New economic policy meets old paranoia
From ports to telecoms, Chinese FDI in India is hitting “national security” barrier. 28 September 2006The Hindu Chinese FDI hitting `national security’ barrier Siddharth Varadarajan New Delhi: The numbers involved … Continue reading
The life and death of a mad Bhopali
Sunil Kumar, who was 13 at the time the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal unleashed its deadly payload of methyl isocyanate gas over the sleeping city, committed suicide recently. Indra … Continue reading
In Nepal, time to check the dangerous drift
The road map for the formation of an interim government with Maoist participation is more or less in place. But powerful forces are intervening to derail the process. 20 September … Continue reading
India and the quest for world order
The Manmohan Singh Government’s foreign policy may or may not be independent. What is certain is that it is not effective or imaginative. 9 September 2006The Hindu India and the … Continue reading
Iran: Gas, gas everywhere but not a bit to sell
Caught between the Great Satan of sanctions and the Deep Blue Sea of indecisiveness and bad planning, Iran’s enormous gas reserves remain hugely under-utilised. 26 August 2006The Hindu Gas, gas … Continue reading
You can subscribe now!
In response to queries, I’ve finally figured out how to put in a subscription button on this site. If you want to receive my latest posts when they are put … Continue reading
Down but not out, leading Iranian reformist looks ahead
A former Speaker of the Majlis, Mehdi Karroubi was the leading reformist contender in Iran’s presidential election of 2005 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad under circumstances he considers improper. In … Continue reading
In Iran, democracy wrestles with clerical authority
With a vibrant and often polarised political culture, Iran is arguably more tolerant of debate than many countries in the region. But there are also limits. 23 August 2006The Hindu … Continue reading
Iran: Little chance of nuclear compromise
Tehran will respond to the pending European package but is unlikely to suspend enrichment under pressure. What the world must realise is sanctions will take us further from and not … Continue reading
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s red lines
At the end of a vigorous debate on the implementation of the nuclear deal with the United States in the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament, on Augsut 17, … Continue reading
‘Set ground rules on nuclear deal’ , say scientists
India’s senior-most nuclear scientists have written to Members of Parliament warning that the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal infringes on indigenous research and development, and that the country should guard against accepting … Continue reading
A defeat for Israel, but also for justice
The U.N. resolution is a consolation prize for the Olmert regime, whose failure in Lebanon throws the wider U.S.-Israeli game plan for the region into disarray. 14 August 2006The Hindu … Continue reading
Fidel is recuperating well!
The Juventud Rebelde website has the first photographs of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, recuperating after surgery.
"We are still interested in dialogue based on justness and fairness"
Those who think only about bombs, war, and attacking others are the root cause of everything that is wrong in the world, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells The Hindu in … Continue reading
Siddharth Varadarajan 