Home Page of Dr. Saumitra Mohan

National SECURITY MANAGEMENT: Some Reflections Saumitra Mohan National security is a term, which is used very loosely today in common parlance. It is often associated with safeguards either against an enemy country's hostile incursions or manoeverings or against armed non-state actors out to challenge the authority of the state and cause irreparable damages to the unity and integrity of the state. However, national security subsumes these aspects and goes much beyond them and is much more inclusive and broader than commonly understood. The theme of this paper as mentioned at the outset includes three terms namely 'national', 'security' and ‘management’. Before we go on to discuss the theme in detail, it would be better if we seek to understand what these terms stand for. The first of these, i.e. 'national' means something that is related to 'nation' which is regarded as being co-terminus with the 'state'. In case of India, it has often been...

Middle East Peace Process: An Overview Saumitra Mohan Since the conclusion of a peace accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the State of Israel, on September 13, 1993, the peace process in that conflict-ridden region has generated a lot of hopes for the elusive peace there, which finally seems to be within the reach. The peace accord on that fateful day marked the beginning of a credible settlement of the contentious Palestine question, which had cast its baneful shadow on almost all events and developments in the region for close to three quarters of a century. Though still not fully settled, the entire peace process shows as to what could be achieved if the requisite political will is there in abundance to take on a problem which for long evaded a solution acceptable to both the parties. The conflicting claims of the Jewish and Palestinian people lay at the heart of the Palestine question. The Jews staked their claim on Palestine because it was the seat of th...

The Kosovo Problem: Implications for India Saumitra Mohan The tinder-box of the Balkans is again in flames and even threatens to spin out of control. The conflict over Kosovo has gone far beyond the "humanitarianism" that informed the collective intervention in Somalia about half a decade back. Even a greenhorn unschooled in international relations can sense the dangerous portents in Yugoslavia. The smoke wafting away from Kosovo may one day garrotte the world if it continues to be a mute spectator over a conflict which has serious implications for the concretizing post-Cold War world order. Though India has lately undertaken a few proactive steps towards the resolution of the Kosovo tangle, Indian reactions so far have been quite restrained and stopped short of an outright condemnation of the US misadventure in Yugoslavia. The Indian response is informed more by her own substantial economic interests in trade with the US and Europe which together account for more than 40 per...

KASHMIR: THE Pakistani Perspective Saumitra Mohan Kashmir is a long festering dispute between India and Pakistan spoiling for a just solution to provide succour to all the parties involved. On its resolution depends not only the future of South Asia, but that of world peace and security as well. After all, Kashmir is one of the prime reasons that keeps the South Asian sub-continent always on the boil, keeping alive a tinder-box situation ready to explode anytime. But being in India, most of us are only cognizant of the arguments strengthening the Indian case on Kashmir. Though Kashmir's accession to India is a fait accompli today, so much of water under the bridge under the vastly changed circumstances than it was in the 1940s, but going by the United Nations Security Council debates that followed India's reference of the Kashmir issue to the UN, it seems that Pakistan was on a stronger wicket then than it is now. Since Indian arguments on Kashmir are very well-known, I would h...

Delineating the contours of indian polity Saumitra Mohan Just when you thought everything in this country was going right, the political upheaval created by the website Tehelka.com seems to have sent everything into tizzy. Even the feel-good factor created by the Finance Minister's New Delhi Budget seems to have evaporated if trends at the bourses suggest anything. And again the prophets of doom have started bawling, screaming blue murder over the systemic degeneration, which has set in this country. And they say that Tehelka epiphany and economic downturn are nothing but symptomatic of the overall crisis afflicting this country. Things like corruption, nepotism, communalism, linguistic fanaticism, terrorism, infra-nationalism, secessionism and all other such cognate problems go on to show that unless something is done urgently, the very survival of this country is doubtful. But wait, do our intelligentsia and think tanks really need to get so down in the dumps. Well, like Dr. Pang...

Kargil And Indo- PAK RELATIONS: Some Lessons Saumitra Mohan India might be tempted to flaunt its diplomatic success over Kargil and tom-tom the fact that it has isolated Pakistan in the international community. But Kargil, to say the least, has exposed many weaknesses in our system. If Pakistan, often called a 'failed state', can carry out such aggression so meticulously, there must be some thing seriously flawed with our whole system which has never showed 'failed state' symptoms and even then finds itself hamstrung when it comes to protecting our national interests. Kargil has underscored the need to do certain things urgently. Even though Pakistan has vacated Indian territory following the Clinton-Nawaz summit, India should not lower its guard. It should capitalize on the favourable international mood and try to highlight how Pakistan as a state has posed a threat to international peace and emphasise the need of the international society to deal effectively with the ...