2022

* Pakistan: Will Imran Playing Victim of a Foreign Conspiracy Work? | Mahendra Ved
* Historic Judgement by the Supreme Court of Pakistan | SN Sahu
* Sri Lanka: Letter to an American on Crisis and Protests | Liyanage Amarakeerthi
* Confronting war, rethinking sanctions | Thomas Piketty

Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, April 9, 2022
The number of instances of government agencies in India moving against writers, journalists and human rights activists keeps growing. A string of recent incidents against media persons confirm the disturbing trend. Aakar Patel the well-known columnist and former head of Amnesty India was stopped from taking an international flight on April 6, 2022 on grounds that he was on a look circular of a central investigating agency. A Delhi court (…)

IMPRESSIONS
What a tragedy Sri Lanka has become. All school examinations have been cancelled because there is no paper. There is no paper because there is no money to import it. There is no fuel for cooking. A thousand bakeries are closed. Many power plants have shut down leading to extensive power cuts. Some 50,000 gas cylinders used to be supplied in a month. It’s down to 2000 now; the impact on households can be imagined. One citizen put it bluntly: "We can’t even afford a (…)

by Devaka Gunawardena, Ahilan Kadirgamar
Sri Lanka is quickly becoming a poster child for the sovereign debt crisis, much like countries before it such as Lebanon, Greece, and Argentina. While the consequences may appear similar, it is critical to understand the specific characteristics of the unfolding crisis in Sri Lanka. For many, the solution was always the same: go to the IMF. Meanwhile, the Government wasted precious time by failing to actively prioritise imports and rebalance the (…)

April 7, 2022
I know quite well that Americans do not like too much formality, and let me address you by your first name, Julie.
So, dear Julie,
Let me introduce myself first. I am a Fulbright Scholar (1998-2000), and I am extremely proud that I am one. After my Fulbright period, I was awarded a series of other fellowships by the University of Wisconsin to finish my PhD. Before joining the University of Peradeniya, I taught for four years at Cornell University. All those 10 years in (…)

If only Imran Khan and his government had gracefully resigned when his majority support was not challenged, had recommended dissolution of the National Assembly and opted for a snap poll, he would have remained the caretaker, possibly with a huge advantage over his political opponents.
Beleaguered democratic leaders do this the world over. But this is counsel of the unversed. Politics does not work that way, not in Pakistan and not with Imran. Had he accepted a leg-before wicket, the (…)

A historic unanimous judgement of a five-judge bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court delivered on 7 April has declared the ruling of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly disallowing an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan as unconstitutional. It also pronounced that the dissolution of the Assembly by the President is in contravention of the Constitution and held it null and void. It has ordered that the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (…)

6 April 2022
UNIC/PRESS RELEASE/066-2022
FROM THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
UKRAINE
Secretary-General Expressing Deep Regret over Inaction on Suffering Ukraine
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on Ukraine, in New York on 5 April:
The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and the global peace architecture founded on the United Nations Charter. Because of its nature, intensity and (…)

From: Thomas Piketty’s Blog, March 15, 2022
So war is back in Europe, in its most brutal form. A country with 45 million inhabitants is being invaded by its neighbour with three times the population and eight times the weapons. Looking at it from a distance, one might be tempted to compare the situation to the border wars which opposed France and Germany three times between 1870 and 1945. Russia considers Crimea and the Donbass to be its property, as did Germany with Alsace and Moselle. (…)

by Garima Mani Tripathi *
War is always fought on two fronts. On the actual battle ground, war is fought in terms of men and material losses on both sides. Concurrently, at a psychological and propaganda level, both sides also resort to contested narratives about causes of war, losses on each side and claim incoming victory on their side. Truth, then becomes the sacrificial lamb in the alter-ego clashes of rival parties who resort to lies after lies. The ongoing Russia — Ukraine War is (…)