In The News

Quartz: Critiquing Child Marriage Policies

Neha Thirani Bagri February 10, 2017
Regulating longstanding cultural traditions to protect individuals can ignite political backlash. Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, strives to be a champion of women’s empowerment, but proposed legislation that would allow marriage for underage girls who become pregnant is under fire. “Critics say the bill would weaken the existing law and send the message to parents that child...

Asia Sentinel: Trouble in the Air

Neeta Lal February 7, 2017
Air quality is so poor in Delhi, the fifth largest metropolitan area in the world, that one official has described the city as a “toxic gas chamber.” Writing for Asia Sentinel, Neeta Lal explains that “The city’s thick layer of smog is no longer merely an inconvenience to residents or a danger to asthmatics.” Instead, the smog is harming health for all residents and economic investments. “A...

Historic Chance for Myanmar Peace Probably Scuttled

Michele Penna January 9, 2017
Hope is dwindling for an end to Myanmar’s ethnic conflict underway since 1947. An outbreak of violence in Rakhine State has been linked to Harakah al-Yaqin, reports Michele Penna, adding that the International Crisis Group has linked the trouble with hardships and discrimination suffered by the Rohingya. “Conflict is also dragging on in Kachin and Shan States, where the army is staging...

A Tale of Two Middle Classes

Nayan Chanda December 20, 2016
Worry and anger permeate the middle classes of Asia and the Americas, and in a world that is tightly interconnected, individuals perceive cross-border competition. During the US presidential campaign, President-elect Trump suggested that “unfair trade deals” had hurt US workers and communities, and he promised to tighten immigration rules and curb abuses associated with the H1-B and other visas....

India to Replace Largest Bank Notes

Raymond Zhong November 10, 2016
Governments combat counterfeiting and tax evasion by eliminating big bills in circulation and imposing frequent design changes for currency. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised citizens with news that its 500- and 1000-rupee banknotes would cease being legal tender the following day. The notes – representing more than 80 percent of the currency in circulation as of March – can be...

The Ride to a Pollution-Free India

Nayan Chanda October 26, 2016
India has committed to reducing its carbon footprint from 2005 by at least 33 percent before 2030 through the Paris agreement to stem climate change. Innovations of emerging economies will contribute to combating climate change, and Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, points to the battery-powered e-rickshaw in India: “the humble three-wheel vehicle that could help cities like...

Unlike the West, India and China Embrace Globalization

Bruce Stokes October 18, 2016
Globalization has won fans in India and China, where economic growth is projected to rise by 7.6 and 6.6 percent, respectively. “Indians and Chinese also express pride in their respective nation’s growing stature on the world stage,” explains Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center, in reporting on responses to the Pew 2016 Global Attitudes Survey. “In all,...