E

Musharraf and his Khaki Turncoats

Samuel Baid

In January this year it was suggested in these columns that though in the prevailing circumstances it was most convenient to blame jehadis for the two serious attempts on the life of General Musharraf in December 2003, but the real culprits might be in the Army. Army spokesman Maj.Gen. Shaukat Sultan suspected a foreign hand behind   ......More >>>>

Cry O My Beloved India

François Gautier

I have lived for 35 years in India. I can say that I am one the few Western journalists who believe in India, believe in the greatness of this country, believe that India is on the way to become a superpower, industrial, economic, social, military and above all spiritual. All throughout my journalistic career, both as a journalist and a writer, I have tried .......More >>>>

 A N A L Y S I S

S T A T E C R A F T

Pakistan: The Raging Jihad
B Raman

In the second fortnight of May, 2004, it became evident that under US pressure Gen.Pervez Musharraf was planning to resume military operations in the South Waziristan area of the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan in order to hunt for Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda and Taliban dregs. The Hizbut Tahrir (HT).......More >>>>

What's Punjab got to do with Iraq?
Siddharth Srivastava

What’s Punjab got to do with Iraq? Observers here have been drawing comparisons between the hostile situation that reached a flashpoint recently at Falluja and the terrorism that had infested the western state of Punjab during the eighties. The discussions (specially in the seminar circuit) were set off by a recent article written by noted columnist S  Aiyar .....More >>>>

P E R S P E C T I V E

L A S T  W O R D

Human Rights, Israel & United Nation

Gary Fitleberg

Despite the United Nations Charter’s laudable commitment to the “sovereign equality” of all member states, Israel is treated very differently from the other 188 countries in the U.N. When it comes to Israel, the U.N.’s credibility is always in question. The U.N. serves as the lacky and mouthpiece of political propaganda of Arab/Islamist nations .......More >>>>

Pakistan: The Northern Areas Tinderbox
Kanchan Lakshman

Celebrating liberal democracy during his speech to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, Pakistan's Quaid-i-Azam (Great Leader) Mohammad Ali Jinnah said, "You may belong to any religion or caste or creed... that has nothing to do with the business of the state. We are all citizens and equal citizens of the state." Fifty-seven  .......More >>>>

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