Showing 1 - 4 of 4
India needs more leaders like Manmohan Singh
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 10/04/2024
» Almost 10 years after he gave way to Narendra Modi as prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh retired last week from public life. During his long career, Mr Singh also served as chief economist, central bank governor, finance minister, and foreign minister. Although he disappointed many who hoped he would accomplish more, India today owes much of its success to the reforms he implemented.
India and China learn how to turn down the heat
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 30/08/2017
» As summer reached the high Himalayas this past June, one corner of the mountains turned hotter than expected. On a small plateau called Doklam, close to where the India-China border meets the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, two of the largest armies in the world faced off against each other. Chinese soldiers, convinced they were on Chinese territory, had brought equipment to extend a road; Indian soldiers, who viewed the land as disputed, blocked the earth-movers. For three months, the armies camped just metres away from each other, the Indians on the higher ground and the Chinese in a little valley. Neither government seemed to know how to back down.
An age of undiplomatic diplomacy
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 09/05/2017
» What happens when strongmen meet? We know that the world is slowly filling up with populist nationalists, from Manila to Washington. But how do they plan to deal with each other? Will they join forces against the sanctimonious, supra-national powers that dismay them all? Or will they compete, as erstwhile tough guys seem most comfortable doing?
Butter before guns please, Mr Modi
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 17/06/2016
» The breathless excitement that surrounded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, DC last week wasn't completely undeserved. By pushing forward Indo-US defence and strategic ties -- in spite of considerable domestic opposition to any de facto alliance -- Mr Modi can claim to have made India stronger. Yet unless he puts similar effort into fixing economic relations between the two nations, much of that progress could be at risk.