India, in 2020, is losing grip in South Asia. Modi made new year calls to neighbouring countries, but continues to alienate Pakistan and Bangladesh — a far cry from his 2014 outreach. His ‘Neighbourhood Policy’ is in tatters. Modi must quickly repair ties before China becomes the new regional protector.
Kota children deaths isn’t about BJP or Congress, but criminal apathy of health sector
Like in Gorakhpur, the Kota hospital deaths of children have also been reduced to a political blame game. Over 6,000 have died in Kota since 2014, spanning both BJP and Congress governments in Rajasthan. Beyond partisan politics, it just highlights, once again, systemic and criminal apathy of India’s health sector.
Trump attack on Soleimani will destabilise West Asia. India must refrain from taking sides
The US killing of Iran’s powerful military general Qassem Soleimani is set to aggravate instability in West Asia. In attempting to reshape the region, Trump has one eye on his re-election. India has huge stakes with both US and Iran, and should refrain from taking sides in their age-old squabble.