Muslims in Indian army
We must not doubt the ability of the 1.2 million-strong Indian army to fight wars on two fronts, because one of its top commanders has told us so. Nor should…
The Indian National Army
In my previous articles on these pages I have been writing about various resistance movements against the British Raj in India. These movements varied in nature, scope, and dynamics. One…
Bangladesh army refused to suppress protest, sealing Hasina’s fate
The night before long-time leader Sheikh Hasina abruptly fled Bangladesh amid deadly protests, her army chief held a meeting with his generals and decided that troops would not open fire…
What the Indian election can teach us
The people of India have spoken; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a third term, but this was a much tougher victory as compared to the previous two elections…
Army and the rupee
An old Indian friend, editor of an international newspaper in the Gulf, asked last week if it was alright to run a story suggesting that “Pakistan’s military does indeed exercise…
Militias ready for long fight in restive Indian state
Schoolboys turned militia fighters stare towards their enemies from their hilltop outpost, as the vigilante gunmen dig in for a long fight in India’s troubled Manipur state. Three months ago,…
Rural Indians join rush to study abroad as prospects dim at home
When 19-year-old Sachin failed to score the grades he needed to get into a good Indian college, his father, a small shopkeeper, took a loan and dug deep into the…
Indian secularism and Islamophobia
India pretends to the world that it is a socialist, secular and democratic republic. These great but equally elusive ideals were added to the preamble of the Constitution of India…
Why are Indian farmers protesting, and what can Modi do?
As an army of resolute Indian farmers keeps up its blockade of New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces potentially the trickiest challenge yet to his authority and reform agenda.…
Army of bullies
THE women who were targeted were shocked when they found out. Last week, over 80 Indian Muslim women discovered that they had been put up for ‘sale’ on a hosting platform called…
