Praful Bidwai

Did America’s newly discovered ally, India, cry wolf (that is, deliberately exaggerate tentative indications of the presence of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir) to get the United States to intervene sympathetically on its behalf and secure a commitment from Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf to end “cross-border infiltration” of militants? Although there is no irrefutable proof of this, … Continue reading “Did India Cry Wolf to Secure US Intervention?”

By choosing to nominate APJ Abdul Kalam as its candidate for Presidential elections next month, the Vajpayee government has sent out an unambiguous message: It has no compunctions in making an appeal to crass militarism to advance its narrow parochial interests. And by going along with the nomination or co-sponsoring it, the bulk of India’s … Continue reading “‘Missile Man’ as India’s President”

After the visits of Richard Armitage and Donald Rumsfeld, which formalised the commitments made by Islamabad and New Delhi to their American mediators or “facilitators”, the threat of overt war has diminished in South Asia – although it has by no means disappeared. A new triumphalism is now discernible in parts of political India, and … Continue reading “The Relevance of Détente”

The welcome commitment made by General Pervez Musharraf to "permanently" stop infiltration of jehadi militants across the Line of Control in Kashmir, and the "calibrated", but tiny, steps announced by New Delhi in reciprocation, have created a new, positive situation: The grim threat of war has receded somewhat; and there is reason to hope that … Continue reading “Building On The Indo-Pak Thaw”

Going by the signals emanating from Almaty and Singapore, and from Washington, New Delhi and Islamabad, the level of official rhetoric of India-Pakistan hostility has come down by a few decibels during the past week. This must be heartily welcomed. But the lowering of the pitch of hostility is not consistent and pervasive, nor yet … Continue reading “Military Force is No Solution”