RSS forced Cabinet's hand on autonomy

7 July 2000
The Times of India

News Analysis
RSS forced Cabinet's hand on autonomy

By Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service

NEW DELHI: Though it hasn't ended the autonomy debate, the Cabinet's
rejection of the Kashmir assembly resolution has at least scotched an
improbable cocktail circuit rumour: That the autonomy demand was a
ploy devised by Farooq Abdullah and Prime Minister Vajpayee to
undermine the pull of azadi.

Had it really been a ploy, Vajpayee would at least have kept the
charade going longer. By shooting the proposal down, Farooq's standing
has been undermined and the Hurriyat and Pakistan have been given the
opportunity to tell the world, ``We told you so''.

According to a ministerial source, the government chose to reject the
resolution because it had received ``intelligence assessments'' that
other assemblies such as Mizoram and Assam would pass resolutions
making similar demands, and that matters could easily have got out of
hand.

But apart from rejection, the government had other options:

• It could have ignored the resolution, like Indira Gandhi ignored the
  Tamil Nadu assembly's 1974 autonomy resolution.
• It could have launched a comprehensive review of Centre-state
  relations, parrying Kashmir's demands into the broader project of
  renewing Indian federalism.
• It could have resorted to `death by committee'. After all, it's been
  12 years since the Sarkaria report. The government could have promised
  to think about a fresh commission to look into Centre-state issues.

The third seems to have been the preferred option of a section of the
bureaucracy and of those dealing with internal security. The feeling
in these circles is that Abdullah's initiative should have been kept
alive, if only to provide another window for a political solution.

We also know that not all NDA constituents favoured a pointed
rejection of the Kashmir resolution. The DMK did not attend the
crucial cabinet meeting. Officially, its ministers were in Chennai
preparing for the PM's visit. Unofficially, as strong proponents of
autonomy, they could hardly be expected to come out against Farooq's
proposals.

What seems to have forced the Vajpayee government's hands were two
factors: The pressure from the RSS, which warned of a ``second
partition'', and the BJP's visceral aversion to any radical
renegotiation of Centre-state relations. To that extent, its fear of
copy-cat resolutions in other assemblies was a genuine one.

And yet, if it believes other states want the kind of autonomy Kashmir
wants, the BJP will have to confront this question head-on.

Economic reforms further complicate matters. Liberalisation is
generating uneven growth with some regions stagnating and others
surging ahead. This will generate political strains which are bound to
affect Centre-state relations. Another potential source of tension is
population. The reapportioning of Lok Sabha seats on the basis of
population cannot be postponed indefinitely; eventually, the Rajya
Sabha will have to be drastically redefined to protect the interests
of states with lower populations, such as in the south.

As a coalition, the Vajpayee government was well placed to use
Kashmir's autonomy demand to prepare the country to deal with these
strains. Rather than outright rejection, it could have engaged in a
process of dialogue that might have satisfied the aspirations of
Kashmiris and generated proposals to strengthen the Union. That
opportunity has now been closed. Unless the Centre comes up with
another initiative, this week's cabinet decision might well be
remembered more for the problems it generates than for the illusion of
stability it provides.

Autonomy issue just won't go away

5 July 2000
The Times of India

Autonomy issue just won't go away

Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service

New Delhi: Having summarily rejected the autonomy resolution adopted by the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government will find it much harder to satisfy the aspirations of Kashmir - and of other states - with its anodyne promise of ''devolution of more financial and administrative powers''.

On Wednesday, home minister LK Advani promised ''suitable steps...to ensure harmonious Centre-state relations in the light of the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission''.

Justice Sarkaria submitted his report in 1988 but his recommendations have yet to see the light of day. Curiously, the Vajpayee government has not thought it fit to expedite the suggestions the BJP itself made to the Commission, such as on financial autonomy and the appointment of governors ''from a panel prepared by the Inter-State council'' and ''in consultation with the concerned state''.

The BJP may consider the autonomy resolution secessionist but for several constituents of the NDA - notably the DMK, MDMK, PMK and the Akalis - what the Kashmir assembly is demanding is not that different from what they themselves asked for in the past.

The three Tamil parties are still officially committed to the Rajamannar committee recommendations, as endorsed by the Tamil Nadu assembly in 1974. The resolution was moved by M Karunanidhi, then, as now, chief minister of the state. Its content was the same as the Kashmir resolution: ''The federal government should have only powers relating to defence, foreign affairs, inter-state communication and currency.''

Like the Kashmir assembly, the Rajamannar committee wanted the Supreme Court limited to constitutional cases and the Election Commission to conducting national and not state elections. But in politics, context is everything. There was no insurgency, no cry for separation. The Union cabinet did not rush to reject the Tamil Nadu resolution. Indira Gandhi simply ignored it, as she had the equally radical 1973 Anandpur Sahib resolution sponsored by the Akali Dal.

It was only in the early 1980s - with the shattering of the Congress hold on the south - that Centre-state problems became important. When the four southern chief ministers met in Bangalore in 1983 to demand equitable sharing of fiscal revenues, Indira Gandhi''s reaction was to appoint the Sarkaria Commission.

Since then, the salience of regionalism has dramatically increased. What has changed, also, is that the BJP has supplanted the Congress as the main defender of a centralised polity. The irony is that the BJP is forced to rule in alliance with regional parties, all of whom, to a greater or lesser extent, want a radical overhaul of Centre-state relations. Economic reform further complicates the picture. Liberalisation is leading to uneven growth with some regions stagnating and others surging ahead. This unevenness will generate political strains which, in turn, will require new flexibility in Centre-state relations. Another potential source of strain is population. Demographic changes are being swept under the carpet by postponing the reallocation of Lok Sabha seats on the basis of population.

Central Asia

Oil, power and the new Silk Road in Asia (11 July 2005)
China, Russia get Central Asians to say 'Yankees Out!' (7 July 2005)
India set to take big leap in Central Asian backyard(5 July 2005)
China, Russia and the Shanghai process (4 July 2005)
Indians take big stride in Kazakh steel town (31 October 2004)
The race is on for Kazakh oil (1 November 2004)
Those with pipelines call the shots (2 November 2004)
Neither east, nor west: Kazakhstan's twin-track foreign policy (3 November 2004)
Dateline Dunghuang: Old Silk Road discovers new prosperity (10 July 2004)

Latin America

Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins (31 March 2006)
Chavez is India's passport to Latin America (4 March 2005)
‘Globalised world needs rule of law’: Interview with Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile (30 January 2005)
Inside Venezuela IV: Ties with India to centre around oil (17 December 2004)
Inside Venezuela III: Using oil as a lever against U.S. (16 December 2004)
Inside Venezuela II: Endogenous development centres hold the key here (15 December 2004)
Inside Venezuela I: The Chavez phenomenon and the U.S. (14 December 2004)
Interview with Eduardo Aninat, former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, on how the Fund went wrong in Latin America (18 March 2004)
India, Brazil, S Africa bloc forges ahead (6 March 2004)

International Security

My articles
The Persian Puzzle III: The world must stand firm on diplomacy (23 September 2005)
The Persian Puzzle II: What the IAEA really found in Iran (22 September 2005)
The Persian Puzzle I: Iran and the invention of a nuclear crisis (21 September 2005)
The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (29 July 2005)
India's nuclear bargain with U.S. may prove costly in long run(20 July 2005)
America, India and the outsourcing of imperial overreach (13 July 2005)
China, Russia get Central Asians to say 'Yankees Out!' (7 July 2005)
Don't impose voting on U.N. reform poposal, SCO tells G-4 (6 July 2005)
China, Russia and the Shanghai process (4 July 2005)
Defence pact with the U.S.: India entering uncharted, risky territory (1 July 2005)
Mr Bush and the Riga axioms (9 May 2005)
Tsunami relief should be led by U.N., not U.S.(3 January 2005)
The second coming of Mr Bush(4 November 2004)
Interview with Zhai Dequan, Deputy Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, on China's reservations about the Proliferation Security Initiative (31 July 2004)
Eight theses on the war in Iraq(1 July 2003)
America’s endless war: The world is not enough (26 March 2003)
A ‘regime change’ in international affairs(1 October 2002)
Say No to Bush: The World Must Stand by Iraq(12 September 2002)
WTC Attacks: The U.S. will now look for revenge, but against whom? (12 September 2001)
Back to the Future: International Law after Nato’s War(13 November 1999)
The Test Ban Test: US Rejection has Scuttled the CTBT (16 October 1999)
Terror in Timor and the interventionist urge (9 September 1999)
The Piper's Price: India and the U.S. after Kargil (17 July 1999)
UN Fig Leaf: Nato Compellence and Global Norm(10 June 1999)
Ruses for War: Nato's New Strategic Concept (10 May 1999)
Kosovo Cauldron: Nato on a dangerous and illegal course (29 March 1999)
Nato and No-First Use: The Nuclear Debate in Germany (10 December 1998)
Cowboy Clinton: No Excuse for Vigilantism (24 August 1998)
Pokhran as Pandora: Remapping the Geography of Power (16 May 1998)

Terrorism

The final levee has given way... Indefinite detention is legal say U.S. courts(10 September 2005) The dodgy underbelly of India's war on terror (26 August 2005)
Playing on fear, from Godhra to Guantanamo (13 June 2005)
More facts needed in Geelani case (16 February 2005)
Combating terrorism a priority, say India, E.U. (9 November 2004)
Indian migrant killed in Macedonian fake encounter (4 May 2004)
IC-814 case was most successful: Al-Qaeda (5 February 2004)
POTA’s first trial: An interview with Prof Rajni Kothari (8 October 2002)
Dateline Islamabad: Was Daniel Pearl on to something? (March 11, 2002)
Beware the Bushfire: Use of force and the pathology of terror (15 September 2001)
WTC Attacks: The U.S. will now look for revenge, but against whom? (12 September 2001)
Nothing Islamic about terrorism (2 January 2000)
Cowboy Clinton: No Excuse for Vigilantism (24 August 1998)

Book reviews

C. Raja Mohan's Impossible Allies: Nuclear India, United States and the Global Order (16 May 2006)
Mahendra Lawoti's Towards a Democratic Nepal, Surya P. Subedi's Dynamics of Foreign Policy and Law, and John Whelpton's A History of Nepal (11 April 2006)
Chinmaya Gharekhan's The Horseshoe Table — An Inside View of the U.N. Security Council (31 January 2006)
Michael Mandel's How America gets away with murder: Illegal Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes against Humanity and Hans Kochler's Global Justice or Global Revenge: International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads (10 January 2006)
Achyut Yagnik and Suchitra Sheth's The Shaping of Modern Gujarat (24 September 2005)
Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (2 August 2005)
Bjorn Lomborg’s Global Crises, Global Solutions (14 June 2005)
Manjushree Thapa’s Forget Kathmandu (1 March 2005)
Christopher Kremmer’s The Carpet Wars (30 September 2002)
PROBE's Report on Basic Education in India (22 January 1999)

Interviews

Baburam Bhattarai: The King is down but not out (11 May 2006)
Transcript of the complete Prachanda interview(11 February 2006)
"Multiparty democracy in Nepal will be message to Indian Naxalites"(10 February 2006)
Prachanda: From people's war to competitive democracy(9 February 2006)
Maoist leader unveils road map for change in Nepal(8 February 2006)
Phillipe Kirsch, President of the International Criminal Court, on the significance -- and limitations -- of the ICC (12 December 2005)
Amartya Sen, economist, on his new book, The Argumentative Indian (14 August 2005)
Deepak Nayyar, Vice-Chancellor, Delhi University, on the parlous state of India's higher education system (16 May 2005)
Natwar Singh, External Affairs Minister, India, on the country's relations with the U.S. (7 May 2005)
Yoriko Kawaguchi, foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister Koizumi, on Japan's intention to stick to its energy projects in Iran (19 March 2005)
Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile, on Latin American solidarity, globalisation and the Pinochet case (30 January 2005)
Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate in economics, the need for a radical socio-economic agenda for India's poor (9 January 2005)
Juan Somavia, head of the ILO, on India's proposed employment guarantee programme (29 November 2004)
Zhai Dequan, Deputy Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, on China's reservations about the Proliferation Security Initiative (31 July 2004)
Morshed Khan, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh on India-Bangla relations (7 June 2004)
Eduardo Aninat, former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, on how the Fund went wrong in Latin America (18 March 2004)
Deepak Nayyar, Economist, on the ILO's Globalisation report (3 March 2004)
Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, on the need for the U.N. to manage the political transition in Iraq (10 February 2004)
S.R. Sankaran, Supreme Court-appointed right-to-food commissioner, on food for justice (5 September 2003)
Prof Rajni Kothari, Geelani Defence Committee, on India's Parlianment attack case (8 October 2002)
Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on how 9/11 made his job tougher (20 June 2002)
Nisar Memon, Pakistan's information minister, on why his country continues to ban Indian channels (27 March 2002)
Lt Gen. Moin-ud-din Haider (retd.), Pakistan's Interior minister, on the Daniel Pearl case (22 March 2002)
Prof Makoto Itoh, leading Japanese Marxist economist, on the state of Japanese capitalismt (12 December 2001)
Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami, head of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami, on the politics of his party (7 May 2001)
George Andreas Papandreou, foreign minister of Greece, on European security, missile defence and relations with India (21 December 2000)
Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, former Pakistani Army chief, on India's concern for democracy in Pakistan (24 November 1999)

United Nations

African Union pours cold water on India's campaign for U.N. seat (6 August 2005)
UN reform: G-4 remains focussed on the African Union (29 July 2005)
U.N. reform: India may agree to defer vote on G-4 resolution (7 July 2005)
Don't impose voting on U.N. reform poposal, SCO tells G-4 (6 July 2005)
Security Council reform: A bridge too far? (28 May 2005)
A veto proposal for the G-4 (29 April 2005)
India and the problem of U.N. reform (26 April 2005)
Tsunami relief should be led by U.N., not U.S. (3 January 2005)
U.N. panel not for change in veto power (2 December 2004)
Anti-war group slams UN's Iraq resolution (12 June 2004)
Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, on the need for the U.N. to manage the political transition in Iraq (10 February 2004)
An Ignoble War: Earn your Peace Prize, Mr Annan (15 October 2001)
UN Fig Leaf: Nato Compellence and Global Norm (10 June 1999)

Kashmir

Index of my articles

Verify, but trust, is the best formula for Siachen pullout (20 May 2006)
From India now, 'out of the box' ideas on Kashmir (25 March 2006)
It's time for boldness on the Siachen issue (14 September 2005)
Hurriyat and the Indian government: Dialogue in search of common ground (5 September 2005)
Siachen: Solutions for the taking (20 June 2005)
Siachen: Manmohan’s visit offers a chance (9 June 2005)
The Hurriyat visit to Pakistan as a CBM (2 June 2005)
Kashmir: Slaying the demons of distrust (1 May 2005)
Kashmir: Peace roadmap is 'out of the box' (19 April 2005)
Kashmir: 'Soft border' emerges as common vocabulary (16 April 2005)
Kashmir: Still in search of a policy (28 November 2004)
Looking beyond Musharraf's proposals (1 November 2004)
India, Pakistan and the 'Core' Issue (June 2004)
Thirteen years on, Pandits face being wiped out (1 September 2003)
Inside Northern Areas IV: Chinese operators, missing women and tourists(30 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas III: Tibetan script makes a comeback in Skardu (28 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas II: Why Pakistan can’t let the region go (26 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas I: Gilgit leaders deny they’re Indian agents (25 March 2002)
Slowly, Pak's new Kashmir policy takes shape (23 March 2002)
Kashmir: State of Discontent (1 February 2002)
Centre hangs up on Kashmiris (4 January 2002)
Musharraf drops Taliban to get Kashmir (19 September 2001)
Kashmir peace initiative hangs in balance (22 January 2001)
Beyond the Ceasefire: Move Quickly on the Political Front (30 December 2000)
Dateline Kashmir: A mother appeals to Mother India for justice (21 August 2000)
Dateline Kashmir: Why the Hizb talked and why it'll talk again (19 August 2000)
Dateline Kashmir: No hot pursuit, we'll wait in ambush: Army (18 August 2000)
RSS forced Cabinet's hand on autonomy (7 July 2000)
Autonomy issue just won't go away (5 July 2000)
Govt's olive branch may not work in Kashmir (6 April 2000)
Inside PoK: 'Azad' is how they want to stay (26 November 1999)
War and the Dharma of a journalist (7 August 1999)
The Piper's Price: India and the U.S. after Kargil (17 July 1999)
Don't Escalate Kargil To All-Out War (18 June 1999)
Bus must return with no war pact (18 February 1999)

Useful links and resources

Text of statement issued by PMO after Manmohan Singh-Hurriyat meeting, 5 September 2005
Text of joint statement issued by Government of India and the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, New Delhi, January 22, 2004

Pakistan

Despite U.S. pressure, India and Pakistan to ahead with Iran pipeline (6 July 2005)
Siachen: Solutions for the taking (20 June 2005)
Siachen: Manmohan’s visit offers a chance (9 June 2005)
The Hurriyat visit to Pakistan as a CBM (2 June 2005)
Kashmir: Slaying the demons of distrust (1 May 2005)
F-16s for Pakistan, India will fuel arms race (27 March 2005)
Let us reduce trust deficit, Aziz tells India (25 November 2004)
'Gas project is win-win for India, Pakistan' (25 November 2004)
Looking beyond Musharraf's proposals (1 November 2004)
Gas fuels warmth in India-Pakistan ties (26 September 2004)
Jamali speaks to Manmohan (29 May 2004)
India, Pak join foces against U.S. move on N-proliferation (23 April 2004)
Ally badge for Pak, India stunned (18 March 2004)
Nigerian 'typo' stumps Pakistan with N-claim (4 March 2004)
Musharraf dares India to go to war (27 May 2002)
Inside Northern Areas IV: Chinese operators, missing women and tourists(30 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas III: Tibetan script makes a comeback in Skardu (28 March 2002)
Nisar Memon, Pakistan's information minister, on why his country continues to ban Indian channels (27 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas II: Why Pakistan can’t let the region go (26 March 2002)
Inside Northern Areas I: Gilgit leaders deny they’re Indian agents (25 March 2002)
Slowly, Pak's new Kashmir policy takes shape (23 March 2002)
Lt Gen. Moin-ud-din Haider (retd.), Pakistan's Interior minister, on the Daniel Pearl case (22 March 2002)
Dateline Islamabad: Was Daniel Pearl on to something? (March 11, 2002)
Islamabad meet begins with detour (8 March 2002)
Saarc trips over media visas (7 March 2002)
Musharraf drops Taliban to get Kashmir (19 September 2001)
Dateline Islamabad: India up, Pak down on US agenda, feel Pakistanis (27 March 2000 )
Dateline Islamabad: Clinton does some plain speaking (26 March 2000)
Clinton in Islamabad: Stage set for blunt exchange of views (25 March 2000)
Inside PoK: 'Azad' is how they want to stay (26 November 1999)
Gen Beg praises India's concern for democracy (24 November 1999)
Pakistan: Pressing on with write and wrong (19 November 1999)

Former Yugoslavia

Abu Ghraib & the Milosevic standard (9 August 2004)
Back to the Future: International Law after Nato’s War (13 November 1999)
UN Fig Leaf: Nato Compellence and Global Norm (10 June 1999)
Kosovo war: NATO reneging on accord terms (8 June 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: With the Dark Lord in a darkened city (6 June 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: The ‘Mad’ Tiger (3 June 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: As bombs fall, hope, despair and some humour (2 June 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: ‘Nato causing medical catastrophe’ (26 May 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: Nato waging war of deprivation (25 May 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: Yugoslavs itch for ground war (22 May 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: Nato strikes hospital as peace efforts continue (21 May 1999)
Dateline Belgrade: Bridge over troubled waters (20 May 1999)
Nato attacks enter deadlier phase (18 May 1999)
Lawyers charge Nato leaders before U.N. war crimes tribunal (15 May 1999)
ICJ takes up case against Nato (13 May 1999)
Ruses for War: Nato's New Strategic Concept (10 May 1999)
How NATO blacks out Belgrade (9 May 1999)
Kosovo Cauldron: Nato on a dangerous and illegal course (29 March 1999)
NATO is Kindling Balkan Tinderbox (2 October 1998)

Nuclear Issues

Bush unveils a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (18 May 2006)
Book Review: Less than allies, more than partners (16 May 2006)
Nuclear separation plan: An update (11 May 2006)

March 2006

Looking beyond the nuclear deal(29 March 2006)
And now on to the NSG (23 March 2006)
More light on the nuclear deal (17 March 2006)
The new deal: When Bush comes to shove(16 March 2006)
Not All Bright (15 March 2006)
The U.S. and the Iran pipeline: Did Bush really blink? (14 March 2006)
Nuclear deal: The action now shifts to Washington (11 March 2006)
Nuclear separation plan seeks fine balance (8 March 2006)
Let the IAEA do its work on Iran (7 March 2006)
Bush, India and two degrees of separation (3 March 2006)
The separation puzzle (1 March 2006)
Was Bush speech a warning on separation? (1 March 2006)

February 2006

Bush nuclear plan demotes India (24 February 2006)
A question mark now hangs over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (7 February 2006)
The IAEA votes to refer Iran (5 February 2006)
Persian Puzzle: What happens next? (1 February 2006)
IAEA report on Iran paints picture that is far from bleak (3 February 2006)
A messy compromise on Iran (1 February 2006)

January 2006

Coming to terms with nuclear regime change: An interview with Michael Krepon and Leonard Spector on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (28 January 2006)
Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: Safeguards for breeder reactors a key obstacle (21 January 2006)
Make the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal more transparent (19 January 2006)
India, Iran and the nuclear challenge (16 January 2006)

December 2005

U.S. non-proliferation group ups the ante with draft separation plan (21 December 2005)
Stage set for nuclear separation talks (20 December 2005)
Keep fast breeder reactor out of IAEA inspections: U.S. expert (17 December 2005)
Fuel for Tarapur not related to nuclear deal with the U.S., says Manmohan Singh (5 December 2005)

September-November 2005

U.S. raises the bar on nuclear deal with India (4 November 2005)
Nuclear proliferation: India submits to the Bush doctrine? (28 October 2005)
Indo-U.S. deal: Negotiating the nuclear fine print (21 October 2005)
Neocon lite nuclear agenda: A review of George Perkovich et al.'s "Universal Compliance: A strategy for nuclear security" (11 October 2005)
The Congressional hearings on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: A revealing transcript (1 October 2005)
The Persian Puzzle III: The world must stand firm on diplomacy (23 September 2005)
The Persian Puzzle II: What the IAEA really found in Iran (22 September 2005)
The Persian Puzzle I: Iran and the invention of a nuclear crisis (21 September 2005)

July-August 2005

What's wrong with an Indo-U.S. alliance?.... Transcript of an interview to ABC TV (17 August 2005)
The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (29 July 2005)
India's nuclear bargain with U.S. may prove costly in long run(20 July 2005)
Nuclear cooperation with U.S.: Experts urge caution (18 July 2005)

2004

Interview with Zhai Dequan, Deputy Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, on China's reservations about the Proliferation Security Initiative (31 July 2004)
India, Pak agree nukes a 'factor of stability' (20 June 2004)
India, Pak join foces against U.S. move on N-proliferation (23 April 2004)
Iranian Chief Justice in India for key talks (9 March 2004)
New Delhi rejects charge Indian scientists might have leaked N-secrets (11 February 2004)

1998-1999

The Test Ban Test: US Rejection has Scuttled the CTBT (16 October 1999)
Nato and No-First Use: The Nuclear Debate in Germany (10 December 1998)
Pokhran as Pandora: Remapping the Geography of Power (16 May 1998)

International Law and IHL

Lifting the veil from the Security Council Review of Chinmaya Gharekhan's The Horseshoe Table — An Inside View of the U.N. Security Council (31 January 2006)
When power subverts the law Review of Michael Mandel's How America gets away with murder: Illegal Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes against Humanity and Hans Kochler's Global Justice or Global Revenge: International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads (10 January 2006)
In the legacy of Nuremberg An interview with Phillipe Kirsch, President of the International Criminal Court, on the significance -- and limitations -- of the ICC (12 December 2005)
The final levee has given way... Indefinite detention is legal say U.S. courts(10 September 2005)
Playing on fear, from Godhra to Guantanamo (13 June 2005)
Modi, the U.S. and visa power (21March 2005)
Abu Ghraib & the Milosevic standard (9 August 2004)
Anti-war group slams UN's Iraq resolution (12 June 2004)
Iraq abuse cases are no aberration (6 May 2004)
Cluster bomb use may be war crime (4 May 2003)
U.S. may not be able to treat Iraqi fighters as 'terrorists' (6 April 2003)
Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on how 9/11 made his job tougher (20 June 2002)
Why the U.K.'s report on Modi's riots worries Delhi (20 April 2002)
An Ignoble War: Earn your Peace Prize, Mr Annan (15 October 2001)
Bush war plans likely to violate international law (21 September 2001)
Beware the Bushfire: Use of force and the pathology of terror (15 September 2001)
Back to the Future: International Law after Nato’s War (13 November 1999)
Terror in Timor and the interventionist urge (9 September 1999)
UN Fig Leaf: Nato Compellence and Global Norm (10 June 1999)
Lawyers charge Nato leaders before U.N. war crimes tribunal (15 May 1999)
ICJ takes up case against Nato (13 May 1999)
Cowboy Clinton: No Excuse for Vigilantism (24 August 1998)
Imperial Impunity: U.S. hampers World Criminal Court Plan (23 April 1998)

Media

Myanmar: Censor’s pen makes it difficult to read between lines (20 January 2005)
Our secretive society (27 March 2004)
http://www. Broadcast Cricket: Code Right can be the screen saver (18 March 2004)
Yes, but where are the Saddam look-alikes? (30 April 2003)
Ungrateful Ali: The painful paradox of embedded freedom (25 April 2003)
Saarc trips over media visas (7 March 2002)
The government's cult of secrecy (6 September 2000)
Policing the Net: The dangers of India's new IT Act (18 May 2000)
The BJP & Deepa Mehta's 'Water': Strife as Diversion and Design (26 February 2000)
Pakistan: Pressing on with write and wrong (19 November 1999)
War and the Dharma of a journalist (7 August 1999)
Dawn website blocked as VSNL plays big brother (3 July 1999)
CNN’s Capitulation: No freedom to accuse U.S. of war crimes (11 July 1998)

Energy

Index of my articles
Looking beyond the nuclear deal(29 March 2006)
Was Bush speech a warning on separation? (1 March 2006)
That Syrian oil deal: Government lies about U.S. pressure (23 February 2006)
GNEP: Bush plan demotes India (24 February 2006)
Pouring troubled water on oil (30 January 2006)
After Iran gas, U.S. tells India to back off Syrian oil (28 January 2006)
India casting a wide net in its hunt for energy (25 January 2006)
Energy the key in the new Asian architecture (25 January 2005)
India, China and the Asian axis of oil (24 January 2006)
Dateline Beijing: Despite U.S. pressure, India still committed to Iran pipeline (14 January 2006)
Dateline Beijing: India and China have taken a major step forward on the energy front (14 January 2006)
Asian interests and the myth of 'balance (13 December 2005)
Fuel for Tarapur not related to nuclear deal with the U.S., says Manmohan Singh (5 December 2005)
India, Afghanistan moot gas pipeline project (29 August 2005)
Farewell to the gas pipeline? (22 July 2005)
India's nuclear bargain with U.S. may prove costly in long run (20 July 2005)
Oil, power and the new Silk Road in Asia (11 July 2005)
Despite U.S. pressure, India and Pakistan to ahead with Iran pipeline (6 July 2005)
Asia, Africa should end energy dependence: Manmohan (24 April 2005)
Fuel enough for dragon and elephant (14 April 2005)
No intention to end energy projects in Iran: Japan (19 March 2005)
India, China vie for energy, influence in Myanmar (17 January 2005)
India, Myanmar, Bangladesh agree to lay pipeline (14 January 2005)
India to acquire stake in Myanmar’s energy sector (12 January 2005)
Chavez is India's passport to Latin America (4 March 2005)
Inside Venezuela IV: Ties with India to centre around oil (17 December 2004)
Inside Venezuela III: Using oil as a lever against U.S. (16 December 2004)
'Gas project is win-win for India, Pakistan' (25 November 2004)
The race is on for Kazakh oil (1 November 2004)
Central Asia: Those with pipelines call the shots (2 November 2004)
Gas fuels warmth in India-Pakistan ties (26 September 2004)

Useful resources

Text of Pakistan-India Joint Working Group statement on Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, Islamabad, 10 September 2005

R.K. Batra of Teri on the Energy Charter Treay and the IPI pipeline, Economic Times, 6 June 2005

Iain Boal, T.J. Clark, Joseph Matthews and Michael Watts ('Retort group'):
Blood for Oil? A group of writers and activists, considers whether oil was the reason for the invasion of Iraq. From the London Review of Books, 21 April 2005.

Cyrus Bina, The American Tragedy:The Quagmire of War, Rhetoric of Oil, and
the Conundrum of Hegemony. Journal of Iranian Research and Analysis, Vol. 20, No. 2, November 2004

Political Economy

Index of my articles

Why India's poor need an employment guarantee...Transcript of an interview to ABC TV (15 September 2005)
Employment Guarantee: Minimum wage must be treated as sacrosanct (23 August 2005)
I'm sorry, the world's still round: A review of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (2 August 2005)
Economists may have some answers but not all (14 June 2005)
Manmohan Singh and the economy: The biggest job, employment generation, has been left undone (21 May 2005)
Privatisation: The dough is in the land, not the bread (6 May 2005)
Budget 2005: Still waiting for the big push (3 March 2005)
‘India’s poor need a radical package’: Interview with Amartya Sen (9 January 2005)
ILO chief backs job guarantee programme (29 November 2004)
Business cycles and free markets: A critique of Kydland and Prescott (15 October 2004)
Sorry, you’re not part of the plan (6 October 2004)
Elections 2004: Chili capital not shining bright (22 April 2004)
Interview with Eduardo Aninat, former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, on how the Fund went wrong in Latin America (18 March 2004)
Deepak Nayyar, Economist, on the ILO's Globalisation report (3 March 2004)
S.R. Sankaran, Supreme Court-appointed right-to-food commissioner, on food for justice (5 September 2003)
Japan’s lost decades: Interview with Prof Makoto Itoh (12 December 2001)
Dateline Athens: The stepping stone where migrants' dreams die (10 December 2000)
Growing economy, burgeoning joblessness (17 March 2000)
Irrational Exuberance: Sooner or later the fundamentals will catch up with you (20 February 2000)
A Critique of the 1999 Budget (1 March 1999)

Useful resources

Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan, 'Dominant Capital and the New Wars'. Journal of World-Systems Research, X, 2, summer 2004, 255–327

Education

‘Universities must heed wake-up call’: Interview with Deepak Nayyar (16 May 2005)
Scholars chafe at official curbs (18 June 2001)
Dalit students in Delhi battle prejudice (21 March 1999)
Class and Classroom: What’s Wrong with India’s Schools (22 January 1999)

U.S. Policy in South Asia

Crucial deal in Nepal hits roadblock (18 March 2006)
Key role envisaged for India in new U.S. national security strategy(17 March 2006)
The new deal: When Bush comes to shove(16 March 2006)
The U.S. and the Iran pipeline: Did Bush really blink? (14 March 2006)
Nuclear deal: The action now shifts to Washington (11 March 2006)
Nuclear separation plan seeks fine balance (8 March 2006)
Bush, India and two degrees of separation (3 March 2006)
The separation puzzle (1 March 2006)
Was Bush speech a warning on separation? (1 March 2006)
That Syrian oil deal: Government lies about U.S. pressure (23 February 2006)
U.S. and India part company on Nepal(22 February 2006)
Perils of three-way security cooperation(14 February 2006)
More light on the nuclear deal (17 March 2006)
The new deal: When Bush comes to shove(16 March 2006)
The new deal: When Bush comes to shove(16 March 2006)
Not All Bright (15 March 2006)
The U.S. and the Iran pipeline: Did Bush really blink? (14 March 2006)
Nuclear deal: The action now shifts to Washington (11 March 2006)
Nuclear separation plan seeks fine balance (8 March 2006)
Let the IAEA do its work on Iran (7 March 2006)
Bush, India and two degrees of separation (3 March 2006)
The separation puzzle (1 March 2006)
Was Bush speech a warning on separation? (1 March 2006)
Bush nuclear plan demotes India (24 February 2006)
A question mark now hangs over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (7 February 2006)
Coming to terms with nuclear regime change: An interview with Michael Krepon and Leonard Spector on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (28 January 2006)
Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: Safeguards for breeder reactors a key obstacle (21 January 2006)
Make the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal more transparent (19 January 2006)
India, Iran and the nuclear challenge (16 January 2006)
U.S. non-proliferation group ups the ante with draft separation plan (21 December 2005)
Stage set for nuclear separation talks (20 December 2005)
Keep fast breeder reactor out of IAEA inspections: U.S. expert (17 December 2005)
Fuel for Tarapur not related to nuclear deal with the U.S., says Manmohan Singh (5 December 2005)
U.S. raises the bar on nuclear deal with India (4 November 2005)
Nuclear proliferation: India submits to the Bush doctrine? (28 October 2005)
Indo-U.S. deal: Negotiating the nuclear fine print (21 October 2005)
Neocon lite nuclear agenda: A review of George Perkovich et al.'s "Universal Compliance: A strategy for nuclear security" (11 October 2005)
The Congressional hearings on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: A revealing transcript (1 October 2005)
The unravelling of India's Persian puzzle (27 September 2005)
What's wrong with an Indo-U.S. alliance?.... Transcript of an interview to ABC TV (17 August 2005)
The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (29 July 2005)
Farewell to the gas pipeline? (22 July 2005)
India's nuclear bargain with U.S. may prove costly in long run (20 July 2005)
Nuclear cooperation with U.S.: Experts urge caution (18 July 2005)
America, India and the outsourcing of imperial overreach (13 July 2005)
Defence pact with the U.S.: India entering uncharted, risky territory (1 July 2005)
F-16s for Pakistan, India will fuel arms race (27 March 2005)
Modi, the U.S. and visa power (21March 2005)
Rice brings reality check in on Indo-U.S. relations (17 March 2005)
Tsunami relief should be led by U.N., not U.S. (3 January 2005)
India, U.S. negotiations entering crucial stage (18 October 2004)
NSSP: A small step by U.S. in response to India’s big leap (23 September 2004)
Powell took us for a ride: India (20 March 2004)
U.S. leaves India out of Iraq spoils (10 December 2003)
Dying for Dubya: The illogic of Indian troops for Iraq (27 June 2003)
Rumsfeld has Special Forces offer for India (11 June 2002)
Dateline Islamabad: India up, Pak down on US agenda, feel Pakistanis (27 March 2000 )
Dateline Islamabad: Clinton does some plain speaking (26 March 2000)
Clinton in Islamabad: Stage set for blunt exchange of views (25 March 2000)
'Hero No.1' came, saw and was 'conquered' (23 March 2000)
Vajpayee and Clinton: A forced one-on-one? (15 March 2000)
Clinton's arriving, as bully or cheerleader? (9 March 2000)
The Piper's Price: India and the U.S. after Kargil (17 July 1999)

Indian Foreign Policy

Verify, but trust, is the best formula for Siachen pullout (20 May 2006)
Book Review: Less than allies, more than partners (16 May 2006)
For Nepal, and India, the road ahead is difficult (2 May 2006)
The countdown in Kathmandu has begun (30 March 2006)
From India now, 'out of the box' ideas on Kashmir (25 March 2006)
Why not CBMs for India and Bangladesh? (20 March 2006)
Crucial deal in Nepal hits roadblock (18 March 2006)
Key role envisaged for India in new U.S. national security strategy(17 March 2006)
The new deal: When Bush comes to shove(16 March 2006)
The U.S. and the Iran pipeline: Did Bush really blink? (14 March 2006)
Nuclear separation plan seeks fine balance (8 March 2006)
Let the IAEA do its work on Iran (7 March 2006)
Bush, India and two degrees of separation (3 March 2006)
The separation puzzle (1 March 2006)
Was Bush speech a warning on separation? (1 March 2006)
That Syrian oil deal: Government lies about U.S. pressure (23 February 2006)
U.S. and India part company on Nepal(22 February 2006)
Perils of three-way security cooperation(14 February 2006)
A question mark now hangs over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (7 February 2006)
The IAEA votes to refer Iran (5 February 2006)
Coming to terms with nuclear regime change: An interview with Michael Krepon and Leonard Spector on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (28 January 2006)
After Iran gas, U.S. tells India to back off Syrian oil (28 January 2006)
India casting a wide net in its hunt for energy, but tactic calls for political dexterity (25 January 2006)
Energy the key in the new Asian architecture (25 January 2006)
The Asian axis of oil (24 January 2006)
Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: Safeguards for breeder reactors a key obstacle (21 January 2006)
Make the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal more transparent (19 January 2006)
India, Iran and the nuclear challenge (16 January 2006)

2005

U.S. non-proliferation group ups the ante with draft separation plan (21 December 2005)
Stage set for nuclear separation talks (20 December 2005)
Keep fast breeder reactor out of IAEA inspections: U.S. expert (17 December 2005)
Asian interests and the myth of 'balance' (13 December 2005)
Dateline Moscow: India, Russia inching towards fresh nuclear cooperation(7 December 2005)
Dateline Moscow: Russia sees India as long-term partner in energy sector(7 December 2005)
Dateline Moscow: Manmohan Singh urges Russians to discover a "new generation of Raj Kapoors'' (6 December 2005)
Fuel for Tarapur not related to nuclear deal with the U.S., says Manmohan Singh (5 December 2005)
Manmohan yet to make up mind on External Affairs (5 December 2005)
India is vulnerable in Afghanistan (24 November 2005)
U.S. raises the bar on nuclear deal with India (4 November 2005)
Nuclear proliferation: India submits to the Bush doctrine? (28 October 2005)
Indo-U.S. deal: Negotiating the nuclear fine print (21 October 2005)
Neocon lite nuclear agenda: A review of George Perkovich et al.'s "Universal Compliance: A strategy for nuclear security" (11 October 2005)
The Congressional hearings on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal: A revealing transcript (1 October 2005)
The unravelling of India's Persian puzzle (27 September 2005)
When Jaswant took Indian politics to foreign shores (16 September 2005)
It's time for boldness on the Siachen issue (14 September 2005)
Kabul Notebook: When the two 'crown princes' met (30 August 2005)
The road to Afghanistan runs through Pakistan (30 August 2005)
Indian-built parliament to be 'chinar tree of democracy' in Afghanistan (30 August 2005)
India, Afghanistan moot gas pipeline project (29 August 2005)
What's wrong with an Indo-U.S. alliance?.... Transcript of an interview to ABC TV (17 August 2005)
African Union pours cold water on India's campaign for U.N. seat (6 August 2005)
The truth behind the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal (29 July 2005)
Farewell to the gas pipeline? (22 July 2005)
India's nuclear bargain with U.S. may prove costly in long run (20 July 2005)
Nuclear cooperation with U.S.: Experts urge caution (18 July 2005)
America, India and the outsourcing of imperial overreach (13 July 2005)
Oil, power and the new Silk Road in Asia (11 July 2005)
U.N. reform: India may agree to defer vote on G-4 resolution (7 July 2005)
Don't impose voting on U.N. reform poposal, SCO tells G-4 (6 July 2005)
Despite U.S. pressure, India and Pakistan to ahead with Iran pipeline (6 July 2005)
India set to take big leap in Central Asian backyard(5 July 2005)
Defence pact with the U.S.: India entering uncharted, risky territory (1 July 2005)
India and Nepal: A policy in search of a rationale (14 May 2005)
It’s official: India to send arms to Nepal (10 May 2005)
‘India will not be used by any power’: Interview with Natwar Singh (7 May 2005)
Kashmir: Slaying the demons of distrust (1 May 2005)
India and the problem of U.N. reform (26 April 2005)
Manmohan calls for 'horizontal' globalisation (25 April 2005)
India does U-turn on arms supply to Nepal (24 April 2005)
Asia, Africa should end energy dependence: Manmohan(24 April 2005)
Bandung: Stage set for Asian-African partnership (22 April 2005)
Kashmir: Peace roadmap is 'out of the box' (19 April 2005)
Kashmir: 'Soft border' emerges as common vocabulary (16 April 2005)
F-16s for Pakistan, India will fuel arms race (27 March 2005)
Rice brings reality check in on Indo-U.S. relations (17 March 2005)
Chavez is India's passport to Latin America (4 March 2005)
Indian & Myanmar: Distant neighbours warm to each other, but slowly (19 January 2005)
India, China vie for energy, influence in Myanmar(17 January 2005)
India, Myanmar, Bangladesh agree to lay pipeline (14 January 2005)
India to acquire stake in Myanmar’s energy sector (12 January 2005)
Dixit leaves foreign policy void that is hard to fill (4 January 2005)
Tsunami relief should be led by U.N., not U.S. (3 January 2005)
India in the world: Four pre-conditions for greatness (2 January 2005)

2004

Inside Venezuela IV: Ties with India to centre around oil (17 December 2004)
Let us reduce trust deficit, Aziz tells India (25 November 2004)
Galileo, fusion energy propel India, E.U. `strategic partnership' (9 November 2004)
Combating terrorism a priority, say India, E.U. (9 November 2004)
Looking beyond Musharraf's proposals (1 November 2004)
India, U.S. negotiations entering crucial stage (18 October 2004)
Gas fuels warmth in India-Pakistan ties (26 September 2004)
NSSP: A small step by U.S. in response to India’s big leap (23 September 2004)
The logic of unilateral concessions (21 September 2004)
Manmohan's first month: Key inroads into Pak and China (24 June 2004)
India, Pak agree nukes a 'factor of stability' (20 June 2004)
Border Music: Interview with Foreign Minister Morshed Khan of Bangladesh (7 June 2004)
Patil fails Indo-Pak missile test (1 June 2004)
India, Pakistan and the 'Core' Issue (June 2004)
Jamali speaks to Manmohan (29 May 2004)
Foreign Policy Choices: Look beyond Doc, India's world bigger than U.S. (20 May 2004)
Indo-Pak Balle Balle? Over To Singh Now (20 May 2004)
Brajesh Mishra's successor as NSA can't wait (18 May 2004)
India, Pak join foces against U.S. move on N-proliferation (23 April 2004)
India wants US not to humiliate VIP fingers (18 April 2004)
Indian troops for Iraq is "wishful thinking" (10 April 2004)
Indo-Pak cricket: Seats reserved for Indian fans (20 February 2004)
Powell took us for a ride: India (20 March 2004)
Ally badge for Pak, India stunned (18 March 2004)
India, Brazil, S Africa bloc forges ahead (6 March 2004)
US marshals are coming to an airport near you? (3 March 2004)
India Inc. makes inroads in heart of Africa (1 March 2004)
Nepali transporters see red over bus pact with India (29 February 2004)
New Delhi rejects charge Indian scientists might have leaked N-secrets (11 February 2004)

2003 and earlier

Iraq's neighbours want U.N., not India (3 July 2003)
Dying for Dubya: The illogic of Indian troops for Iraq (27 June 2003)
Rumsfeld has Special Forces offer for India (11 June 2002)
Musharraf dares India to go to war (27 May 2002)
Islamabad meet begins with detour (8 March 2002)
Saarc trips over media visas (7 March 2002)
Legal processes in way of getting 'wanted' from Pak (3 January 2002)
Reckless Rhetoric: Tanks no Answer to Terrorism (27 December 2001)
India wary of Pak plans for Afghanistan (19 October 2001)
Retaliatory intrusion led to BSF deaths (24 April 2001)
Dateline Kashmir: No hot pursuit, we'll wait in ambush: Army (18 August 2000)
Dateline Islamabad: India up, Pak down on US agenda, feel Pakistanis (27 March 2000 )
'Hero No.1' came, saw and was 'conquered' (23 March 2000)
Vajpayee and Clinton: A forced one-on-one? (15 March 2000)
Clinton's arriving, as bully or cheerleader? (9 March 2000)
Gen Beg praises India's concern for democracy (24 November 1999)
War and the Dharma of a journalist (7 August 1999)
The Piper's Price: India and the U.S. after Kargil (17 July 1999)
Dawn website blocked as VSNL plays big brother (3 July 1999)
Don't Escalate Kargil To All-Out War (18 June 1999)
Bus must return with no war pact (18 February 1999)
Pokhran as Pandora: Remapping the Geography of Power (16 May 1998)