Background Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, envisioned India to operate as an inclusive, secular democracy. Secularism was a core value in the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885, long before independence from the British Crown. Nehru’s secularist ideology, ideally, attempted to prevent... MORE

It appears increasingly clear that al-Qaeda is intent on striking in India.  In fact, the organization provided assistance in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and may already have been connected to bomb strikes this year. India has remained largely untouched by al-Qaeda directed violence, but the... MORE

A number of British newspapers have reported from Brussels quoting NATO sources that “Russia has agreed to return to the war in Afghanistan at the request of Western states.” A “groundbreaking agreement” with Russia may be announced at the NATO summit next month in Lisbon,... MORE

Recent developments in three of India’s neighbors have demonstrated the expanding regional presence, reach and influence of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) organization. Going well beyond its Kashmir roots, reports suggest the movement is now establishing a presence in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Within a span... MORE

In China’s quest to secure raw materials, resources and markets, Beijing has laid out a sophisticated blueprint to develop a region-wide transit corridor throughout the subcontinent. In the Himalayas, it has built rail, road and air networks that can support the Chinese military’s logistic supply... MORE

Even as the Chinese navy signals its intent to enforce sea denial in the "first island chain" in the East (comprised of the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is reportedly... MORE

While the Pakistani government and army were busy helping millions of Pakistanis reeling under the worst floods in the nation’s history, newspaper headlines flashed on August 24 with news of a suicide attack on a South Waziristan mosque that killed 30 worshippers. Among the dead... MORE

Recent political developments in Pakistan seem to have put a military operation in North Waziristan on the backburner once more. If current political trends continue, the much awaited military operation in the region may not start for a long time, if ever.  The recent floods,... MORE

August 5 marked the fourth occasion in the last four years that the leaders of the Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan convened, this time in Tehran, to chart the future of their trilateral cooperation. The meeting, dubbed the “Persian summit,” led to a... MORE

“Jihad is in my blood. It runs through my arteries and veins. If you take jihad out of me, I will become as soulless as anybody. I inherited jihad from my father. My father led [tribal] mujahideen into Kashmir on the call of the Kashmiri... MORE