In Focus by The Hindu

In this episode, we examine the takeaways from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Bangladesh, and the range of bilateral issues on the agenda from the Teesta river waters and border killings to trade and connectivity. We also explore the broader significance and political symbolism of the visit, which was timed to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations currently underway in Bangladesh to mark its liberation.Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The HinduKallol Bhattacherjee, correspondent covering foreign affairs, The HinduHost: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduEpisode Notes:Suhasini Haidar in The Hindu on the role of India and the U.S. in 1971Suhasini Haidar's reading recommendations:Anam Zakaria, "1971: A People's History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India"Srinath Raghavan, "1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh"Meenakshi Ahmed, "A Matter Of Trust: India-US Relations from Truman to Trump"Gary Bass, "The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we give you some immediate reactions and then a larger grounding to understand today’s decision by the Supreme Court not to stay the sale of electoral bonds before Assembly elections in five States. The judgment by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said that since the scheme began in 2018 and continued in 2019 and 2020 without any impediments, the court said it found no reason to stall the sale of electoral bonds now. In the course of this episode we’ll go over exactly what the Supreme Court’s reasoning was. We will also go over what the different sides argued in a hearing on this issue that took place just a couple of days back, when a stay was sought on the sale of electoral bonds. We will also discuss where we stand on the issue and the various talking points that have come up around it in the preceding three or four years. Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, advocate, Madras High Court Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 23, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution on ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ with 22 member states of the 47-member Council voting in its favour. India was among 11 member states that abstained on the vote, which Sri Lanka had been opposing.What will be the impact of the UNHRC vote on Sri Lanka? Is it merely symbolic or will it make a difference in the resolution of the Tamil question? How will it shape India-Sri Lanka relations going forward? What does the continued importance of China, which was among those who opposed the vote, in its backing of Sri Lanka in the UN imply for the future of Beijing's increasingly close relations with Colombo?Guest: Meera Srinivasan, Sri Lanka correspondent, The HinduHost: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduEpisode Notes: 'India cannot abandon us': An interview with Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have had a few busy weeks in foreign policy and international relations. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in New Delhi a few days ago as part of his first trip abroad, the first summit level Quad meeting was held earlier this month, and the U.S. and China held their first bilateral meeting last week. All these interactions and relationships are deeply interconnected. To help us unpack some of these events and to discuss the future trajectory of the U.S.-India relationship under the Biden administration, we are joined today by Professor Joshua T. White.Dr. White is Associate Professor of the Practice of South Asia Studies and Fellow at the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He previously served at the White House as senior advisor and director for South Asian Affairs in the Obama administration's National Security Council, where he advised the President and National Security Advisor on a range of South Asia policy issues related to the Indian subcontinent and led efforts to integrate US government policy across South and East Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we look ahead to a crucial session of the United Nations human rights council on March 22 which will take up a resolution against Sri Lanka. This draft resolution as it is called is based on a damning report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) which warned that Sri Lanka’s failure to address human rights violations and war crimes committed in the past had put the country on a “dangerous path” that could lead to a “recurrence” of policies and practices that gave rise to the earlier situation.The UN human rights council has moved several resolutions against Sri Lanka since the end of the conflict with the LTTE 12 years ago, but while Sri Lanka has on occasion been a co-sponsor of such resolutions, the Rajapaksa dispensation has always seen such moves by the UN as 'unwanted foreign interference'. In 2020, Sri Lanka withdrew from an earlier Human Rights Council resolution under which it had committed, five years previously, to a time-bound investigation of war crimes that took place during the military campaign against the LTTE.This time Sri Lanka has officially sought India’s help to muster support against the resolution, something that India has never done in the past, but it finds itself having to weigh several geopolitical concerns, not least the growing influence of China in Sri Lanka. What factors could go into India’s vote and what ramifications will it have for the geopolitics of the region.Guest: Meera Srinivasan, Colombo Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Later this week, on March 18, top officials from the U.S. and China will hold the highest in-person engagement under the new Biden administration as they meet in Alaska, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will engage with their counterparts, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party of China's Politburo and Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, and Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor. What is on the agenda for this key meeting, which comes just a week after the first Quad leaders' summit? Where are U.S.-China relations headed after four turbulent years? Are there expectations of a new beginning, and what will be the implications for India?Guests: Tanvi Madan, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington, author of Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations during the Cold War, and Sriram Lakshman, U.S. Correspondent, The Hindu.Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The HinduEpisode Notes: Tanvi Madan on "The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Quad" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we bring you analysis of the key developments from the first ever leadership summit of the Quadrilateral Framework or ‘Quad’ grouping of countries - India, Australia, Japan and the United States. The leaders of all the member countries highlighted cooperation among the member countries to beat the global COVID-19 pandemic, with joint partnership on vaccines, and emphasised the need for an “open” and “free” Indo-Pacific region. A number of other areas of strategic cooperation and partnership were also identified. What does the future of the ‘Quad’ look like after this first meeting and, in the months to come?Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The HinduAnanth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode we’re doing today of the first ever summit of the leaders of the Quadrilateral Framework or ‘Quad’ that will take place virtually on March 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the discussion which will also witness the participation of President Joe Biden of the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.The statement about the meeting from India’s external affairs ministry says, “the Leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.” It adds that the summit will provide an opportunity to exchange views on contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security and climate change,” a press release has stated. Underlying all of this of course, and the issue that is likely to be the big elephant in the room is the China challenge. Whether any kind of statement emerges specifically about it that is the subtext that most commentators will try to read into once we know more about what takes place in the meeting itself. For this preview of the first ever Quad meeting today we are joined by Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu’s National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor and Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu’s Beijing correspondent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we discuss the spectrum auction that took place last week and try to decipher the trends that it gives us for the telecom industry going forward and where things stand between the major players at this point. By most accounts, and according to most commentators, the auction itself was a rather tepid affair. Only 37 percent of the total available spectrum was sold and that too was bought at reserve price without any competitive bidding among the major players like Reliance Jio and Airtel. It’s a sign perhaps, that unlike the intense competition that existed even a few years ago among multiple operators, we’re now looking at an industry, still expanding and still with a lot of headroom to grow, but clearly also under stress in some ways and proceeding with caution. We’re going to explain a lot in this episode and try and give you the most comprehensive guide to understanding these auctions, breaking down the various bands of spectrum that are available and that are being sold, what they mean for existing technologies like 3g and 4g and future technologies like 5G, and why companies like airtel and reliance Jio are making the moves, and spectrum purchases that they are. We're joined today by the Hindu Business Line's Mumbai bureau chief Thomas K Thomas who has covered and tracked the telecom industry for several years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we’re discussing China’s plans to build a major hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river and it’s a topic that because of the geopolitical situation between the two countries, assumes a strategic context. Here’s the story so far:China has made public a plan to build a dam in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river before it crosses the border from Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh and flows on to become the Brahmaputra. The project is mentioned in the draft of China's new five-year plan, which is set to be passed in the National People's Congress, the country's ceremonial legislature.While China has one operational hydropower project and three others under development in the upper and middle parts of the river, previous plans for a dam in the lower reaches had failed to be cleared. But the inclusion of this project now in the five year plan suggests that it has got a go ahead and it will mark a new chapter in the hydropower exploitation of the river.What are the details of this project that we know of and what should India’s concerns be, if any? Water sharing as we know, is always a politically sensitive issue, even more so when the river in question flows through national boundaries. These are the questions we’ll take up in today’s episode and I’m joined today by Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu’s Beijing Correspondent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices