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6. Jul 2023
The Final Straw: How a cyclone created a revolution in Bangladesh
Bangladesh, catastrophes, conflict studies, Elections, India, InFocus, Nation-building, Pakistan, political parties
The birth of Bangladesh as an independent nation-state in 1971 was a remarkable moment in modern history. It was remarkable not only for its people’s lengthy fight for freedom but also because of the role history. It was remarkable not only for its people’s lengthy fight for freedom but also because of the role of the Bhola cyclone, an unforeseen natural disaster that accelerated Bangladesh’s separation from the rest of Pakistan. Yet the cyclone – and how it affected local, regional and global politics – has only received limited attention by the historians.
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18. Mar 2022
Afghanistan: The Other Perspective
Afghanistan, conflict studies, democracy, development, InFocus, Nation-building, regional relations
The on-going war in Ukraine may serve as a grim reminder of history- how rivalry between major powers for global political advantage pushes a country – the theatre of rivalry – towards an inevitable crisis situation, and a bleak, grim future remains the only possibility. Afghanistan of today bears the testimony of such a scenario, after the experience of a long era of political insecurity and instability. This article attempts to focus on the other perspective of security, the people-centric approach of human security scenario in Afghanistan, to search how a prolonged situation of uncertainty fails the country of its basic necessities of today, and even betrays its past potentials.
Read more14. Sep 2012
Ethnic cleansing and genocidal massacres 65 years ago by Ishtiaq Ahmed
India, InFocus, minorities, Nation-building, Pakistan, politics, Punjab, refugees, terror
One of the completest cases of ethnic cleansing – that entailed the murder of 500,000-800,000 Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs – took place in 1947 in the Punjab Province of British India. Until now very little research had been conducted on it though in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi literature the horrors of the partition have figured […]
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