Praful Bidwai - Tag - Foreign PolicyThis is the official home page of Praful Bidwai.2019-07-16T21:40:53+02:00urn:md5:ca99418856c258681c60a148f375f6dfDotclearDid Obama Legitimize Extremist Violence With His Visit to India?urn:md5:5c5e0fd39bcba087aadd8be6fcb0be4e2015-02-01T01:28:00+01:00adminBJPForeign PolicyHindutvaHuman RightsIndiaUSA<p><em>The president roped once-non-aligned India into a strategic alliance, but only by bolstering the Modi government, with its religious intolerance and pro-corporate policies.</em></p> <p>(Published earlier in The Nation - January 30, 2015)
by Praful Bidwai
The combination could not have been more bizarre: a Soviet-style grand military parade lasting two hours; a British-Indian imperial venue in front of the former Viceregal Lodge; jingoistic display of a range of armaments, many of heavy Russian make; stifling air pollution... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2015/02/01/Did-Obama-Legitimize-Extremist-Violence-With-His-Visit-to-India">Read</em> Did Obama Legitimize Extremist Violence With His Visit to India?</a></p>Modi and the Americansurn:md5:abd5712cfc53e7b6b74b2acea8a05a592014-10-05T11:33:00+02:00adminBJPForeign PolicyNarendra ModiUSA<p><em>the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (the RSS’s overseas affiliate) mobilised 19,000 people, each of whom paid $5000 to $10,000 to attend. Most were non-resident Indians (NRIs), who are culturally insecure and divided over their identity. They long for the country they have left behind and try to manufacture its images through arcane rituals and obscurantist practices, which resident middle class Indians discarded long ago.</em></p> <p>(Published in The News (Pakistan) - October 05, 2014)
by Praful Bidwai
Modi and the Americans In September every year, leaders of more than 190 nations, whether big or small, get a chance to make long speeches at the United Nations General Assembly, which are usually attended by nobody except their own diplomats and journalists. They use lofty... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2014/10/05/Modi-and-the-Americans">Read</em> Modi and the Americans</a></p>Modi's two big mistakesurn:md5:3bf308719afd8fe2d975e0d784791ca92014-08-25T18:23:00+02:00adminBJPEconomic JusticeEconomic PlanningForeign PolicyGouvernance<p><em>If the Narendra Modi government wanted to dismay and embarrass many of its supporters even before completing a hundred days in office, it could not have done so more effectively than by announcing two major decisions: Cancelling the foreign secretary-level meeting with Pakistan scheduled for August 25, and abolishing the Planning Commission at home.</em></p> <p>(published at: rediff.com, August 22, 2014)
Both reflect prejudice and short-sightedness peculiar to Mr Modi's way of thinking, says Praful Bidwai.
If the Narendra Modi government wanted to dismay and embarrass many of its supporters even before completing a hundred days in office, it could not have done so more effectively than by announcing... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2014/08/25/Modi-s-two-big-mistakes">Read</em> Modi's two big mistakes</a></p>Israel’s Barbarism Against Gaza’s Civilians: Winning the battle, losing the war?urn:md5:dc2a36ea03ff4bd8c77cbcd53a5a8b0d2014-08-16T15:56:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyIsraelPalestineViolence<p><em>More than a month after Israel launched a murderous onslaught on the Gaza Strip, with over 2,000 casualties, there’s still no clarity about when “Operation Protective Edge” might end—despite the recent extension of a ceasefire. Israel has destroyed 10,000 homes, turned a quarter of Gaza’s population into refugees, and repeatedly targeted civilian installations, including schools, hospitals and United Nations-designated shelters—in flagrant violation of international law.</em></p> <p>by Praful Bidwai
More than a month after Israel launched a murderous onslaught on the Gaza Strip, with over 2,000 casualties, there’s still no clarity about when “Operation Protective Edge” might end—despite the recent extension of a ceasefire. Israel has destroyed 10,000 homes, turned a quarter of Gaza’s population into refugees, and repeatedly... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2014/08/16/Israel%E2%80%99s-Barbarism-Against-Gaza%E2%80%99s-Civilians%3A-Winning-the-battle%2C-losing-the-war">Read</em> Israel’s Barbarism Against Gaza’s Civilians: Winning the battle, losing the war?</a></p>Welcome shift from US obsessionurn:md5:e4671c5db9871bc54640940e855774bd2013-10-23T00:55:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyIndia<p>What is the significance of Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow and Beijing, probably his last one as Prime Minister? Beyond all the pomp and show, military and energy deals, and talks on settling India’s Eastern border, lies the real substance. Singh is finally rethinking the approach of putting all of India’s eggs in the United States basket and exploring a consolidation of India’s economic-political relations with other countries, especially China and Russia.</p> <p>23 October 2013
by Praful Bidwai
What is the significance of Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow and Beijing, probably his last one as Prime Minister? Beyond all the pomp and show, military and energy deals, and talks on settling India’s Eastern border, lies the real substance. Singh is finally rethinking the approach of putting all of India’s... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2013/10/23/Welcome-shift-from-US-obsession">Read</em> Welcome shift from US obsession</a></p>India’s Troubled Security Council Bid: Seeking false prestigeurn:md5:030901a0a66b0f0401ccc683983323002013-10-18T00:52:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyIndiaUnited Nations<p>So addicted has India’s power elite become to being treated as the proud representative of a rising great power embarked on an unstoppable march forward that it finds India’s declining global stature and influence in recent months simply incomprehensible. The signs of decline are unmistakable. The “India Story” is no longer the world’s flavour of the month, “the Next China” metaphor has faded from the Western media, and the seamy side of Indian reality is being highlighted, including the country’s raucous politics, poor social indicators, and the embattled state of a government mired in internal strife and corruption.</p> <p>18 October 2013
by Praful Bidwai
So addicted has India’s power elite become to being treated as the proud representative of a rising great power embarked on an unstoppable march forward that it finds India’s declining global stature and influence in recent months simply incomprehensible.
The signs of decline are unmistakable. The “India... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2013/10/18/India%E2%80%99s-Troubled-Security-Council-Bid%3A-Seeking-false-prestige">Read</em> India’s Troubled Security Council Bid: Seeking false prestige</a></p>Missing A Historic Chance In Bangladesh : Teesta waters muddy relationsurn:md5:94af9eb849904ee1448f07ffee7a6ce02011-09-19T07:11:00+02:00adminBangladeshForeign PolicyIndiaRiversTrade<p><em>Did India snatch defeat from the jaws of victory during its Prime Minister’s first visit to Bangladesh in 12 long years? Did Manmohan Singh squander a historic chance to make a decisive break with the mutual suspicion and avoidable tension that mark India-Bangladesh relations?</em></p> <p>(rediff.com)
By Praful Bidwai
Did India snatch defeat from the jaws of victory during its Prime Minister’s first visit to Bangladesh in 12 long years? Did Manmohan Singh squander a historic chance to make a decisive break with the mutual suspicion and avoidable tension that mark India-Bangladesh relations?
The answer is in large measure yes,... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2011/09/19/Missing-A-Historic-Chance-In-Bangladesh-%3A-Teesta-waters-muddy-relations">Read</em> Missing A Historic Chance In Bangladesh : Teesta waters muddy relations</a></p>The panic of 1962urn:md5:f605e327e5ea8a9d384c6a1c954c11e02010-12-01T19:55:00+01:00adminForeign PolicyIndiaUSA<p>Nehru's letters to Kennedy requesting U.S. defence support do not show him, as alleged by some, as a ‘pragmatist' with a flimsy commitment to non-alignment.</p> <p>Frontline, December 04-17, 2010
by Praful Bidwai
SENIOR columnist and author Inder Malhotra has done the public a service by publishing, with his own comments, two important letters Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to United States President John F. Kennedy towards the end of the 1962 China war ( The Indian Express, November 15, 17). The letters are... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2010/12/01/The-panic-of-1962">Read</em> The panic of 1962</a></p>India relishes its growing power—not debate over its purposesurn:md5:20eb3ee93f6683ce0349ff2ad803887b2010-10-21T11:48:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyIndiaUnited Nations<p><em>When India got elected last week to the United Nations Security Council as one of its five temporary members for two years, Foreign Minister SM Krishna was ecstatic. He termed this a “big day for Indian diplomacy” and a “reflection of the expectations that the world has from us”. The media joined the chorus to celebrate this “monumental” victory, which will give India a chance to “showcase its eligibility to become a permanent member” of the Council. New Delhi has long nurtured this ambition and backed it indefatigably, while throwing its lot with the other G-4 aspirants (Japan, Germany, Brazil).</em></p> <p>‘The Guardian’, October 21, 2010
by Praful Bidwai
When India got elected last week to the United Nations Security Council as one of its five temporary members for two years, Foreign Minister SM Krishna was ecstatic. He termed this a “big day for Indian diplomacy” and a “reflection of the expectations that the world has from us”. The media... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2010/10/21/India-relishes-its-growing-power%E2%80%94not-debate-over-its-purposes">Read</em> India relishes its growing power—not debate over its purposes</a></p>Double standards on aidurn:md5:b5c4a06a3cb1926a1fbd170bec8438982010-07-13T00:20:00+02:00adminAidDevelopmentEconomic JusticeForeign PolicyIndia<p>Indian leaders trumpet their nation’s recent global ascendancy in a variety of ways. They: highlight the importance of India’s membership of the G-20, claim a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and demand India’s inclusion in what they for long, derisively, termed “cartels” like the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. Not least, they build gigantic, spectacular, exorbitantly expensive projects like Terminal-3 at Delhi airport. In line with this is their boastful aspiration to transform India from an aid recipient to a donor.</p> <p>(July 13, 2010, Special to ‘Financial Chronicle’)
by Praful Bidwai
This is not quite materialising. India remains a major Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipient and the biggest borrower of concessional finance from the World Bank. Major programmes like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and various metro railways are... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2010/07/13/Double-standards-on-aid">Read</em> Double standards on aid</a></p>India must defuse rivalry with Pakistanurn:md5:2d5a3f241ce66666bbe810deebe3024b2010-02-10T15:34:00+01:00adminAfghanistanForeign PolicyIndiaPakistanPeaceSouth Asia<p>India and Pakistan should acknowledge their respective and joint stakes in stabilising Afghanistan. This could best happen if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convenes a summit in New Delhi with Presidents Zardari and Karzai to discuss peace-building, trade and transit, joint action against jehadi extremism, people-to-people exchanges, and economic cooperation. There are two preconditions for the success of such an initiative. First, the India-Pakistan dialogue must be resumed quickly. India’s refusal to talk to Pakistan has proved counter-productive. Mature diplomacy must replace this approach.</p> <p>Special to ‘Tehelka’, 10 February 2010
The Emperor has no clothes. The United States has no strategy for Afghanistan—military or political. This message clearly emerges from the Istanbul and London conferences, as well as President Barack Obama’s recent pronouncements. Beyond sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, cutting a deal with... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2010/02/10/India-must-defuse-rivalry-with-Pakistan">Read</em> India must defuse rivalry with Pakistan</a></p>Reworking India’s Regional Policy: Resume dialogue with Pakistanurn:md5:b429b2c1825f0fa6353af51a14c931282010-02-08T15:46:00+01:00adminAfghanistanForeign PolicyIndiaPakistanPeace<p>Does India have a half-way coherent policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two turbulent countries which have major implications for Indian security? Going by recent developments, the honest answer is no. India is losing opportunity after opportunity to help stabilise this critical part of its neighbourhood in the interests of the region’s people.</p> <p>Feb 8, 2010
It’s clear from the Istanbul and London conferences on Afghanistan that India stands marginalised. All the major players in the Afghan drama are now keen to do a deal with the Taliban, cut their losses, and scuttle and run. India’s plea against making a distinction between “the good Taliban” and “the bad Taliban” found few takers.... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2010/02/08/Reworking-India%E2%80%99s-Regional-Policy%3A-Resume-dialogue-with-Pakistan">Read</em> Reworking India’s Regional Policy: Resume dialogue with Pakistan</a></p>India - Iran: Course Correctionurn:md5:da9548859f337d8318e3290b81d7a45a2008-05-02T23:38:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyIndiaIran <p>[Inter Press Service, 2 May 2008
|http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42202|en]
by Praful Bidwai
NEW DELHI, May 2 (IPS) - Relations between India and Iran, which deteriorated over the past three years from traditional friendship and warmth into mutual suspicion and tension, have started looking up again.
This development has significant... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/2008/05/02/India-Iran%3A-Course-Correction">Read</em> India - Iran: Course Correction</a></p>India And The World: Foreign policy’s shrinking horizonsurn:md5:0a4b4768b26aa132499d3dd28a5b6a0a1999-09-27T13:07:00+02:00adminForeign PolicyHuman RightsIndiaNationalism<p>What is common between Paris, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kashmir, Dilli (East Timor) and New Delhi? Each of them signifies an embarrassment or crisis for India’s foreign policy establishment.</p> <p>September 27, 1999
by Praful Bidwai
What is common between Paris, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kashmir, Dilli (East Timor) and New Delhi? Each of them signifies an embarrassment or crisis for India’s foreign policy establishment. The way the Foreign Office is behaving is so amateurish and so uninformed by larger principles that the just-deceased Rajeshwar... <em><a href="http://www.prafulbidwai.org/index.php?post/1999/09/27/India-And-The-World%3A-Foreign-policy%E2%80%99s-shrinking-horizons">Read</em> India And The World: Foreign policy’s shrinking horizons</a></p>