- Recent articles in The Statesman
My recent articles published in The Statesman are available on my blog.
- Roads to the Border? – (June 27, 2016)
Is the Indian Government slowly waking up from its slumber? It seems so, but it would be wise not to celebrate too early.Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that his government was “hopeful of completing by next April the construction of highways through Uttarakhand to Kailash-Mansarovar to make it easy for people to visit the abode of Lord Shiva.
- Future of China – (March 10, 2016)
China-watchers are divided. Many believe that the Middle Kingdom will collapse in the new future, some don’t. It is a fact that writing about China&’s fall can make you rich and famous; the West loves this hypothesis. But is it not wishful thinking? A few months ago, David Shambaugh, a respected Chinese expert who is director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University, did this exercise in a Saturday Essay in The Wall Street Journal.
- A Talk with Hollande – (Jan. 20, 2016)
The French have recently rediscovered their old Gaullish belligerent genes. The list of France&’s present military intervention outside its territory is long and the locations spread over two continents – Africa and the Middle-East.
- Threats to China – (June 11, 2015)
The recent White Paper (WP) on China’s military strategy affirms that the country generally enjoys a favourable environment for development, but external challenges are increasing. Though only briefly mentioned, the Middle Kingdom faces many internal threats too. The WP speaks of many multiple and complex security risks, “leaving China an arduous task to safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity and development interests?”
- China’s Land of Snows – (May 4, 2015)
The State Council Information Office (China&’s Cabinet) recently released a White Paper (WP), ‘on the development path of Tibet’. It is not the first WP published by the Chinese Government on Tibet; in fact, it is the 13th since 1992. The characteristic of the latest avatar is best described by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala: “[it] tries to belittle His Holiness the Dalai Lama by questioning his sincerity in dealing with China.”
- New Silk road – (April 5, 2015)
For more than a year now, China has been batting for a grand scheme with a mind-blowing investment, to create a modern Silk Road. Speaking on the sidelines of the Asian Davos at Boao, President Xi Jinping said the scheme would stimulate trade and investment between China and countries along the route. We hope that the annual trade volume between China and these countries surpasses $2.5 trillion in a decade or so, affirmed the Chinese President.
- How can we trust China?- (Feb 6, 2015)
On Christmas Day, the New York Times reported: “Within a few days, water that has travelled more than 800 miles for two weeks in one of the world&’s most ambitious, and controversial, engineering projects is expected to begin flowing through Beijing faucets.”The objective of the scheme is to bring water from the upper reaches of the Han river, a tributary of the Yangtze, through the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion project, the second of three routes planned to transfer water from China&’s wet south to the dry north.
- A Consulate in Lhasa – September 5, 2009
Is China Really Serious About Improving Ties With India?
Jujian Hua, a director at the Tibet’s Foreign Affairs Office, recently made a startling declaration: “India can set up a Consulate in Lhasa”. He kindly added: “That depends on India.” Jujian told an IANS correspondent: “The local government (of the Tibetan Autonomous Region) attached great importance to trade, culture and tradition, including tourism.”
A day later, the Indian government clarified that it had never approached the Chinese authorities for permission to open a Consulate in Lhasa. An official said that there was no question of discussing this issue with China: New Delhi had no plans to open a Consulate in the Tibetan capital.
In the not too-distant past, India had more than a Consulate in Lhasa; it had a full-fledged Mission till the end of 1952. India had inherited several rights and privileges in Tibet from the 1914 Simla tripartite conference (between British India, Tibet and China)…
- Truth from the Facts Fifty Years After The Revolt In Lhasa – March 10, 2009
The Chinese have a problem. They are not able to look at facts straight. Already fifty years ago, on March 10, 1959, when the entire population of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital revolted against their rule, their mouthpiece, Xinhua blamed Tibetan ‘rebellious bandits’ for attacking their ‘Liberation’ army. The communiqué said: “Betraying the motherland [China], the Tibetan Local Government and the upper-strata reactionary clique colluded with imperialism-assembled rebellious bandits and launched armed attacks against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The valiant units of the PLA stationed in Tibet completely smashed the rebellious bandits. Now, the units of the PLA, assisted by patriotic people of all sections, both monks and lay, are mopping up the rebellious bandits in other places in Tibet.”
- Can he? – November 12, 2008
“Yes, we can!” is the motto of the new President-elect of the United States. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President has been celebrated the world over as the victory ‘for change’. Except for a crude remark by Silvio Berlusconi (‘He is young, beautiful and well-tanned’) and the cool congratulations of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, hundreds of millions went ecstatic: “Change has come”.
President Sarkozy of France summarized what many thought: “In selecting you, the people of America have made the choice of change, of opening, of optimism. While the world is in a whirlwind, while the world doubts, the people of America, faithful to the values which have always symbolized the American identity, have expressed with force their faith in progress and in the future. This message of the people of American resonates far beyond your borders”.
- Force for Good – August 8, 2008
Though the Internet penetration in the US is 71 per cent compared to 19 per cent only in China, the growth is phenomenal in China, a staggering 56 per cent in one year. According to projections, 490 million Chinese will be on-line by 2012. More significantly, 95 per cent of the Chinese internauts have broadband connections. The online economy brought China $5.9 billion in revenue in 2007. But China is a land of contradictions. While the country topped the world in terms of users, it has one of the most abysmal records when it comes to freedom of expression. Further, all the promises given to the Olympic Committee in 2001 have been broken.
- Tibet a Talking Point – May 19. 2008
While Tibet watchers wondered what he meant with a ’first step’ (Gyari has been meeting the Chinese officials for 6 years now), The People’s Daily saw the things differently: “The meeting, arranged at the repeated requests made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, was held between central government officials Zhu Weiqun and Sitar and the Dalai Lama’s two private representatives.”…
