Category Center for Human Dignity and Development

Canada

A Fresh Start for India–Canada Relations

It is an opportunity for both India and Canada to make gains from the crisis that the world is going through by reaffirming trust in each other

In international relations, pauses have a value of their own. Be it misunderstanding, estrangement, skirmish or even a war, a temporary freeze can allow the much-needed legroom for countries to step back and reset. As Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit, it is precisely such a moment for India-Canada relations.

Cooperation

India and Australia: A Fresh Curve in Cooperation

India’s recent defence engagement with Australia reached a new milestone during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Canberra and Sydney earlier this month for the inaugural Australia-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue. The visit, the first by an Indian Defence Minister to Australia in over a decade, produced key defence agreements that upgrade the relationship from declaratory strategic convergence toward greater operational cooperation. The discussions included a Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap to advance maritime cooperation, as well as renewing and strengthening the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation.

Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities (2025)

Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities (2025)

The Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities is a major national initiative of the Government of India aimed at ensuring equitable access to development for minority communities. Introduced to integrate minority welfare with mainstream development planning, the programme focuses on education, skill development, livelihood enhancement, security, and social empowerment.

firecracker

Firecrackers as Symbols of Social Class Domination

The rich make competitive noise, pollute the air, switch on their air purifiers and air conditioners, and leave the less well-off to choke, wheeze and sicken

Diwali is no longer the gentle festival of lamps, gifting, good food and shared celebration. Diwali is a now a raging battleground of class aggression, in which the rich compete to show they are one up on their neighbours, bursting more copious amounts of crackers and setting off ever more spectacular fireworks. They have their hours of fun, and withdraw indoors to feast and party in rooms where air purifiers and air conditioners do double duty to scrub the air of the filth they have just injected into it.

urban

India’s New Urban Landscape: Capital, Surplus Labour, and the Persistence of Poverty

The story of urbanisation in the Global South – and particularly in India – is not one of industrial expansion or prosperity. It is a story of pauperisation. Cities today are swelling not because factories are hiring, but because the countryside is expelling. This new urbanisation is driven by desperation rather than development – by the push of agrarian collapse, not the pull of industrial promise.

Trump

Trump’s “Make It in America” Push Is Falling Flat

The most momentous event of the last week has been the Gaza ceasefire. It has brought respite for Palestinians from genocidal slaughter and famine, and brought 20 hostages back home to Israel. The peace deal is still fragile, and could unravel.

2 1

The Language of Inclusion: Intersectionality Needs Power, Not Just Representation

Across international conferences, UN assemblies, and foreign policy statements, the language
of inclusion has become familiar. Governments and global institutions now speak of
“diversity,” “empowerment,” and “intersectionality” with confidence. On the surface, it
appears that the world has finally started acknowledging the complexity of women’s lives.
But when we look closely, a gap emerges between what is promised and what is practiced.

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