In Brief

Legislature must regain its supremacy

FILTER
Ravi Gopalan
Degrading the LeT network
STEPHEN TANKEL of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace profiles the growth of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) network from its origins during the anti-Soviet jihad to its current role as Pakistani military’s strategic asset against India with a support network stretched throughout the subcontinent, the Gulf and the West. In a policy [...]

Parliament will reconvene in February with the President’s address on the government’s agenda for the year.  The first UPA governmenr started off with a number of reform-oriented bills. Many of these were not passed as they faced opposition from the Left parties. The BJP supports several of these Bills.
The financial sector
The Pension Bill was introduced [...]

At the Winter Session 2009, the Lok Sabha lost around 17 percent of its scheduled time while the Rajya Sabha lost around 12 percent.

Obama is more of Bush
Nawa-i-waqt’s editorial on President Obama’s Afghanistan review argues that despite running on a platform to bring US troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, his policies are essentially the same as George W Bush’s, with the exception of a set timeframe for withdrawal. The editorial argues that the decision to send additional [...]

US-Pakistan strains
STEPHEN P COHEN of the Brookings Institution traces the history of the fluctuating relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. since the inception of Pakistan over 60 years ago. In his book, “Superpower Rivalry and Conflict: The long shadow of the Cold War on the 21st century” he states that this relationship has resulted in [...]

It’s time to revisit the anti-defection law, argues MR Madhavan

A review of the July-August 2009 session of the Indian parliament.

Nukes and neighbours
Rory Medcalf, director at the Lowy Institute for International Policy focuses on the complications  in North Asia in the wake of a renewed push by Washington towards nuclear disarmament. In an article “Wicked weapons North Asia’s nuclear tangle”, the author provides the background of the intersecting interests of North Asian powers such as [...]

Voting records of MPs rarely form the subject of public discourse in India. A key reason for this missing analysis is the absence of voting records. Most votes in Parliament are conducted by voice votes.