Home Page of Dr. Saumitra Mohan

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 ...

Tackling the Refugee Problem Saumitra Mohan India has been a major Third World country of concern in the context of refugee movements. Almost all the refugee generating factors have been active here and have impinged on the refugee situation in the country. But the Indian State has shown remarkable capacity and resilience in absorbing and dealing with these refugees and this is perhaps one reason that the refugee situation here does not seem to be alarming. But it remains a fact that over two lakhs of refugees including Tibetans, Sri Lankans, Tamils, Chakmas, Afghans and other categories assisted by UNHCR, who are still in country, do strain an already overburdened economy, sometime even inviting hostility from the local population. Apart from straining our economy, it also has implications for the security of the country. The pressure of hundreds of thousands of refugees has often created conditions for destabilization and disruption ...

INDIA AND UNHCR: IN RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT Saumitra Mohan INTRODUCTION The principal purpose of this study is to explore the various dimensions of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) involvement in India and the implications thereof. The study will attempt to unravel the various facets of the relationship emerging from UNHCR's operation in India. The study will proceed to describe the refugee situation in India and will also examine the status of refugees in India. In this study an attempt will be made to study the multi-dimensional relationship between the UNHCR and India. India's very birth as an independent state saw the generation of a large number of refugees. But it has not acceded to the 1951 Convention on Status of Refugees. Nevertheless, UNHCR in its present and earlier avatars, has been involved with refugees in India. An objective description and analysis of UNHCR...