US President Donald Trumps trip to the DMZ to meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and his conciliatory get together with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Osaka Japan got most of the headlines in the US and world press at the end of June and beginning of July. The most consequential conversations during that time period, though, may have been those held by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to India before the Osaka summit and by … [Read more...]

  On May 23, the seven-week long Indian election process will come to an end. The votes will be counted and a winner will be declared. No matter who wins, the real winner will be Indias democracy. I say this as an Indian American who has had the privilege of living in the two largest - and, I would add, greatest - democracies in the world. I have watched in awe as this years election in India has unfolded. It brought back memories of Indias national election of 2014. The scope and size … [Read more...]

The US midterm elections will be held on November 6. Many knowledgeable observers are calling these midterms the most important elections in a generation. Thats because, even though this is an off-year election in which there is no presidential contest, the election itself is a referendum on Donald Trump. President Trump's aggressive and attacking leadership style and personality has taken a country that was already divided and driven the voters into polarised camps. He has consistently … [Read more...]

  As India approaches Independence Day on August 15, it is an appropriate time to celebrate the past and Indian democracy. It is also a time to contemplate the future and the democracy that India should become. India has the opportunity, the responsibility, and the capacity to be a global beacon of hope for democracy. There is a critical need for India to become that beacon.  Freedom House, the organisation that looks at the quality of freedom in countries around the world, … [Read more...]

In this 21st century, democracy is descending and autocracy is ascending in countries around the world. That is the conclusion and argument that Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa present in their article titled "The End of the Democratic Century" published in the May/June edition of Foreign Affairs. For much of the 20th century, the United States was the leader in promoting and promulgating democracy and democratic values internationally. With the Trump presidency that leadership has eroded … [Read more...]

  Over 31 million people of Indian birth or descent are part of the Indian diaspora spread around the world. Of them, 3.1 million, or 10 per cent, are Indian-Americans living in the US. The Indian-American diaspora has proven to be a vital resource contributing to the economic, political and social development of India. Devesh Kapur highlighted the importance of the Indian diaspora in his classic 2010 book, "Diaspora, Democracy and Development: The … [Read more...]

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out an ambitious agenda when he announced his administration's Make in India programme in September 2014. The centerpiece of that programme is the National Manufacturing Policy, the purpose of which is to make India a global manufacturing hub. Its intent is to increase manufacturing's share of the country's GDP from 16 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022 and to create 100 million additional jobs by that year.  The policy sets out 11 areas … [Read more...]