South Asia and Beyond

Ashwin Ahmad

Traveller, bibliophile and wordsmith with a yen for international relations. A journalist and budding author of short fiction, life is a daily struggle to uncover the latest breaking story while attempting to be Hemingway in the self-same time. Focussed especially on Europe and West Asia, discussing Brexit, the Iran crisis and all matters related is a passion that endures to this day. Believes firmly that life without the written word is a life best not lived. That’s me, Ashwin Ahmad.

Trump Sues As Biden Moves Closer To Victory

NEW DELHI: President Donald Trump had threatened to take the legal route if he felt the Democrats were trying to ‘steal the election’. On Thursday, he followed through on his word with lawsuits filed in three key states, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. The lawsuits cited lack of access of Republican campaign observers to where the […]Read More

VP Debate: Pence Gets Praise But Kamala Was The Winner

NEW DELHI: Vice-presidential debates are usually more of convention than substance. The idea that two candidates – neither of whom is likely to occupy the top spot of being president – ensure that these debate are listened to with polite respect but after a while the viewers tune back to the main event – the […]Read More

Quad Summit: India Holds Its Fire On China, Not So Others

NEW DELHI: As the second meeting of Quad foreign ministers wound up in Tokyo with a commitment for regular summits at that level, one question loomed large: for a country facing aggression by China on its northern frontiers, for which it has lost lives, India made no mention of that. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar […]Read More

UK Tory Party Group Champions Kashmir, Ethnic Indians Fight Back

NEW DELHI: Eighty three Indian diaspora organisations in the UK have taken aim at a Kashmiri group in the Tory party demanding self-determination for the territory. The recently relaunched Conservative Friends of Kashmir (CFI) is driven by seven Tory MPs and their tweet made their intentions clear. “We have re-launched. We campaign for self-determination and […]Read More

With A Swipe At India, Trump Nails Biden In First Debate

NEW DELHI: President Trump did what he does best – attack. At the first of the three US presidential debates on Wednesday morning, it was a no-holds barred schoolyard scrap with moderator Chris Wallace seemingly unable to stop what many commentators have described as the worst presidential debate in recent history. On the Democrats side, […]Read More

Jaishankar, Doval At Saudi National Day: Why It Matters

NEW DELHI: The presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval at the Saudi National Day celebrations in Delhi, was rare and unusual signalling. Such signalling isn’t done on a concerned country’s national day celebrations, which are often discreet, low key affairs. The unwritten rule of diplomacy is that the government nominates […]Read More

‘Sikhs Leading Khalistani Movement Swear Undying Loyalty To Pakistan’

NEW DELHI: Continuing to be pushed by Sikhs operating in US, UK and Canada the Khalistani movement operates with the full knowledge and tacit support of Pakistan, claims a recently released report called Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan. Veteran investigative journalist Terry Milewski who provided research for the report and has been covering the Khalistani […]Read More

Joe Biden Hopes To Gain From Fractured Jewish Vote

NEW DELHI: Is US presidential challenger Joe Biden committing political suicide? For those unfamiliar with American politics and more specifically American Jewish politics, that certainly looked to be the case. The fact that Biden not only said that President Trump had put “Israel in danger” by withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, but also advocating […]Read More

World Leaders Laud Jaishankar’s India Way, But Push Own Agendas

NEW DELHI: National interest, or at least the articulation of national interest, is always paramount when you’re a statesman either in or out of power. So, it was not so surprising that some not so subtle signalling took place as politicians from across the globe spoke via video-conferencing to congratulate External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar […]Read More