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The Afghan Peace Process: Two Phases of the Taliban
The prospect of a peaceful Afghanistan is only realistic if the Taliban breaks ties with other terrorist groups, agrees to a ceasefire and joins the intra-Afghan peace talks. The Afghan government has...
View ArticleThe Elephant in the Room Behind India’s Rise
For India to maintain its position as a global leader, more concerted efforts at local and federal levels will be necessary to bring women to parity with men. In the past decade, India has stepped into...
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Understanding the 2019 Indian Elections
In the last of a five-part series on opinion polls about the Indian elections, national security has overtaken the economy to become the main electoral issue, but things may change by the time the...
View ArticleHow Will Sanctions on Iran Affect India?
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Sumitha Kutty, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Iran and India have traditionally...
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What Slows Urban Mobility in India?
Like many countries, India’s largest cities are congested. But congestion pricing won’t work here because mobility is affected by other factors besides vehicle traffic. Urban economic development...
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Ramadan 2019: How Sri Lankan Muslims Can Respond
At a time when their country needs healing and support, Sri Lankan Muslims have an obligation this Ramadan. Each Ramadan, I set myself a challenge: How and what can I improve this year? For me, Ramadan...
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Blasphemy Laws: Sacrilege in God’s Name
Blasphemy laws create religious extremism, repress the people, bind the hands of government and paralyze the country at will. On February 25, 2018, Rome’s ancient Colosseum was lit in red to condemn...
View ArticleWhy Does Happiness Elude India?
India needs to introspect as to why it has fared so miserably when it comes to being happy. The UN’s 2019 World Happiness Report released in March shows that India is on a declining trend when it comes...
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India’s 2019 Election Is a Choice between a Strong and a Helpless Government
In this guest edition of The Interview, Nilanjana Sen and Varuna Shunglu talk to Maheish Girri, the national secretary of the BJP. In 2014, the world’s largest democracy elected the Bharatiya Janata...
View ArticleTo Fight Poverty, India Must Create Income-Generation Opportunities
This is the end of election season in India. Parties have announced many schemes. Although the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projected to win, the results may not be a foregone conclusion. To...
View ArticleSri Lanka’s Persecuted Muslims Are Turning Radical
After decades of persecution by the Sinhalese and Tamils, Sri Lanka’s Muslims are abandoning local syncretic Islam and turning to a more radical version. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed...
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Whether You Like It or Not, Narendra Modi Is Here to Stay
As congratulatory messages for Modi pour in from all parts of the world, it is important to remember that the journey doesn’t end at victory. Narendra Modi, the god-like leader of the Bharatiya Janata...
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Narendra Modi Wins Again as India Rejects the Nehru Dynasty
Revulsion for corruption and nepotism makes Indians vote for a leader with humble roots despite his poor track record and authoritarian tendencies. In April, this author called Indian Prime Minister...
View ArticleDoes Modi’s Re-Election Threaten India’s Muslims?
The re-election of India’s Hindu right-wing government could put minorities at risk. India’s general elections were the most wide-ranging and possibly most expensive election campaign in the nation’s...
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How Do Indians Clean Their Bottoms?
The seemingly simple act of cleaning bottoms reveals invaluable insights about the Indian psyche’s fixation with purity and pollution. This is the first of a three-part series. Understanding how...
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Without Curbing the Opium Trade, Afghanistan Is Unlikely to See Peace
The question of drugs is one that will determine Afghanistan’s future. While the talks between the United States and the Taliban continue, one key factor contributing to Afghanistan’s instability is...
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Helping India’s Rural Youth Unlock Their Potential
In 2012, Ashweetha Shetty left a remote village in Tamil Nadu to join the Young India Fellowship, a one-year post-graduate diploma program at Ashoka University in the northern Indian state of Haryana....
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Without Fundamental Reforms to the Education System, Indians Will Not Innovate
The education system, with terrible teaching that programs Indians to focus on tests, must change and put a focus on learning instead. In 2018, Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak, visited India and made...
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How Do We Tackle the Urban Job Crisis?
What can governments do to improve peoples’ preparation for the new labor market in a “glocal,” or global, economy? The concept of work is as old as civilization. Aristotle, the great Greek...
View ArticleWhat Modern Science Can Learn from Indigenous Knowledge
The assumption is that what works in wealthy countries can work anywhere. Advancements in the science of building design for earthquake resilience are enabling the development of high-rises and now...
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