The Broad Mind

by Somnath Mukherjee There has been the usual flurry of commentary from the commentariat in the latest round of tension around Iran. Not incorrectly, much of it has been focused on how India cannot be sitting on the sidelines, as it were anymore. It is when the analyses dive a little deeper do the nasty [...]

by Somnath Mukherjee The editorial today in the Indian Express captures some element of the damage to India’s relations with Bangladesh caused by Mamata Bannerjee’s caper over the Teesta river treaty. What it leaves unsaid is the severe damage to India’s neighbourhood outreach strategy in general this has done. Its somewhat ironic that Indian governments [...]

A 6-day sojourn through oil and gas-rich Arab countries in the past week by China’s premier Wen Jiabao has drawn global attention to tensions over fresh Western sanctions against Iran and its consequences for energy security in Asia. The European Union and the United States are pushing major importers of Iranian oil such as India, [...]

by Somnath Mukherjee For a government that has been (rightly) pilloried for policy paralysis, the celebration of 20 years of establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel is a rare occasion for the UPAII to claim a degree of coherence in policymaking. First up, and perhaps most encouragingly, there has been no squeamishness in “celebrating” the [...]

by Somnath Mukherjee The press, both print and electronic has been abuzz with the date of birth issue over the last couple of weeks. Politicians, never to be expected to let go of opportunities to get into the limelight, have jumped in. On the issue specifically, it is really much ado about little. Disputes over [...]