In The News

Indian Rapper “Overwhelmed” by Success of Protest Song Against Unilever

August 11, 2015
Indian rapper Sofia Ashraf performed a protest song alleging corporate mercury pollution, posted on YouTube, and quickly attracted near 2 million views. Hindustan Unilever operated a thermometer factory in the town of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu until 2001. “More than 1,000 former workers are alleged to have been affected by mercury poisoning, which can cause skin problems, sensory impairment and a...

When Christian Power Was Arrayed Against a Judeo-Muslim Ideology

Jonathan Gil Harris July 30, 2015
A narrative common in the West often pits Christianity and Judaism against Islam. It was not so in an earlier era. Christianity was a militant force during the 16th century. By 1550, Portugal ruled India’s best western ports, and India became a refuge for Iberian Jewish families, also known as New Christians, who fled the persecutions of the Inquisition. Jonathan Gil Harris, author and professor...

Beijing’s Maritime Silk Road Passes Through Islamabad

Dilip Hiro July 21, 2015
Ties between China and Pakistan run strong and often aim at containing India. In recent decades, China helped Pakistan with its nuclear-weapons program and after 1991 became the country’s chief arms supplier. The relationship could signal that China’s One Belt, One Road project is as much about developing a strategic military network as trade and cultural exchange, suggests historian and author...

10 Years On, SCO Decides to Induct India as Full Member

Anil Sasi July 14, 2015
India and Pakistan will be full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, joining China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Membership will allow both two members to access more energy from Central Asia, reports Anil Sasi for the Indian Express. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with an offer to work with the six-member grouping to enhance connectivity,...

Islamic State Seen Overtaking Al Qaeda in South Asia Social Media War

Katharine Houreld June 22, 2015
Analysis of social media accounts suggest that extremists throughout South Asia, including the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, are turning away from Al Qaeda and shifting toward the Islamic State for inspiration, reports Katharine Houreld for Reuters. “So far the IS social media campaign has not been matched by material support to South Asian groups such as the Taliban,” she quotes an anayst...

Modi’s Visit to China Marks New Tone, But No Concrete Progress

Neelam D Sabharwal June 16, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have set a new tone for India's relations with China, yet personal rapport and economic interdependence offer little guarantee of settling longstanding strategic issues that divide the world’s two most populous nations, warns Neelam D Sabharwal, a former Indian ambassador to the Netherlands and UNESCO, now associate professor with the University of Maastricht...

China’s Global Governance Challenge

Stephen S. Roach June 9, 2015
China is preparing for a broader role in leading Asia on economic development and world affairs. The nation has long been an active member of global organizations including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and others, and now is “engaged in global institution building of its own” with the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, writes Stephen S. Roach, author, former...