Is tourism the solution to insurgency in the North East of India?
Memo #361 By Aadil Brar – aadil.brar [at] alumni.ubc.ca The Northeastern states of India have experienced years of violence and separatist movements. The AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act), the act gives the military and air forces the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the regional states, applies to the seven sister states, Arunachal […]
Urban Narrative in Delhi, India: Art Explorations and Urban Ethnography
Memo #345 By: Claudia Roselli – roselliclaudia [at] gmail.com The city today embodies a place where fears, hopes, dreams and transformations swirl together, creating new landscapes. Our urban future can be marvellous or frightening, but contemporary researchers, such as sociologists, urban planners, architects and ethnographers can have an important role in shaping the forms of urban and peri-urban evolutions and […]
Amidst its Tragedy, Nepal’s Strategic Dilemma
Memo #333 By Tsering Shakya – tsering.shakya [at] ubc.ca Although previous studies have argued that international/donor agenda drives disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Nepal and strengthens the role of NGOs vis-à-vis the government, there are clearly differences in international influences by country, a fact made notable in the cases of China and India. Nepal’s fear […]
Going off the rails?
Memo #329 Challenges for small Indian cities planning metro projects By Simon Harding – sharding13 [at] gmail.com India is undergoing a metro boom. The country has spent US$41bn* on urban metro rail projects since 2002: The country’s six largest cities have begun constructing large-scale networks. Now smaller cities are following suit: Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister […]
The AAP’s “clean sweep” in Delhi Assembly Elections
Memo #327 What it means for India By Asim Arun – asimup [at] gmail.com The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, Common Man’s Party) landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly polls this month is a rare instance of a civil society movement succeeding in democracy’s ultimate test: elections. The AAP is the child of the “India Against […]
Understanding Kashmir, Tackling the Kashmir Problem
Memo #319 By Promod Puri – promodpuri [at] blogspot.com The division of the Indian sub-continent in 1947 generated a persistent hostility between India and Pakistan, a hostility dominated by clashing territorial claims over the Kashmir region. On the international stage the Kashmir problem is largely viewed in diplomatic, political, government and media circles with the understanding that the […]
Modi: Breaking the Mold of Indian Politics (Part 1 of 2)
Memo #296 Narendra Modi’s Historic Electoral Victory. By John Harriss – jharriss [at] sfu.ca HE DID IT. That Narendra Modi should have won India’s 16th General Election is no great surprise. But the scale of his triumph is. Together with most other commentators I expected Modi to win, but thought it likely that he would be constrained by […]
Modi: Breaking the Mold of Indian Politics (part 2 of 2)
Memo #297 How Modi won may tell us something about the face of a Modi premiership. By John Harriss – jharriss [at] sfu.ca Read Part 1 of this memo HERE. Yes, Modi did it—won a transformative electoral victory. But HOW he did it is also important. There are three aspects of these elections that stand […]
Coalitional Constraints in India: Why we shouldn’t fear Modi
Memo #292 By Geoffrey Macdonald – GPMacdonald [at] gmail.com Polling indicates that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be announced next week as the clear winner of India’s scheduled parliamentary elections. With this result, the worst fears of many Indians and international observers will be realized: Narendra Modi, who is banned from entering the United […]
The Paradox of Women Leaders in Asian Democracies
Memo #277 By Timothy S. Rich – timothy.rich [at] wku.edu Political life in Asian countries is often characterized as a man’s world, especially compared to its Western counterparts. Yet we have also seen increasing political leadership opportunities for women in the region. Since 2000 alone, women have been elected prime minister in Bangladesh and Thailand, […]