INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA: APRIL 2018 DOSSIER

This month’s edition draws on a variety of domestic challenges that grapple India. The spate of brutal child rapes and the dilemma of death penalty, problematic Parliament, upcoming Karnataka elections, fake encounters, CPI/M, etc. The economic performance of Karnataka is also covered under the economic development section.

PM Modi’s triple European tour attempts a balanced relation between traditional and new partners. Great bonhomie presented by Modi and Xi at Wuhan. Also PM Oli of Nepal resets relations with India albeit with a different equation.

Part I  India – Domestic developments

Karnataka: a ‘hung’ Parliament?

Karnataka: Lingayat as a separate religion?

The security situation in Karnataka

Party Congress of the CPI/M

Violence in North- and Central-India

]Standstill in Parliament

Naidu’s  open critique of the BJP

Yogi Adithyanath’s ‘Encounter Raj’

Politics of Rapes

Death sentence for rapes of children

Part II  India – Economic Developments

Karnataka—an economic profile of the state

Part III  India – Foreign Policy Developments

Modi in Sweden and the Indo-Nordic Summit

Modi’s visit to UK: bilateral talks and the CHOGM

Modi-Xi talks at Wuhan Summit

Part IV South Asia                     

Visit with a twist by Prime Minister Oli of Nepal

Part V Press Articles on major domestic and foreign policy issues

As always, a number of complementary articles provide the reader with a much wider and deeper understanding of the politics in India, South Asia and across the wider region, through an Indian-centred perspective.

Raja Mandala: India’s China reset and BRI

C. Raja Mohan

The Indian Express online, April 10, 2018

China’s long-term plans for its currency

Shyam Saran

Business Standard online, April 11, 2018

What democracy now means

KC Singh

The Tribune online, April 12, 2018

China’s Coming of Age as a Maritime Power

Manoj Joshi

The Wire online, April 16, 2018

Raksha Mantri to Pursue India’s Defence Cooperation Agenda in SCO

P. Stobdan

IDSA, April 16, 2018

India’s Commonwealth

C. Raja Mohan

The Indian Express online, April 18, 2018

Defence Planning Committee: Is too much being attempted too late?

C. Uday Bhaskar

Hindustan Times online, April 19, 2018

Next door Nepal: Populism first

Ghimire

The Indian Express online, April 23, 2018

Panchayati raj at 25

Mani Shankar Aiyar

The Indian Express online, April 25, 2018

Buying time at Wuhan

Srikanth Kondapalli

Rediff.com, April 30, 2018