In The News

Gendercide: The World Wide War on Baby Girls

March 5, 2010
In ten years, China will have more boys than girls. Skewed sex ratios, a result of infanticide and sex-selective abortions, have become a huge problem not only in China, but also in India, South Korea, Singapore, and even some ex-Soviet states. Reasons for preference for boys include a desire to avoid the cost of dowries to be paid on the daughter’s wedding, a woman’s adoption into her husband’s...

Northeast India: Boiling Pot of International Rivalry – Part II

Bertil Lintner February 19, 2010
In Northeastern India, an icy and barren Tawang valley serves as the epicenter of a half a century old rivalry between India and China, writes journalist Bertil Lintner. The valley lies within the Indian state Arunachal Pradesh, or “Land of the Dawn”, which is claimed by China as part of Southern Tibet. Both India and China dispute the territorial boundaries in this area and fought a war in the...

India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia

Vikas Bajaj February 19, 2010
China’s efforts to beef up its South Asian trade by building ports in nations such as Pakistan and Bangladesh are irking India, which feels that its regional influence is being undermined. This is the latest trend in a history of strained relations between the two countries, who are now nonetheless linked by booming trade with one another. Over the last decade, however, China’s trade with South...

Northeast India: Boiling Pot of International Rivalry – Part I

Bertil Lintner February 17, 2010
Northeast India, a melting pot of ethnic groups, with three international borders and territorial disputes, has emerged as a pit of rivalry and intrigues. China claims part of Indian state Arunachal Pradesh, while Pakistan uses neighboring Bangladesh as a conduit to direct terrorist movements against India. After an extensive tour of the region, journalist Bertil Lintner explores the evolution of...

Solving Afghanistan: Elephant in the Room is Indo-Pakistan Rivalry

Harsh V. Pant February 1, 2010
The recent London Conference on Afghanistan showed the growing frustration of the world’s major powers with the situation in that country and their desperate desire for a way out. Afghan president Hamid Karzai wants reconciliation with elements of the Taliban while the US proposes offering financial incentives to encourage talks. But the Taliban rejected reconciliation and is unwilling to...

English or Hinglish - Does It Matter What Indian Students Are Learning?

Anjoo Mohun January 29, 2010
In India's bustling cities, language-mixing between English and India's other dozens of languages has led to the emergence of a culture that uses “Hinglish” – or Hindi mixed with English – in everything from casual conversation to Bollywood films. While “proper” English remains the language of job possibilities, Hinglish reveals how languages adapt to the societies where they spread,...

India Wants to Join the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a Weapon State

David P. Fidler, Sumit Ganguly January 27, 2010
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has suffered a lot of dents of late from its signatories: North Korea and Iran are just some examples. But the long standing refusal of India, Pakistan, and Israel – all possessors of nuclear weapons – to accede doesn’t help either. However, India has recently made overtures that it wishes to join the NPT as a nuclear weapon state (NWS...