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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360° Analysis / India / Politics / Sonia Gandhi / BRIC / AsiaHaving spent twenty-five years serving the Congress Party, Archana Dalmia makes sense of Sonia Gandhi and her role in Indian politics. Sonia Gandhi is not a career politician in the conventional sense of the word. She was virtually thrown into the ring, and yet has shown more political astuteness than most of her contemporaries. Her Caucasian origins have often been thrown at her. But she has silenced her political critics with the courage, determination and fortitude that she has shown in these past fifteen years; in fact demonstrating that she is more Indian than most. The tenure of a leader can be judged by the growth of an organization they inherit. Sonia Gandhi has excelled in that...
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360° Analysis / Dynasty / India / Indira Gandhi / Kashmir elections / Nehru / Politics / Sepoy Mutiny / BRIC / AsiaBy Atul SinghFair Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Atul Singh, argues that India can only progress if it buries the ghosts of Nehru and Indira. Democracy is more than elections. It requires institutions. It requires rule of law. It has been 63 years since India declared itself a republic. Yet the country is in many ways a de facto monarchy. At the national level, one family has largely remained in power since 1947. This has led to tragic consequences for the country. During the Indian independence struggle, the Indian National Congress (INC) was a movement. Elections were held regularly and even Mahatma Gandhi was outvoted on occasion. Subhas Bose was elected as President of the INC against Gandhi...
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360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AsiaBy Mayank SinghThe promotion of Nehru’s great grandson, Rahul Gandhi, as future prime minister despite his party’s poor governance, his lack of administrative experience or ideology, and close association with corrupt characters, is extremely damaging both to the Congress Party and to India. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s frontal assault on the Congress party, accusing it of sacrificing national interest at the altar of “the family”, has unnerved the Grand Old Party. The cacophony of sycophancy which greeted the ascension of Rahul Gandhi as vice president of the Congress seems to be withering before Modi’s charismatic personality. Congress spokespersons who have...
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Gandhi dynasty / government / Independence / India / Politics / 360° Context / BRIC / AsiaIn the 21st Century, Indian politics is still dominated by dynasties, raising concerns about the health of its democracy. Background India is a country where familial ties run strong. This often makes individuals secure and society stable. The old adage that blood is thicker than water is more true in India than elsewhere. Given India’s social structure, it is perhaps inevitable that dynasties have emerged in various professions. Nepotism helps members of powerful families ascend to positions that would otherwise have been beyond their reach. In Bollywood, in big business and, especially, in politics, certain dynasties have come to the fore. However, it is important to remember...
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360° Analysis / Democracy / military / Okara / Pakistan / Politics / Sharecrops / AsiaAn examination of the Okara movement challenges hegemonic discourses of religious extremism and militancy in Pakistan. This is the second of a three part series. Read part one here. An examination of the Okara movement, which served as a serious challenge to the oppressive power of the state, contributes to a more nuanced understanding of ordinary Pakistanis in their struggle for self-determination, emancipation and economic well-being. In so doing, it moves beyond clichéd understandings of one of the most populous countries in the world and challenges hegemonic representations of the Pakistani polity. The Okara Movement The Okara Military Farms are part of the canal colonies in...
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360° Analysis / China / China Telecom / Internet freedom / ITU / Politics / Russia / United States / WCIT-12 / Europe / BRIC / Arts & Culture / AsiaBy Min JiangWith the world powers seemingly divided into two opposing blocs at the World Conference on International Telecommunications, Min Jiang looks at the conflict between “Internet freedom” and “Internet sovereignty” models. “The conference was not about Internet control or Internet governance,” said Hamadoun Touré, the head of the Internet Telecommunications Union (ITU), at the closing session of the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) on December 14, 2012 in Dubai. But of course, Mr. Touré was simply denying the obvious. Internet control is precisely what WCIT-12 was about and the ideological divisions between the...
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360° Analysis / Drones / Pakistan / United States / Yemen / Middle East / Global Security / AsiaYemen replaced Pakistan as the primary destination for US drone strikes in 2012. In both countries, official government support for this US policy often comes at odds with the average citizen. Yemen’s President, Abd-Rabbo Mansur Hadi, does not have any particularly strong local powerbase in the country, normally a pre-requisite for leading as unstable a country as Yemen. Perhaps that is why he continues to vocally support the continuation of a US drones campaign in his country in the face of widespread national opposition to a counter-terrorism strategy, that often results in civilian ‘collateral damage.’ Hadi: Drone Strikes in Yemen Hadi needs America’s...
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360° Analysis / Drones / India / Occidental / Oriental / Pakistan / Politics / Sectarianism / Sovereignty / Taliban / Global Security / AsiaNeo-orientalist narratives representing Pakistan through the paradigm of security and geo-strategy neglect the struggles of the people on the ground. This is the first of a three part series. Just before his untimely death and in the aftermath of the US raid in Pakistan that resulted in Osama bin Laden's killing, renowned intellectual Christopher Hitchens described Pakistan as a country “completely humorless, paranoid, insecure, eager to take offense, and suffering from self-righteousness, self-pity, and self-hatred.” Referring to abuses of women’s rights, Hitchens declared Pakistan a society where 'the most elemental of human instincts become warped.' He then...
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360° Analysis / India / Pakistan / Politics / Sectarianism / Sovereignty / AsiaBy Anwar AkhtarOver the past few years, minorities have faced increasing discrimination and even persecution in Pakistan. Pakistan is full of regional divides. Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, power has been held mainly by the feudal and military elites of Punjab. Shockingly in the past few decades, prejudice predicated on caste, tribe and religion has escalated. This is an attempt to decipher what is behind some of the hatred against Pakistan’s minority communities. Shias Pakistan has a very significant Shia community, about 20 million - almost 10% of the total population, which is majority Sunni. Given the fierce rivalry between Saudi Arabia (Sunni dictatorship) and Iran (Shia...