India and the World

Two suicide blasts rock Kabul, target peace plan

- by India Writes Network

Two suicide blasts within a span of 24 hours have struck Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. This is the first major attack on the capital after the death of the legendary one-eyed Mullah Omar was announced. The blasts killed around 35 people and injured more than 100 people. The first attack killed 15 people and wounded 240 people, according to news reports. The second attack killed 20 Afghan cadets when a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman blew himself up at the entrance of the Kabul Police Academy. These attacks have happened after the new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has taken over, and is trying to strengthen his position and image in front of the Taliban cadres.

The Taliban, while claiming responsibility for the second attack, did not claim the first attack. The second attack also raises questions about the vulnerability of the security forces facing Taliban after the NATO forces ended combat operations in the country.

Read More

Europe opportunity: EU invites PM Modi for India-EU summit

- by India Writes Network

Barely months after his successful visits to Germany and France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi look set to galvanize India’s multifarious relations with the 28-nation European Union later this year.

The EU has sent an invite to Mr Modi to attend the India-EU summit in Brussels, said Minister of State for External Affairs V.K Singh. The summit is expected to be held before or after the G20 summit in November.

“The Summit will provide an opportunity for taking stock of the ongoing cooperation between India and EU and explore ways of further energising bilateral collaboration in areas of mutual interest, including exchange of views on global issues of mutual interest and concern”, said Mr Singh.

The prime ministerial visit will focus on expanding economic and strategic relations with the EU, India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between India and the EU has surged to USD 101.5 billion (FY 2013-14). The total FDI equity inflows into India from EU was around USD 8,207 million during 2014-15.

Read More

Is India punching below its weight? NSA Doval thinks so, what about you?

- by Manish Chand

Is India punching below its weight? It’s the mother of all questions for contemporary practitioners of statecraft and diplomacy, and the country’s strategic thinking elite.

One can go on debating this proposition endlessly, and the country’s diplomatic-strategic establishment can delude itself into comforting clichés about the emergence of India as a major power in the shifting global geopolitical landscape. But National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is a staunch realist, and he has rearticulated what has been spoken often in the strategic circles – yes, India has been underperforming when it comes to leveraging its growing economy, its status as the world’s most populous democracy, and its indubitable soft power strengths.

“India has a mentality to punch below its weight. We should not punch below our weight or above our weight, but improve our weight and punch proportionately,” Mr Doval said in his address entitled ‘State Security, Statecraft, and Conflict of values’ at the 21st Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture in Mumbai.

Read More

Gujarat/Goa connection: Why India-Mozambique ties matter

- by Manish Chand

In Maputo, being Indian is not an oddity – it’s not just 20,000 persons of Indian origin living in this picturesque Lusophone country that make you feel at home, but a sense of deep cultural connections that hark back centuries, predating Vasco da Gama’s voyages. It does not matter if you don’t understand a word of Portuguese; the sensuous lilts of music, spicy food and rich emotions draw you in. And it’s a relationship that is literally shining in the sun — drive around 20 miles away from Maputo to the India-assisted Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Plant set up in Matola Rio Administrative Post, and you get a sense of what’s bringing the Gujarat-educated Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi to India on a five-day visit (starting August 4).

The solar panel plant, which was built with India’s Line of Credit and technical assistance over two years ago, is now literally bringing clean light into the lives of thousands of people in villages, and also generating new employment opportunities. “The solar panel factory represents an important milestone on the development of our country,” said Castro José Elias, Provincial Director for Maputo.

Read More

Historic pact signed, peace gets chance in Nagaland

- by India Writes Network

In a historic step, the Indian government signed a peace pact with the chief rebel group of Nagaland NSCN (IM), bringing an end to India’s longest insurgency after six decades. The pact, which marks the closure of nearly two decades of peace talks, was signed by chief Indian interlocutor N. Ravi and T. Muivah, chairman of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) at 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides Mr Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and 19 Naga leaders from various organizations were present at the historic signing ceremony. Mr Modi hailed the accord, saying “it is a lesson and an inspiration in our troubled world.”

“We will not only try to heal wounds and resolve problems, but also be your partner as you restore your pride and prestige,” he stressed.

Read More

India-Pakistan NSA meeting: Talking terror in the midst of terror?

- by India Writes Network

The warmth and bonhomie seen between the leaders of India and Pakistan in the Russian city of Ufa barely three weeks ago seem to be rapidly evaporating into thin air. The terror attack on a police station in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, blamed on Pakistan-based militants, and frequent ceasefire violations, along with mutual recriminations, have vitiated atmosphere between the two compulsively suspicious neighbours. But the redeeming news, amid the usual charges and counter-charges, is that the meeting between the National Security Advisers (NSAs) – the principle outcome of the Ufa meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on July 10 – hasn’t been derailed.

In fact, India has proposed August 23-24 as dates for the meeting of NSAs, which is expected to focus on terror-related issues, said sources in Delhi. Confirming it, Pakistan’s NSA Sartaj Aziz said in Islamabad that a proposal for the National Security Advisors meeting towards the end of August has been received by Islamabad. Pakistan has not yet confirmed the meeting and neither has any agenda for the meeting been set.

Read More

China’s seven new islets in South China Sea set off alarm bells

- by India Writes Network

The pace and scale of expansion of building seven new islets by China has set the alarm bells ringing in the region. Recent reports show how China has been piling sands onto the reefs for the past one year and made progress by creating seven new islets.

In June, China had announced that its plan to create islands would soon be completed. China has built port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip on the islands, according to a report in New York Times. The new islands give China access to harness the portion of seas for its own use that have been out of reach in the past. This move of China has also raised concerns about the marine ecosystem which is getting damaged due to the building of these islands by China.

The Fiery Cross Reef, which is one of the most strategically important island to China, was acquired by Beijing after a confrontation with Vietnam in 1988. Twenty seven years later, this has become the most important of the seven newly created positions of China in the South China Sea. The rise in number of troops in Fiery Cross is said to have gained momentum in the recent past and the island has been equipped with an airstrip estimated to be around 3300 metres that can accommodate a wide range of Chinese combat and transport planes, along with a harbour big enough to accommodate the largest of the ships in China.

Read More