By Vijay Badhwar It’s a sign of a dysfunctional Government which distracts public attention from main issues, matters that matter, towards completely irrelevant issues, unimportant in the context of building a nation, its future and the society that can live in harmony. Rather, it indulges in things that polarise the society, highlight differences that separate […]
By Rekha Bhattacharjee As the Australian visit of India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley enters its concluding phase, a section of the media here is already lamenting the tepid reception given to him, while also doubting if he can inspire big Oz funds to invest in India. “His visit to Australia this week should have […]
By Vivek Wadhwa of Stanford Governments, businesses, and economists have all been caught off guard by the geopolitical shifts that happened with the crash of oil prices and the slowdown of China’s economy. Most believe that the price of oil will recover and that China will continue its rise. They are mistaken. Instead of worrying […]
By Karam C Ramrakha Midnight, 14 August, 1947. From 12,000 kilometres away in New Delhi, Pandit Nehru’s voice defies the statics to give us, in faraway Suva, Fiji, a faltering reception of his memorable ”˜Freedom at Midnight’ speech: ”˜Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and […]
By Rekha Bhattacharjee Even though there are still few days to go before the Indian Prime Minister’s entourage touches Down Under, the excitement over the visit is undoubtedly turning into a sort of euphoria. It looks like as if the Indian PM Narendra Modi’s juggernaut would continue to roll full steam even in the […]
Frank Bainimarama By Karam Ramrakha While India has remained steadfast in ‘clean’ elections, what intrigues us are the promised September elections in Fiji. For eight years, Military commander Frank Bainimarama has ruled Fiji with a hand-picked Cabinet without elections. As promised he has renounced his military position, and will now form a political party and […]
By Rekha Bhattacharjee There is a long and fascinating history behind India’s capital city. From Indraprastha of 400 BCE to Luteyns’ New Delhi, the teeming northern Indian megapolis has been through seven major avatars and numerous rulers. In the history spread over three millennia, Delhi may have seen majestic Moghuls and splashy Sultans but […]
It’s been 100 days since the last refugee boat was encountered in Australian waters, so the Liberal leaders claim, unstoppable from patting their backs. The real stories of boats’ fates remain shrouded in mystery – if these were pushed back in Indonesian waters or sunk, dependent on Minister’s courtesy if he would choose to inform […]
By Rekha Bhattacharjee With a change of the government in Canberra, the Indo-Australian bilateral ties are likely to experience another upswing. The new Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made the better relations with India as one of his government’s top foreign and trade policy priorities. As expected, China continues to occupy precious space as […]
By Rekha Bhattacharjee While there has been a flurry of visits to India by the high-power Australian trade delegations and politicians, the observers are baffled by the slow pace at which the bilateral ties are growing. The Australian analysts blame India’s political culture for not only the stunted Australian-Indian ties but also for the […]