The following article was written for Berkeley Political Review as part of a collaboration with Davis Political Review. Legend says that on the great Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s deathbed, he was asked w…
The Talk of Toilets in India
Jaya, an educated college woman in India, falls in love with a man, Keshav, who has an incredibly superstitious family. She has to pretend to have two thumbs on her left hand in order to convince his …
The Maldives in Crisis – But What Do Yameen?
The turbulent political developments of the Maldives now, more than ever, have proven twofold: manifesting in both local political power-plays, and larger geopolitical conflict. This year alone, the M…
Interview with Jonathan Reiber, cybersecurity expert
Jonathan Reiber is a security expert currently serving as Senior Advisor at Technology for Global Security, a think-tank in Palo Alto, California, and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center …
China and India: The Emerging Power Struggle of the 21st Century
Over the past 40 years, Asia has experienced unprecedented levels of peace and prosperity, as the bloody conflicts of the Cold War gave way to a relatively stable order. This stability has allowed tra…
Development: A Dam Problem
It seems odd to juxtapose “environment” with “refugee”. The environment is a set of conditions that cultivate the life of beings. By definition, it is suited to the livelihoods of certain human…
No Nation For Indian Women
With India nearing general elections in 2019, one is forced to look back on where Modi’s revolutionary government has brought us. While it has been generally accepted that the status of ethnic groups …
‘The Creeping Iron In The Soul’ : Babri Masjid in 2018
“It is not madness; not lunacy. It is the creeping iron in the soul.” In December 1992, India was shaken awake by the news of 150,000 Hindu nationalists ruthlessly tearing down a mosque bu…
Quit Kashmir: Ending the Brutal Occupation in South Asia
In 1947, the political landscape of South Asia transformed as the fight for independence triumphed. The demands of Indians everywhere who had taken to the streets and implored the British to “Quit Ind…
China paves the way, will Asia follow?
China’s rise as a world power has been comprehensive to say the least. Alongside its growing powerhouse of an economy comes its political ambitions to assert dominance. Nothing new, one would assume. …
A Call for Caution: India’s Aadhaar
India is a land of dualities. Venture into New Delhi, and one can see the smog create a portrait with the fiery sunset, hear the chimes of temple bells form a paean mixed with the deafening honks of t…
Front Lines: The Weak Defence for ‘Human Shields’
Picture this: a young man, branded with a nondescript sign on his chest, being paraded through villages and neighbourhoods as he only just manages to stay on the jeep that he has been so carelessly ti…
The Beef Ban: A Symbol of Hindutva and a Threat to Indian Democracy
Contrary to what one might imagine associated with no-meat and no-beef movements in the West, such as animal rights and veganism, the connotations of restrictions on cow slaughter in India are …
Kashmir: One of the World’s Longest Ongoing Conflicts Re-Ignited in 2016
Since July, tensions between India and Pakistan have flared up over the disputed region of Kashmir. While tensions never fully go away, given that there have been three wars over the region, this bout…
Modi’s 500 Rupee Solution for Ending Corruption
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over screens in an unscheduled television address on the evening of November 8th and announced the invalidation by midnight of the 500 and 1000 rupee bills, cu…
The Ill-Named Item Number
Kareena Kapoor, a famous Bollywood actress, is seen in the still above performing the item number “Fevicol Se” in the film Dabangg 2. A colorful brothel. Scantily dressed women. Intoxicate…
The Indian Farce of Free Speech: JNU Students Arrested Over Alleged Anti-India Comments
At UC Berkeley, if you plan to take Political Science 1, also known as Intro to American Politics, at any point, then you will likely hear Professor Citrin rant at least once about the increasing eros…
To the Land of the Kiwis—Problems Arising from the Chinese and Indian Tidal Wave of Immigration to New Zealand
New Zealand today has more ethnicities than there are countries in the world. Starting in 2013, the land of the Kiwis has seen record net gains of migrants from countries such as India, China, the Phi…