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South Asia

Photo: Taliban fighters attend a surrender ceremony in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2020. (Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Viewpoint by Saber Azam

The writer is a former official of the United Nations and author of the recently released book, “SORAYA: The Other Princess”, a historical fiction that overflies the recent seven decades of Afghan history.

GENEVA (IDN) – The US internal serenity is essential to the political and economic stability of the planet. The last four years have been challenging for Americans, their allies, and the rest of the world.

Hardly in the US history, an election such as the forthcoming in November this year will be so crucial.  Wizards predict that it would be a game-changer. If the winners of the country's leadership are Joe. Biden and Kamala Harris, many critical issues will be high on their agenda, and the crisis in Afghanistan will undoubtedly constitute one of them.

OPINION

Image courtesy: TARA InfraPower

By M. Niba *

LUCKNOW, India (IDN) – Private sector is playing a very important role to secure the UN Sustainable Development Goals. There is an inherent link between the SDGs and PPPs. The business enterprises contribute toward the development process not only through their competitive advantages but also via increased access to capital and incorporating innovation in their practices.

Indian companies have over the years built a competitive advantage in the delivery of highly cost-effective technological and business solutions and are renowned for their expertise across the globe.

THE WORLD
South Asia

Collage of pictures (left) of Senator Kamala Harris, official US Senate photo (Source: Wikimedia) and (right) her parents, Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris. (Source: San Jose Mercury News).

By Radhika Parameswaran and Pallavi Rao *

BLOOMINGTON, USA (IDN) – On June 27, 2019, the night of the second Democratic primary debate, Donald Trump Jr. shared and deleted a tweet posted by the right-wing provocateur Ali Alexander. Alexander’s social media post alleged that presidential candidate Kamala Devi Harris was “not an American Black” because she was half Indian and half Jamaican. Trump Jr.’s spokesperson then offered a dubious defense of his boss claiming that he had not intended to endorse racism, but had simply been surprised to learn about Harris’s Indian background.1 

THE WORLD
USA and Canada

Photo: The Indian government is apparently trying to find some mechanism for informal sector workers. Credit: Press Trust of India (PTI).

Viewpoint by Lakshmi Lingam*, Tata Institute of Social Studies

MUMBAI (IDN) – Women in India spend 297 minutes on unpaid domestic work each day, 245 minutes more than men who contribute only 52 minutes. Women’s work is not accounted for in the national accounting system, making their contributions unrecognised and unvalued.

An Oxfam report observes that the unpaid work of Indian women plays a crucial role in sustaining economic activity, equivalent to 3.1 per cent of GDP. Economic and social challenges, including domestic violence, dowry at the time of marriage and the trafficking of women, coalesce to sustain and perpetuate gender inequalities in India.

OPINION

Image: The wheel in the centre of the white in the Indian national flag represents the dynamism of a peaceful change. But certainly not dynamic departure from democracy and diversity that appears to be in the offing. © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

NEW DELHI (IDN) – August is a month of memories for India with memorable dates redolent of history, freedom and politics. August 15, with that unforgettably evocative ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, is, doubtless, the most important of the dates observed. Inextricably linked to that is August 8, on which date was launched the Quit India Movement, the turning point in India’s long struggle for freedom from the British Raj. 

OPINION

Image: China Nepal Pakistan India Globe Map South Asia

News briefs compiled by Suresh Jaura*

TORONTO | NEW DELHI (IDN) – The focus of media outlets on South Asia in the month of July has been on the perspectives of peace and human security in a region marked by skirmishes between India and the emerging global power China as well as nuclear rivals India and Pakistan and India and smaller neighbours. On the one hand, the 'Kashmir issue', COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. pull out of Afghanistan are casting a dark shadow over the region. On the other, Myanmar's decisions to launch a satellite and artificial intelligence appear to be promise a light at the end of the tunnel.

THE WORLD
South Asia

Photo: Collage of pictures of writers, Ritesh Tandon and Manish Uprety F.R.A.S.

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Ritesh Tandon

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat and Ritesh Tandon is the Republican Party candidate for the US Congress from California’s 17th District.

CALIFORNIA (IDN) – Politics makes strange bedfellows where one snores aloud and the other one turns a blind eye to it. The paradox goes beyond the marriage of convenience, and oft political parties and people involved in democratic processes tend to undermine the very process.

OPINION

Photo: Beach erosion, flooding, increased groundwater salination of groundwater, and unpredictable weather is already causing both floods and droughts. Photo: UNDP Maldives

Viewpoint by Kanni Wignaraja and Akiko Fujii

Ms Kanni Wignaraja is UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. Ms Akiko Fujii is Resident Representative, UNDP Maldives

MALÉ (IDN) – With 70 percent of its GDP linked to tourism, the COVID-19 wrecking ball has crashed hard into the Maldives economy. UNDP’s latest Assessment on Livelihoods published this month revealed a precipitous fall in the number of tourists. As a result hotels are closing, service industries are shedding jobs, and the national budget is haemorrhaging money. The border closure and travel ban during the tourist season will have a dramatic impact on the industry, as well as a ripple effect on the country’s economy.

OPINION

Image credit: VCG Source: Global Times

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Tension between China and India threatens to paralyse BRICS – the association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. While struggling to manage the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and India have locked horns over issues in their "bilateral relations", ranging from border security to trade conflicts and information war.

SUSTAINABILITY
Global Partnerships

Photo credit: Global Reporting Initiative

By Reinhard Jacobsen

AMSTERDAM | NEW DELHI (IDN) – How can the rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic be approached in a way that alleviates the growing economic, societal and environmental pressures in South Asian countries?

Seeking solutions in support of this aim is a key focus of the GRI South Asia Virtual Regional Summit, which starts on July 22. This free events series – with nine online sessions over one week – includes a diverse program under the theme empowering decisions for a sustainable future.

THE WORLD
South Asia

  1. Prelude to a China-India Strategic Showdown?
  2. Cultural Wisdom Might Help Resolve India-China Conflict
  3. India's Ties with South Asian Neighbours Strained
  4. Lives of the Marginalized Don't Seem to Matter in India
  5. Tensions Dominate India's Ties with Pakistan, Nepal & Sri Lanka

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IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.

IDN-InDepthNews serves as flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council, established in February 1983.

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