Manoj Misra, Convener, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan (Campaign for a Living Yamuna River), a Civil Society Consortium & former Indian Forest Service Officer, is a passionate social ecologist focused on river development and rejuvenation throughout his career as an active environmental scholar, activist, and policy researcher.
Maya Awasthy talked about Contemporary Legal & Judicial Proceedings & Way Forward surrounding the rights and recognition of India's transgender community. It starts by making a reference to the British colonial era, when transgender people (Hijras) faced discrimination and criminalization. It draws attention to the consequences of the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, which labelled the Hijras as a criminal tribe.
In diplomacy, optics matter, sometimes conveying the essence of a relationship to a varied audience in a manner that is often not possible by the more esoteric diplomatese embedded in joint statements and official remarks. All high-level foreign policy engagements are curated and carry with them a dose of theatre but as the dust settles, some become part of history and others are consigned to the dustbins of history. Now that the instant commentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit has been sufficiently generated, one can take a step back and assess the purpose behind the diplomatic choreography of last week in a manner that can do justice to this remarkable turn in India-US ties.
Saudi diplomacy has gone into overdrive these days. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is in France to participate in the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact to be held in Paris next week. He will be in France for around 10 days and hopes to drum up support for Saudi Arabia's candidacy to host the Expo 2030 world's fair.
In a region that is increasingly defined by cooperation based on like-mindedness, shared interests, and common concerns, the Philippines-India ties are crucial to the stability of the Indo-Pacific
Foreign policy is a strange terrain where even the best-laid plans of nations have to be moulded and remoulded, constructed and deconstructed, depending on the plans of other actors.