There has been a remarkable decline in insurgency-related violence across the Indian Northeast ow... more There has been a remarkable decline in insurgency-related violence across the Indian Northeast owing to negotiated agreements with armed groups, and the desire of young people to find jobs and seek a life of prosperity. There are visible signs of construction of new physical infrastructure, as well as buoyant economic growth and rising literacy in many Northeastern states. Manipur's good economic growth, however, is imperilled by a new cycle of violence between the majority Meitei community and the state's tribal communities since May 2023. This study employs phenomenological hermeneutic analysis to argue that national security concerns play a major role in shaping development efforts, and to highlight the multifaceted nature of the conflicts, encompassing ethnic clashes, poverty, unemployment, political instability, extortion by insurgent groups, corruption, and the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act under which the military tackles active insurgencies. The article explores innovative approaches to end the conflict in the Northeast, arguing as well that the impressive economic growth and development indicators in Manipur, as well as in a few other Northeastern states, make the forging of peace a real possibility.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a dilemma that touches both public health and the political ... more The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a dilemma that touches both public health and the political economy. The world after the coronavirus will be different in many ways, including economic, social, and health consequences. Nobody will escape this storm unscathed. As a result of the present epidemic, major countries will rebuild the world order. This paper is an attempt to study the recent upheaval in India-China relations. This paper aims to shed light on India’s stance towards China under Modi, which must be seen as growing Asian power but in decline relative to China. As a result, India is pursuing a blended approach towards its rival China, at the multilateral level accommodating and cooperating; competition at the regional level; opposing unilateral projects like the Belt and Road Initiative and dissuading across the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean. No other bilateral ties are as complicated for India as their relationship with China. Their animosity stems from an unresolved border dispute. This paper also analyses the bilateral relationship strained by the military confrontation in 2017 at Doklam and China’s aggression in Galwan Valley in June 2020. India wants to avoid the Chinese supremacy in Asia by carving out strategic space as a major power in multipolar Asia and preserving its territorial integrity and sovereignty. India, on the other hand, lacks viable economic plans to deal with China. As a result, India’s overall position will pose a significant diplomatic problem. A detailed discussion about Act East policy’s further prospects in engaging China has been included. Further, as the 2020s advances, disparities in public health and economic policy responses among nations have sparked a propaganda war, with the USA and China raging a blame game around COVID-19. Under such international situations, India should look in the region for better cooperation through its Act East policy to consider the regional order.
India is the largest democracy with multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-ling... more India is the largest democracy with multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-lingual society. In a democratic society, asymmetrical federalism has evolved as an answer to the question of accommodating and managing diversity. The paper intends to explore how asymmetric federal institutions were implanted in the Constitution under articles 370, 371, and the sixth schedule. The central theme of this paper is the self-rule assertion in the Northeast to be placed under the concept of asymmetrical federal arrangement in relation to the recent abolition of article 370. It also analyses how differences in ethnicity and region were accommodated in nation-building through asymmetric federalism, traversing the challenges in crafting, and implementing. The abrupt abolition of article 370, ethnic conflict, and the aspirations for self-rule in the Northeast is debatable in the context of self-rule and shared-rule. The Indian government should have gone for a more conciliatory action. Moreover, it must be cautious and amiable in handling the fragile, existing conundrum of power-sharing federal arrangement and inclusivity in the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.
There has been a remarkable decline in insurgency-related violence across the Indian Northeast ow... more There has been a remarkable decline in insurgency-related violence across the Indian Northeast owing to negotiated agreements with armed groups, and the desire of young people to find jobs and seek a life of prosperity. There are visible signs of construction of new physical infrastructure, as well as buoyant economic growth and rising literacy in many Northeastern states. Manipur's good economic growth, however, is imperilled by a new cycle of violence between the majority Meitei community and the state's tribal communities since May 2023. This study employs phenomenological hermeneutic analysis to argue that national security concerns play a major role in shaping development efforts, and to highlight the multifaceted nature of the conflicts, encompassing ethnic clashes, poverty, unemployment, political instability, extortion by insurgent groups, corruption, and the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act under which the military tackles active insurgencies. The article explores innovative approaches to end the conflict in the Northeast, arguing as well that the impressive economic growth and development indicators in Manipur, as well as in a few other Northeastern states, make the forging of peace a real possibility.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a dilemma that touches both public health and the political ... more The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a dilemma that touches both public health and the political economy. The world after the coronavirus will be different in many ways, including economic, social, and health consequences. Nobody will escape this storm unscathed. As a result of the present epidemic, major countries will rebuild the world order. This paper is an attempt to study the recent upheaval in India-China relations. This paper aims to shed light on India’s stance towards China under Modi, which must be seen as growing Asian power but in decline relative to China. As a result, India is pursuing a blended approach towards its rival China, at the multilateral level accommodating and cooperating; competition at the regional level; opposing unilateral projects like the Belt and Road Initiative and dissuading across the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean. No other bilateral ties are as complicated for India as their relationship with China. Their animosity stems from an unresolved border dispute. This paper also analyses the bilateral relationship strained by the military confrontation in 2017 at Doklam and China’s aggression in Galwan Valley in June 2020. India wants to avoid the Chinese supremacy in Asia by carving out strategic space as a major power in multipolar Asia and preserving its territorial integrity and sovereignty. India, on the other hand, lacks viable economic plans to deal with China. As a result, India’s overall position will pose a significant diplomatic problem. A detailed discussion about Act East policy’s further prospects in engaging China has been included. Further, as the 2020s advances, disparities in public health and economic policy responses among nations have sparked a propaganda war, with the USA and China raging a blame game around COVID-19. Under such international situations, India should look in the region for better cooperation through its Act East policy to consider the regional order.
India is the largest democracy with multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-ling... more India is the largest democracy with multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-lingual society. In a democratic society, asymmetrical federalism has evolved as an answer to the question of accommodating and managing diversity. The paper intends to explore how asymmetric federal institutions were implanted in the Constitution under articles 370, 371, and the sixth schedule. The central theme of this paper is the self-rule assertion in the Northeast to be placed under the concept of asymmetrical federal arrangement in relation to the recent abolition of article 370. It also analyses how differences in ethnicity and region were accommodated in nation-building through asymmetric federalism, traversing the challenges in crafting, and implementing. The abrupt abolition of article 370, ethnic conflict, and the aspirations for self-rule in the Northeast is debatable in the context of self-rule and shared-rule. The Indian government should have gone for a more conciliatory action. Moreover, it must be cautious and amiable in handling the fragile, existing conundrum of power-sharing federal arrangement and inclusivity in the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.
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Papers by HM IZHAR ALAM