April 22, 2023, marked three important dates: Earth Day, Eid ul Fitr, and Lenin’s birth anniversary. All these three dates are important in the ongoing evolutionary process of our planet Earth. The United Nations started observing Earth Day in 1970 and this is the 53rd edition of the event.
The longing for home is known to every person who is fond of Hindi film songs. Ask them the song’s name, and they will speak of Manna Dey’s voice, Prem Dhawan’s lyrics, and Balraj Sahni acting as Abdul Rehman Khan in the film based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story – Kabuliwala or the person from Kabul.
Arguably the World is going through unprecedented challenges. Perhaps we are between several world orders or mired into a complete chaos and disorder. Unilateralism by the super powers has become the order of the day. Since 1979, we have witnessed such far reaching developments in international politics with unforeseen consequences felt over the years which are now being reflected in the unbridgeable big power confrontations and deepening trust deficit. Sino-US and US-Russia matrix is turning into the West vs Russia/China combine from the pedestals of UNSC (P3 vs P2) to the geo-political and geo-economic expanse in virtually every geography. Russia-Ukraine war is a symptom of that.
In the last few days, global engagements have underscored the rapidly evolving balance of power in the international order. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Russia has sparked a lot of commentary about the implications of the two nations coming together in unprecedented ways. What had once seemed a distinct possibility to many is now fast becoming an indisputable reality that can no longer be ignored. The tectonic plates of global politics are shifting rapidly, and with it ushering in changes that have long been talked about, with many hoping against hope that they can be avoided. But a Russia-China axis is likely to bring a transformative effect on the international system. This cannot be denied.
These three leaders from different geographies were immensely talented, as evident in their climb to pinnacles of political success and power. They all subscribed to what can broadly be called a ‘conservative’ political philosophy.
Simi Mehta, Anshula Mehta, Sunidhi Agarwal, Ritika Gupta As the world is fragmented in different ways, the…