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The inescapable conclusion one may reach after the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (UNHCHR) released its much awaited report on the plight of the Uyghur Moslem minority in China’s Xinjiang province is that it is better late than never. Interestingly, the High Commissioner Michelle...

The Russian government under President Vladimir Putin has disgraced itself by not according a state funeral to the last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev whose low-key funeral took place September 3. Hundreds of people turned up at the ceremony with flowers in hand...

India has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest economy. This is the second time we overtook the UK, the first being a few years ago. But as our growth slowed, we fell behind again. The nations ahead of us are Germany,...

Is the hallowed ‘turf’ of the IAS shrinking? Evidently, yes. In the years since the Modi sarkar came to power, the IAS cadre at the joint secretary and additional secretary levels has noticeably shrunk. From 249 IAS officers in 2015 (from a total of 391...

Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old Lebanese-American charged with attempting to murder the British author Salman Rushdie, appears to have been acting on his own. Matar claims to be an admirer of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian supreme leader who issued the murderous fatwa against...

The recent floods that Pakistan is facing have taken a huge toll on that country. One third of the country is submerged in water, over 1,000 people have so far been killed, 33 million or one-seventh of the country’s population have been rendered homeless and...

The politics of hide and seek and bus ride that has become a common feature in a few states in the country for some time is now being reenacted in Jharkhand. Its beleaguered Chief Minister Hemant Soren, desperate not to lose his chair, held marathon...

Esmeralda Upton’s outburst against some Indian women in Plano, Texas this past week is an indication of changing attitudes towards people from this subcontinent living in the US. While Esmeralda, a Mexican American, is herself an immigrant, her abuse towards Indians also indicates an isolation...

A permanent, veto-wielding seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is India’s right, according to India. The anger, irritation and frustration at not being accorded this entitlement shows up on occasion as it did this week in New York. On 22 August, our representative...

The Centre’s 360-degree evaluation system for senior IAS, OPS and IFoS officers has found a new enthusiast in the Indian Railways. The Railways Board has introduced a process that allows peers and juniors to evaluate their reporting officers. The move obviously has Rail Minister Ashwini...