Dr Medha Bisht is Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi; and former Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA.Click here for detailed profile.
India has been an observer to the Mine Ban Treaty since 2003. While it is important that anti-personnel mines should be banned, it is also important to recognize and understand the constraints behind India’s landmine policy.
The issue of water allocation and water rights of Bangladesh, India and China could form the basis of a framework on which joint cooperation among the three countries can be formulated.
The volume highlights various contemporary issues confronting the SAARC countires in the 21st century. It seeks to provide substantive reference material for policy-makers, researchers, diplomats and students of South Asian Studies.
The year 2008 has witnessed yet another disastrous flood in North Bihar. Floods in Bihar have been almost an annual phenomenon. Though the capacity of the river flow was well below the danger line this time around, the situation was in fact aggravated by a breach in the Eastern embankment. Estimates indicate that around thirty lakh people have been displaced and their livelihoods devastated in sixteen districts of north-eastern Bihar. At the same time, around 50,000 people have been affected in Sunsari district of Nepal.
As the Ottawa treaty completes a decade this September, it has been termed a "success in progress" by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). ICBL is upbeat about its vision and mission to put in place a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines. The treaty attempted to redefine the understanding of security by focusing on the consequences that the traditional meaning of security have on the lives of common men and women.
It has been generally accepted that the Naxal issue is more than a law and order problem. With the socio-economic dimension being increasingly important along with the military one, a question that needs to be addressed by policymakers is, how to frame a coherent framework for merging both security and development policies.
Revisiting the Indian Policy on Antipersonnel Landmines
India has been an observer to the Mine Ban Treaty since 2003. While it is important that anti-personnel mines should be banned, it is also important to recognize and understand the constraints behind India’s landmine policy.