IDR Blog
Time to Compensate Soldiers Based on Job Content
For a nation of population of 1.3 billion, loss of ten persons may appear routine, but death of ten soldiers in avalanche in Siachen on 05 February 2016 became a subject of debate world over. An avalanche is a natural phenomenon but events post 5th February on Sonam Post made India sit up and take note. Rescue missions were undertaken at...
Israel's Concerns over Hezbollah Gaining Battle Experience
Lebanon’s Hezbollah was originally a small-scale guerrilla group in Southern Lebanon formed to resist Israeli invasion in the 1980s. In the present scenario, Hezbollah is considered a Shiite Islamist militia, political party, social welfare organisation and a designated terrorist organisation.[1] Hezbollah built its reputation on a dogged...
ISIS: The Widening Gyre
Relatively close together in time, individuals claiming to be related to the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL or Daesh in Arabic) have carried out terrorist attacks in Lebanon, France and the US and blown up a Russian plane with tourists coming from vacations in Egypt. It is difficult to know if there is some sort of ‘central command’ to the ISIS...
Indo-Nepal Thaw: Does Compellence Work?
In his maiden state visit to India, Nepal Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli emphasised that his visit was “to clear the cloud of misunderstanding” between the two neighbours. The misunderstanding emerged in the backdrop of Nepal’s adoption of new constitution with which India expressed strong reservations. Back in September 2015, Nepal...
Gilgit Baltistan as Fifth Province: Reconciling with the Status Quo?
A high level committee in Islamabad is cogitating over a proposal to amalgamate Gilgit Baltistan as Pakistan’s fifth province. Previously referred to as Northern Areas, Gilgit Baltistan constitutes a major geographical chunk of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Located in a strategically pivotal positon, it serves as the only land link...