Musings on India, the law, and policy
Posted in Constitution, Court, Democracy, Human Rights, india, Rights, Rule of Law on Jun 5th, 2010
So much for the notion that all of constitutional law lies there in the Constitution waiting for a judge to read it fairly […] That is why the simplistic view of the Constitution devalues our aspirations, and attacks that our confidence, and diminishes us. A week back, Justice David H. Souter, who stepped down from [...]
Posted in Democracy, Foreign Affairs, india, Politics on Mar 23rd, 2010
New Delhi is abuzz with rumours of Pakistan inking a civilian nuclear deal with the US (akin to the 2005 one with India). Here’s my take on why there’s much ado about nothing. The Possibility Very Unlikely. For starters, to get a civilian nuclear deal through, there must be unanimous approval from the IAEA, and [...]
Posted in Democracy, Foreign Affairs on Jan 9th, 2010
Our tech-savvy Minister of State for External Affairs seems to have got into a spot of bother again – this time though, its not on Twitter’s turf, but at an event organised by the Association of Indian diplomats and the Indian Council of World Affairs in London. To quote Mr. Tharoor, “I think his [is [...]
Posted in Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, india, Terrorism on Dec 23rd, 2009
I was in Jammu and Kashmir recently, to witness a two-day dialogue on issues of autonomy, sectarian violence and Indo-Pak relations vis-a-vis the Kashmir Valley. To be naively frank, the complexities on the ground were mind-boggling to me. Ensconced in ivory towers, myths have been created by the self and the other about the situation [...]
Posted in Democracy, Human Rights, india on Dec 10th, 2009
Much of this post has been the result of sudden and unsettling change – but I’ve tried to abandon my confessed status-quoism in discussing the future of a territory where I have spent a lion’s share of the last 5 years. It was rather unfortunate to be stuck in a train, far from live coverage, [...]
Posted in Foreign Affairs, india on Dec 4th, 2009
Here are extracts from a sharp analysis on the nuclear chain-of-command in South Asia by Michael Krepon, of the Henry L. Stimson Centre. The article is among the few that actually examine the governance structure by which the nuclear arsenal is controlled in India and Pakistan. The entire article may be viewed here. …Pakistan’s history [...]