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The fruitlessness of unconditional aid for Pakistan
No full text"The recent US State Department’s budget proposal for the fiscal year 2016 once again contains substantial aid for Pakistan, this time around USD 900 million. Besides the fact that Congress must still approve the budget, one thing is already clear: the administration of President Barack Obama is still not able or willing to learn from the lessons of the past. The continuation of US aid for Pakistan does not come as a surprise but the fact that it’s allocated again more or less unconditionally is quite peculiar. (...)
Will North-Waziristan turn into a Jihadist hub after Operation Zarb-e-Azb again?
No full text"On 15 June 2014, Pakistan‟s Armed Forces launched a major operation against terrorists in North Waziristan, which is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a remote and restive mountainous region bordering Afghanistan. The military campaign marks the end of a series of fruitless attempts to negotiate with Islamic terrorists. However, after the Jihadists continued their attacks on Pakistani soil, it seems that even Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, known for having a weakness for Islamic fundamentalism, understands that conflicts with Jihadists cannot be resolved through dialogue. In this case, the deadly attack on Karachi‟s airport a week before Zarb-e-Azb started doubtlessly triggered this turning point. Zarb-e-Azb, which means „Strike of the Prophet‟s Sword‟. (...)
Nepal Earthquake Post Disaster Needs Assessment: Sector Reports
No full textThe post disaster needs assessment (PDNA) assesses the impact of the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal and defines a recovery strategy. In the analysis, damage is defined as the cost to replace durable physical assets (buildings, equipment, facilities, and machinery) that were damaged or destroyed. Loss refers to changes in financial flows due to the temporary absence of infrastructure, increased or new demands (operational costs) due to the disaster, lost revenues, higher expenditures, and the cost of maintaining service provision. In addition to reconstruction costs, recovery needs are identified to build back better and are costed accordingly. Each sector has also examined issues of vulnerability and marginalization, and the need for specific targeting in the implementation of the recovery strategy. The report covers the following sectors: social; productive; infrastructure; and cross‐cutting
Pakistan, military rule and terrorism
No full textAs long as the Pakistani military structures do not cut radically their instrumental view of Islamic extremism, and do not understand the imperative need to leave the political scene, allowing the strengthening of the civil society, minority rights, education for tolerance and the rule of law, terrorism will remain a major threat endangering the Pakistani people and its neighbours
Why A Cyberterrorism Focused ‘Data Governance Policy’ Would Win in India Where a “Draft National Encryption Policy” Could Not
No full textData Governance is a major area of concern globally. It evokes sharp reactions and divides nation along sharp fault lines. The stakes are high for businesses, for citizens and governments, all alike. A few days ago, the Indian government published its Draft National Encryption Policy. The badly written draft met with stiff public and political resistance. The emergent public resistance driven by lack of conceptual knowledge except in very informed circles leading to fear of big government snooping on citizens and the spiralling media frenzy led the government to withdraw the well-intentioned, albeit technically flawed, draft. Hereunder, I discuss the flaws of the policy that led to its early demise, the focus that the draft should have had, the underlying exigent national security imperatives, trade-off between the sovereignty of India and the individual freedom of Indians and the policy options ahead of the government to device a cogent data governance policy in India
The Exposure, Vulnerability, and Ability to Respond of Poor Households to Recurrent Floods in Mumbai
No full textThis paper examines poor households in the city of Mumbai and their exposure, vulnerability, and ability to respond to recurrent floods. The paper discusses policy implications for future adaptive capacity, resilience, and poverty alleviation. The study focuses particularly on the poor households, which tend to have greater exposure and vulnerability to floods and limited ability to respond given the constraints on physical and financial resources. The study seeks to understand the implications of the fact that poor households are more likely than non-poor households to be located in flood-prone areas. The study used the land use maps for the selected flood-prone areas to determine the extent and spread of poor and non-poor households and other types of assets and activities in areas with chronic and localized flooding. Primary data were obtained through detailed household surveys to understand the vulnerability and impacts of the extreme floods of July 2005, recurrent floods and the ability of households to respond and cope. The study examined the option of relocation to flood-free areas and identified factors that influence families’ decisions regarding relocation. The study finds that a significantly large proportion of poor households are located near areas with chronic and localized flooding. These households are either below the poverty line or have low incomes and reside in informal settlements or old and dilapidated structures. Future climate risks are likely to put greater burden on the poor and push them further into poverty unless well directed efforts are made to protect them
The battle over Kunduz and its implications
No full text"On 28 September 2015 the Taliban launched a major offensive in North Afghanistan resulting in the overrun of city of Kunduz. The fact that some hundred Taliban fighters were taking over a major urban centre- an area which was held by 7000 regular Afghan troops, in less than 24 hours, is not only a military debacle for the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) but also an embarrassment for the provincial authorities. For it represents the greatest success of the Taliban in an open battlefield marked by an extraordinary ‘propaganda coup’. The fact that the temporary fallout of Kunduz coincided with the first anniversary of the Presidency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and its joint government with Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah underpins the political paramountcy and dramatic exposure of the security dimension of Afghanistan. Subsequently, the Afghan Army with support of the special NATO forces comprising US, British and German troops readily took to regain control over Afghanistan’s sixth biggest city consisting of 300,000 inhabitants. (...)"
The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies: Reflections on the current State of Play in an Emergent Discipline
No full textThe paper deals with the development and the perspectives of the Sikh studies regarding the Punjab studies
Die yunāni-Heilpraxis im medizinischen und gesellschaftlichen Kontext des kolonialzeitlichen Südasien: Eine Analyse der diskursiven Verflechtungen vierer Werke Iḥsan ʿAlis
No full textDie medizinische Tradition des yūnāni, die ihren Ursprung im antiken Griechenland hatte und später im Zuge der arabischen Expansion in der gesamten islamischen Welt Verbreitung fand, ist eine in Südasien bis heute lebendige Heilpraxis. Dort fand das yūnāni etwa seit dem 16. Jahrhundert Anwendung und wurde vorrangig von zentralasiatischen Einwanderern am Hofe der Mogulherrscher praktiziert. Da diese für ihre Werke das Persische, das in Südasien noch nicht weit verbreitet war, verwendeten, konnten die Ärzte (ḥakim) ein Monopol über das medizinische Wissen, das nur im familiären Kontext weitergegeben wurde, errichten. Außenstehenden blieb der Zugang hierzu verwehrt. Erst das Aufkommen des kommerziellen Buchdrucks im 19. Jahrhundert veränderte diese Situation. In diesem Zusammenhang wandten sich nun erstmals Ärzte der yūnāni- Tradition an die Öffentlichkeit und verfassten Werke auf Urdu, die das zuvor geheim gehaltene Wissen einer breiten Masse allgemein zugänglich machten. In dieser Arbeit sollen vier Werke Iḥsan ʿAlis, eines Autors dieser Strömung, analysiert werden. Dabei sollen verschiedene diskursive Verflechtungen aufgezeigt und untersucht werden. Eine integrale Rolle spielt hierbei die Verbindung reformislamischer Bestrebungen des 19. Jahrhunderts mit dieser neu aufkommenden Strömung des yūnāni
Modi's India: Elections, expectations, endeavours: a Perspective
No full textThe success of Mr Modi’s government is much more than a domestic issue; it is a fundamental challenge for democracy. India is not only the biggest democracy in the World; India is the only significant example of a XXth century born nation that never knew any other form of government. Nothing is settled regarding democracy in our age. One thing is however considerably safe to predict: the future of democracy is highly dependent on the success of the largest and most consistent emerging democracy. Modi’s election broke three enduring democracy hexes: thirty years without clear parliamentary majority; politics polarised by factional issues and dynastic entrenchment. It did so giving hope to hundreds of millions of people on consistent steps for development. And this is the crux of the matter for looking into this first year of Modi in government