Asia
Asia
Fair Observer provides insightful and informed analysis of the important issues, events and trends in the unique nations of Asia.
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Assam / Drones / Forest / India / Mumbai / Nava J. Thakuria / Rhinos / Wildlife / Focus Article / Asia / Environment & SustainabilityIn India, elite forces on the ground and drones in the sky aim to safeguard Assam's wildlife. Assam, which has been in the national and international media for incidents related to insurgency turned terrorism, is on the verge of witnessing a new battle. Unmanned remote-controlled aircraft popularly referred to as drones which are being used by NATO forces in Afghanistan, are to become operative in the state. But unlike Afghanistan, the drones in Assam would be conservatory in nature. The Indian Union environment and forest ministry has cleared the proposal from the Assam government for flying the conservation drone for aerial surveillance on poachers targeting the precious...
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1948 / 1971 War / 360° Analysis / Bangladesh / Bengali / Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed / Fair Observer / India / Indian Muslims / Islamabad / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Politics / Shrikant Krishan / AsiaIn its 66 years of existence, Pakistan has been far from democracy and nowhere near a beacon of Islam. In a recent Fair Observer article, Pakistan: Democracy in a Confessional State, Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed states: “There is no denying that the erstwhile modernist Pakistani leadership tried to make Pakistan both democratic and Islamic. However, no constitutional formula could find the proper balance.” As is the approach of the Pakistani establishment in general, Ahmed is very tepid in identifying the fault lines that underlie the country. It has hardly been a case of finding the proper balance; it has been an imbalance of gigantic proportions. In its 66 years of existence, Pakistan...
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360° Analysis / Algerian War / Colonialism / Extremism / France / Informed Comment / Islam / Juan Cole / Muslims / Russia / Stalin / terrorism / Tsar / United States / World War 1 / World War 2 / Europe / Middle East / Africa / Global Security / AsiaBy Juan ColeTerrorism is a tactic of extremists within each religion, and within secular religions of Marxism or nationalism. No religion, including Islam, preaches indiscriminate violence against innocents, argues Juan Cole. Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States. As for political violence, people of Christian heritage in the 20th Century polished off tens of millions of people in the two world wars and colonial repression. This massive carnage did not occur because European Christians are worse than or different from other human beings, but...
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360° Analysis / Arab Spring / Bhutto / Bilal Ahmed / Democracy / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Nawaz Sharif / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pakistan Spring / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Rawalpindi / AsiaBy Bilal AhmedBilal Ahmed argues that the discourse surrounding democracy in Pakistan is flawed, and that its liberal republican articulations will come to provoke additional mobilization in future years. It was the end of January. Tahir ul-Qadri's Long March had just ended in Islamabad. There were inspirational images of tens of thousands cheering on his fiery speeches, but we were all aware of what was happening. Qadri had strong links to General Pervez Musharraf. His populist stance against Pakistani political dysfunctions meant that the entire event was likely a performance to strengthen military influence on the civilian government. Many Pakistanis read the Long March along these lines,...
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360° Analysis / Bhutto / Education / illteracy / Imran Khan / Ishtiaq Ahmed / Islamabad / Karachi / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Taliban / AsiaNo state can tolerate a challenge to its monopoly of power from within; in other words, a state within a state is a contradiction in terms of state sovereignty Hopefully by the time this article is published, Pakistan would, despite the reign of terror let loose by the Taliban on the very idea of democracy, and especially on some parties, have completed the election process, and the results would be at our hands. Whosoever wins a majority or most seats and on that basis forms a coalition government, would have to have some concrete and practical measures to address a number of egregious problems, which if not tackled quickly and effectively can render Pakistan a failed state....
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360° Analysis / Asia-Pacific / Beijing / BRICS / Brinksmanship / DPRK / Fair Observer / North Korea / obama / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / Wilson Chew / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaBy Wilson ChewChina’s cooperation in dealing with North Korea will likely be temporary and prudential. If North Korea is the hysterical child that Western news media — aided by the north’s own apocalyptic rhetoric — portrays it to be, then China is often cast as the doting grandparent, indulgent to a fault. In 2013, however, this indulgence appears to have come to an abrupt end. After North Korea proceeded with a nuclear test in February, despite China's pleas for restraint, the Chinese approved the UN-imposed sanctions passed in March, even helping to draft the resolution. Where this remarkable change in tack has been noted, it has been with optimism; though the basis for...
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360° Analysis / Beijing / China / Depsang / India / India-China Border Dispute / Ladakh / Manmohan Singh / Mumbai / New Delhi / Nitin A. Gokhale / Politics / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaThe recent incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh's Depsang area should serve as a timely reminder to India that timelines for infrastructure development along the Chinese frontier and plans to boost military capability, do not have the luxury of slippages. Almost exactly four years ago, the outgoing UPA-I government's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was meeting for the last time before the results of the 2009 general elections were to be announced. The sole item on the agenda: enhancing India's military preparedness against China. According to insiders present at that meeting, some of the members of the CCS wanted to leave the decision to the next government. But...
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Ban Ki Moon / carbon dioxide / Carbon Emissions / climate change / Cristina Simonetti / greenhouse gases / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Global Change / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / Environment & SustainabilityAs the last significant climate change conference took place six months ago, it is essential to observe developments and create awareness about the issue. Background It was not until after the efforts of a few highly committed scientists in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Hubert Lamb in England and J. Murray Mitchell in the US, that climate change was accepted as a scientific concept. Today, however, the issue is no longer about finding proof, but solutions. At the simplest level, we can define weather as what is happening to the atmosphere at any given time, while climate is what would be expected to occur at any given time of the year based on statistics built up over a long period of time....
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Economic Development / Ethiopia / India / Indonesia / Lee-Roy Chetty / Mobile Technology / Nigeria / Social Development / Wireless Technology / Focus Article / Global Change / Africa / Asia / Science & TechnologyMobile technology offers extensive help on various forms of social and economic development. Lee-Roy Chetty explores why such initiatives can have a positive impact in Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, and beyond. Technological innovation and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) represent a way for developing world nations to foster economic development, improve levels of education and training, as well as address gender issues within society. Entrepreneurship is crucial for economic development around the world. In countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Indonesia, micro-entrepreneurs generate 38% of the gross domestic product. Analysis from the World Bank in 2011 indicates that small...