Category Archives: MEA/foreign policy

Persona over Policy — ‘India Today’ reviews ‘Staggering’ – and my response

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

Karnad’s critique of Modi’s foreign and security policies stands out as an important broadside from a prominent political commentator. By Sumit Ganguly, India Today, December 8, 2018; ISSUE DATE: December 17, 2018 This book is an insightful but uneven critique of Prime … Continue reading →

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Imran has the edge on Modi

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Pakistan PM Imran Khan) Returned after nearly a week’s trip to the Balkans visiting Dubrovnik in Catholic Croatia, Kutar and Budwa in Russian Orthdox Montenegro and Mostar in Muslim Bosnia-Herzogovina — all former provinces of a once unified Yugoslavia that … Continue reading →

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Why India does not deserve to be Permanent Member of the UN Security Council

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Prime Minister Modi addressing the UN General Assembly) The Indian ambassador to the UN in New York, Syed Akbaruddin, made the predictable pitch on behalf of the so-called G-4 — India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany, at the UN General Assembly … Continue reading →

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Decisively Submissive

Posted on November 18, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Modi and Trump in a clinch) ———– Delhi’s compliance with Washington on Iran will let China gain influence ———— The omnibus US sanctions policy under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) targets India on two fronts. Regarding Iranian … Continue reading →

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Opportunities stay missed

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

[CNS, ADM Sunil Lanba, and RADM Hossain Khanzadi, chief of the Iranian Navy in Kochi] Thank God for the Indian Government showing some sense in inviting the Iran naval chief, Rear Admiral Hossain Khanzadi, to attend the 10th Indian Ocean … Continue reading →

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Deconstructing India’s Global Ambition — Asia Society

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

Asia Society, Mumbai, had staged a well-attended event to discuss my book ‘Staggering Forward’ on October 30. The video link of the discussion is at  

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Armaments and sovereignty

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

[World leaders in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the ending of WWI; Indian Vice President  Venkaiah Naidu and spouse can be seen in the middle of the second line from front] —— The sombre marking of the 100th … Continue reading →

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Downturn in Russia relations

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

[Modi and Putin in a more congenial mood in St. Petersburg] President Vladimir Putin comes hither to summit with Modi  at a time when bilateral relations are strained. This may be gleaned from the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s rather … Continue reading →

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Podcast (CPR) & Discussion on ‘Staggering’ at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

A CPR podcast on my new book ‘Staggering Forward is available at https://soundcloud.com/cpr_india/episode-23-staggering-forward-narendra-modi-and-indias-global-ambition ————- Taking off tonight for the US for an extended holiday coupled with a book event at the Atlantic Council, Washington DC, on Thursday Oct 4, 2018. … Continue reading →

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Immediately strengthen Solih

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

[Solih campaigning] A vile incubus is off India’s back. The autocratic Abdulla Yameen has been ejected from the office of President of Maldives by the people in the elections that everybody had assumed would be trifled with by Yameen to … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, society, South Asia | 11 Comments