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Home / Columns / Srinath Raghavan

Srinath Raghavan

Srinath Raghavan

Srinath Raghavan is Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. He is the author of many acclaimed books on history and international affairs. He lives in Mumbai and tweets as @srinathraghava3.

Articles by Srinath Raghavan

Indira Gandhi and the making of Emergency

The years between 1967 and 1973 witnessed a dramatic shift in relative power towards the executive, especially the office of the prime minister (HT Photo)

Updated on Jun 14, 2025 16:14 IST

A new landscape evolves

Indira Gandhi with party leaders at her residence. (HT Photo)

the opposition rallies

Updated on Apr 5, 2024 08:03 IST

Naya Kashmir: It’s not a new idea | Opinion

In Kashmir, Indira Gandhi’s biggest challenge were local leaders who would cleave to New Delhi’s vision. Modi will face the same thing

Updated on Aug 14, 2019 02:23 IST

Why an escalation in US-Iran tensions should worry Delhi

In this June 13, 2019, file photo, an oil tanker is on fire in the sea of Oman. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the US and Iran -- and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through its narrowest at the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks have jolted the shipping industry, with many of operators in the region on high alert

Updated on Jul 9, 2019 14:28 IST

The defence policy must be prioritised

The Modi government faces a string of daunting challenges from reforming the security architecture and structuring the armed forces to strengthening the defence industrial base and military readiness

Updated on Jun 19, 2019 14:00 IST

Jaishankar has his work cut out

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, Manila, The Philippines, 2017.

Updated on Jun 5, 2019 03:16 IST

Diplomatic patience will pay more dividends on the China front

The Modi government was initially well-placed to persuade the Chinese to avoid too sharp a tilt towards Pakistan. Yet the widening power differential with China as well as a series of mis-steps eroded its ability to do so

Updated on Mar 19, 2019 14:10 IST

Indo-Saudi ties, a fine balancing act

Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Buenos Aires, November 29, 2018. Modi government has invested considerable time and energy in fostering stronger relations with countries in West Asia, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Updated on Feb 18, 2019 05:31 IST

Question the government on Rafale

The prime minister evidently took the decision to scrap the old tender and purchase 36 Rafales without consulting the Air Force or the ministry of defence.

Updated on Jan 23, 2019 02:18 IST

Army chief Rawat’s statements ahistorical, poorly judged

Army chief Bipin Rawat’s remarks about the rise of the AIUDF and changing demography in the northeast drew a sharp backlash from the Assam-based party’s chief Badruddin Ajmal, who called the comments “politically driven and shocking”.

Updated on Feb 23, 2018 01:55 IST

Kashmir’s Article 35A conundrum: New Delhi must tread carefully

In a pointed warning to her coalition partner, the BJP, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has noted that attempts to undo Article 35A of the Indian Constitution would strike a fatal blow to the nationalists in the state.

Updated on Aug 3, 2017 05:01 IST

Sikkim standoff: India cannot afford to allow China to change the status quo | Opinion

A file picture of the India-China border at Sikkim. India and China have a delimited and demarcated international border in Sikkim, going back to the Anglo-Chinese convention of 1890. But the boundary between Tibet and Bhutan is disputed and hence the location of the trijunction remains contested.

Updated on Jul 5, 2017 18:55 IST

Sheikh Hasina’s hate statues can only weaken democracy in Bangladesh

The statue of Lady Justice stands after it was reinstalled near the Supreme Court complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 28

Updated on Jun 21, 2017 12:54 IST

Why private defence manufacturing in India needs to take off

In the initial phase, the government could identify one Indian private entity as a strategic partner to manufacture one major system: single-engine fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines, and armoured vehicles. This at once caters for the systems most needed by the armed forces and encourages specialisation among Indian firms.

Updated on Jun 12, 2017 13:25 IST

Our historians have scant interest in wars or soldiers

An ANZAC soldier’s grave stone at the ANZAC cemetery, April 24, pictured to commemorate the 102th anniversary of the Anzac Day. On April 25, 1915 landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in modern-day Turkey has become a defining symbol of courage and comradeship for both nations.

Updated on May 10, 2017 10:03 IST

Assembly elections: Former generals should steer clear of politics

SAD BJP candidate JJ Singh (Retd) campaigns in Patiala, January 23, 2017

Updated on Mar 15, 2017 15:03 IST

India must involve itself in the China-Pakistan One Belt, One Road initiative to stay in the game

Foreign secretary S Jaishankar with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi , Beijing, February 22, 2017

Updated on Mar 23, 2017 10:05 IST

If you think Trump is good for India you are in for a shock

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (right) with US President Donald Trump, Roosevelt Room, White House, Washington, January 31

Updated on Feb 15, 2017 10:20 IST

Not fully empowered chief of defence staff is a bad idea

Since Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has already spoken of his desire to move in the direction of a single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister, the recommendations of the Shekatkar committee assume greater importance.

Updated on Jan 18, 2017 17:42 IST

SP’s battle differs sharply from the ideological rifts in past socialist parties

Mulayam Singh Yadav at an election rally in 1990, Lucknow

Updated on Jan 5, 2017 04:07 IST

The choice of service chiefs is a matter of political judgment

The Line of Control with Pakistan may be hot right now, but why do we have the corps commanders and the Northern Army commander if the chief’s personal experience is supposed to count for so much? What about his relative lack of experience, say, with mechanised formations in the plains?

Updated on Dec 21, 2016 17:20 IST

On demonesitation, will Modi do a Morarji or a Pandit-ji?

People stand in queue outside the PNB ATM to withdraw cash at Patel Chowk in New Delhi.

Updated on Dec 7, 2016 17:44 IST

OROP controversy: Stop playing politics with the Indian Army

Congress leaders at a march paying tribute to Ramshankar Yadav, who was killed in an ‘encounter’ with SIMI activists, and Ram Kishan Grewal, who committed suicide over OROP, Bhopal, India, November 3, 2016

Updated on Nov 10, 2016 02:20 IST

India should be prepared for the perils and prospects of diplomatic leadership

President of the Republic of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Cairo, Egypt, July 15, 1957

Updated on Oct 26, 2016 13:49 IST

Reduce friction, it’s worth a try

HT Image

Updated on Oct 13, 2016 04:29 IST

India and China must show mutual restraint to avoid a major crisis

(From Left) Brazilian President Michel Temer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Jacob Zuma at the BRICS summit, Hangzhou, China, September 4, 2016

Updated on Oct 12, 2016 15:51 IST

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