Worldview with Suhasini Haidar

As terrorists carried out the worst such attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir – New Delhi unleashed a number of diplomatic measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), downsizing high commissions further and closing the border. With reprisal measures from Islamabad that include closing down its airspace – will the escalation over Pahalgam now become a military confrontation? Read more here.

The U.S.'s crackdown on students, visitors and illegal immigrants is beginning to test America's ties with the world. As the Trump administration rolls up the welcome mat, how will it affect U.S. soft power in the world, and what can countries like India do? Read more here.

India prepares to put 26/11 accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana on trial for the Mumbai terror attacks, after the U.S extradited him. 17 years later, is justice for the victims of one of India deadliest terror strikes a little bit closer, and what still needs to be done? Read more here.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff rollout earlier this week has terrified global markets. What does it mean for America's ties with the world? Amongst dozens of countries slapped with tariffs, how has India responded and what are the diplomatic upsides and downsides of its relative silence on the issue? Read more here.

This week on Worldview, there's a sudden spate of India China meetings as the two countries prepare to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties- and issue statements about resuming normal dialogue. As Delhi and Beijing discuss putting travel trade and visas back on track, Is India also prepared to put the LAC standoff and Galwan killings behind ? Read more here.

This week, Worldview comes to you from the Raisina dialogue. PM Modi and chief Guest New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon inaugurated it. How is India navigating Trump turbulence over tariffs, a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, and a global realignment for the transatlantic alliance and possibly the Indo-Pacific one? Read more here.

Three years since the war in Ukraine began the U.S. sides with Russia at the UN, and Zelenskyy agrees to accept a compromise mineral deal with Trump, a major European Union delegation makes an outreach to Delhi, seeking to de-risk ties with China. Is the end of the Russia-Ukraine war in sight, and will that lead to a total reshuffle of traditional alignments? Read more here.

The US's Gaza proposal and talks with Russia threaten to turn the template of global alignment. Is the Transatlantic alliance at an end, or is Trump simply bargaining for a better deal with Europe? And how should India react to this global churning? Read more here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris and then Washington, sent out distinctly separate, but equally significant messages on India's worldview. Read more here.

After targeting Mexico, Canada, Panama, and Greenland, putting tariffs on China, and staking a claim to Gaza, what should Prime Minister Narendra Modi expect during his visit to Washington next week? Read more here.

Is New Delhi making a subtle strategic outreach to its south Asian neighbourhood this season? Bhutan's King, Sri Lanka and Maldives' presidents, Nepal's Foreign Minister received warm welcomes in Delhi. Read more here.

It's been more than a week since the US Department of Justice, FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission issued indictments- charging the Adani group, its top leadership including Gautam Adani of a conspiracy to bribe Indian government officials for contracts, and defrauding US investors by raising capital through bonds issues. Read more here.

Bangladesh's interim government, that was formed after protesting mobs forced former PM Sheikh Hasina to flee the country, says it has brought law and order under control and started a reform process for a number of institutions, including electoral reforms, in its first 100 days in office. Read more here.

Within a week of being elected the next U.S. President, Donald Trump has wasted no time in choosing his team. What do his top ten cabinet picks say about the next four years in the U.S., and what will they mean for India? Read more here.

The world view of many countries, especially the U.S. has definitely changed with this week's election results. Donald Trump, U.S.'s 45th President will now also be its 47th President come January. We will discuss the broad shifts we expect, and how India will be affected by them. Read more here.

This week WorldView comes to you from Pakistan. S. Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad for the SCO and meetings with Pakistan's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Read more here.

This week, we are speaking about Jammu Kashmir, where voters have now participated in 3 phases of polling for the first state elections in a decade and the message New Delhi is sending out over it. Read more here.

Israel broadens the war in Gaza with an air attack on Lebanon, is the crisis in West Asia about to escalate? And as the one-year mark since the October 7 terror attacks approaches, PM Modi meets the Palestinian President. Has India's position shifted at all? Read more here.

The timing of PM Modi's visit to the UN makes it even more interesting—this is the 4th time Mr. Modi has travelled to the UN during what's called High-Level Week—after 2014, 2019 and 2021., although he will not address the UN General Assembly this year. Read more here.

Two weeks after we reported on PM Modi's mission to Kyiv, the NSA and EAM were travelling – and the flurry of activity has sparked speculation about an Indian role in ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict- is it likely? Possibly effective or even feasible given the latest escalation in the war.  Read more here.

This week we are going to look at India's ties with its near neighbours to the East- ASEAN countries, and particularly his visits this week. Read more here.

Six weeks after his Moscow move, PM Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv. Was the Prime Minister's mission in Ukraine just about geopolitical balancing, or does New Delhi now essay a more ambitious role in mediating in the Russia-Ukraine war? Read more here.

Where does the Indian diaspora stand on Kamala v Usha, and is Desi heritage now a fixture in U.S. politics? Feisty messages coming in from the Harris and Trump campaigns in the U.S. in those latest ads. Less than a month since U.S. President Joseph Biden bowed out of the Presidential race- and we had spoken about the possibilities in WorldView on June 19, just 2 days before he withdrew his nomination- the U.S. elections race has dramatically changed. Read more here.

As Bangladesh boiled over- -Its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka after being in power for 15 years- she is now at an undisclosed location in India after landing at the Hindon airbase on Delhi's outskirts, -  Days of protests and violence, then saw mobs ransacking Hasina's homes and Mujib's memorial. Attacks on Hasina's Awami League supporters and their properties have seen minorities, particularly Hindus being targeted. - The military moved in to stabilize the situation and a new interim government headed by Professor Muhammad Yunus has now taken charge. His priority, he said, was “save the country from anarchy”, and warned protestors against attacking any minorities. Read more here.

The news could not have been more dramatic- just hours after Palestinian leader and Hamas Political chief Ismail Haniyeh had met with the new Iranian President, and attended President Pezeshkian's inauguration, the Iranian guard IRGC announced he had been killed- while there is still some confusion over how he died- with Iran blaming Israel for a missile strike, while US and Israeli news reports pointed to a delayed bomb smuggled in months ago- the impact of his assassination will be felt deeply across the region. Read more here.

Nearly 200 are dead from violent student protests and firing by forces in Bangladesh – is PM Sheikh Hasina, who won elections just a few months ago, losing her grip on gen-next, and will the unrest India's closest neighbour is grappling with, spill over? Read more here. Listen to the Hindu's In Focus podcast episode on Bangladesh protests here.

The US election campaign takes a deadly turn- with Trump and his new Vice President choice surging in the polls after the assassination attempt, and pressure building on President Biden to step aside for another candidate- what are the major issues for voters, and what will decision 2024 in the US mean for India? Read more here.

There were many firsts to PM Modi's two day visit to Russia, his first since the invasion of Ukraine, and his first destination for a bilateral summit in his 3rd tenure in office, the first time they held the Annual Summit since 2021, and the first time an Indian leader was awarded Russia's . While officials billed it as a purely bilateral visit, it won attention internationally, and censure from western capitals. Read more here.

Elections herald change in UK with a Labour landslide, but also France and Iran, while the campaign trail hits a shocking turn in the US- Should New Delhi worry about losing friends in high places and how will results change the geopolitical landscape for India? Read more here.

You could call it the Tale of two trials: With the extradition of an Indian Nikhil Gupta to the US, and the arrest of 4 Indians in Canada, India is expected to face a number of questions over its operations on targeting Khalistani separatists in the west. This week marked many anniversaries - A year since Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist wanted on terror charges in India, was gunned down outside a gurudwara in Canada's Surrey - A year since the US FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency stopped what it calls an assassination plot under way against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York - And a year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US This week also saw a flurry of activity linked to those 3 events. Read more here.

As PM Modi picks the same team for diplomacy and national security- will there be any changes in Indian Foreign Policy in his third term with a coalition in charge ? What's on his agenda for travel, and what are the foreign policy priorities for the new NDA government? Read more here.

We return to Israel's bombardment of Gaza- now nearly 250 days of it- in retaliation for the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas- the latest civilian casualties, after Israel Defence Forces launched strikes on a refugee tent city in Rafah, an area designated a safe zone by Israel itself- killing about 45, many burnt to death while asleep and injuring 200. Read more here.

This week we are looking at Bhutan, India's smallest and most reclusive neighbour, that rarely gets spoken about. But now, with an announcement made in December by the Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is hoping to make a big splash, with the creation of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) to its south bordering Assam. Read more here.

This week marked a new chapter in India's 20 year old interest in a port in Iran- Chabahar. On a visit to Tehran, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Iranian counterpart oversaw the signing of an agreement to develop the Shahid Beheshti terminal- one terminal in the warm water port just off Iran's Sistan Baluchistan province. Read more here.

We are about 2 months from the Republican National Convention- despite cases against him, Mr. Trump seems set to be the candidate About 3 months from the Democratic Convention- where despite concerns about his age and health, Mr. Biden is the confirmed candidate And about 6 months to go to voting day on November 5- which appears to be a rematch of the election in 2020 However, what is different at this point in the campaign is that Foreign policy issues are also dominating the discourse. Read more here.

As election season takes off in India, allegations by PM Modi and EAM Jaishankar of foreign interference from the West heat up the campaign – we will look at the history of such allegations worldwide, and whether there is a basis for New Delhi's present concerns. Read more here.

News breaking now of multiple strikes by Israel on bases and nuclear facilities in Iran are further driving up tensions in the region- while the two countries have had a shadow war between them for 45 years, we have not seen such openly direct strikes on each other thus far. Up ahead we will look at how this new turn will change the west Asian landscape, and seven ways India is impacted. Read more here.

This week, we are looking at the legal wrongs and rights of transnational killings- and the sometimes confusing stand of the government. To recap the developments this week: British Newspaper Guardian reported this week that Indian intelligence agents are believed to have orchaestrated up to 20 killings of alleged Khalistani separatist and Jihadist terrorists in Pakistan. In the article the MEA denied the charge, and cited External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's previous statement that “targeted killings is not India's policy” However, in campaign statements and an interview by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the government appeared to be accepting the charges PM Modi also repeated his 2019 slogan of “Ghar mein ghus ke marenge” for terrorists- or “We will kill them in their homes” Read more here.

It isn't often when a foreign policy issue generates as much heat within India's polity, but this week both the PM and the EAM set off a debate over a 1974 agreement with Sri Lanka that quickly saw pushback from the opposition, and some concern in Colombo. Read more here.

Two years After the Russian war in Ukraine began, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is finally invited to India- does the visit signify a u turn, a rethink or simply rebalancing by New Delhi and Kiev? And given close India Russia ties, What is on the Ukrainian wishlist for India? Read more here.

As China's claims over India's easternmost state of Arunachal Pradesh get shriller, and what the MEA calls more absurd, the US wades in, says it backs India's territorial sovereignty in Arunachal? Is Beijing preparing for a bigger confrontation over the boundary, and how do Bhutan-China boundary talks fit in? Read more here.

As India signs a Free Trade Agreement with 4 European Nations, is there hope for other negotiations- from the UK and EU to Oman, Gulf and Eurasian countries? Do FTAs help increase trade substantially? And are they a challenge to the global economic order under the WTO- In this episode, an interview with Irish Trade minister on whats delaying the India EU FTA. Read more here.

As U.S. democrats and republicans each hand U.S. President Joseph Biden and former U.S. President Donald Trump wins in the Super Tuesday votes, a rematch between the two seems likely. What does that mean for U.S. Foreign Policy, for geopolitics and for India? We will weigh up the differences. Read more here.

We are looking at two separate aspects of the MEA's role – one on mediation, the other on how to protect emigrants. But first, the latest in the Israel war on Gaza that is entering its sixth month shortly. The condition of about 2 million people in Gaza, crowded into the Southern part of the strip gets more direct by the day- with homes bombed, no access to food or clean water, and no way out. This week, 112 people were killed as crowds awaiting aid thronged trucks and Israeli soldiers manning the convoy opened fire on them. Read more here.

Ahead of the 2-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a barrage of European Foreign Ministers are in Delhi for the annual Raisina Dialogue. Is Ukraine in danger of losing land annexed by Russia permanently? And has the needle of Indian Foreign policy moved at all since 2022? Read more here.

This week brought good news- 7 of 8 released Indians, former naval personnel returned to their families, as the Amir of Qatar decided to free the men. The outcome, that followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal intervention in December with his counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, was a big relief for the families and a big success for Indian diplomacy, and PM Modi, who was visiting the UAE this week made a previously unannounced visit to Qatar, to express his gratitude. Read more here.

Pakistan prepares for political chaos as election results suggest a surge in favour of Imran Khan's candidates- but with no clear winner yet, can the man seen as the military's choice- Nawaz Sharif still forge a government? Read more here.

We return to the conflict in Gaza this week- where despite talks for another ceasefire, the bombardment of Gaza by Israeli Defence Forces who are on the ground in the territory continued for a fourth month.  Read more here.

Not a week has gone by since November 2023, when Maldives elected a new President Mohammad Muizzu- pushing out the previous pro-India Ibu Solih, where there isn't something that puts India-Maldives ties on edge. Read more here.

Take a look at that map of the world and you can see just why this is being called the year of elections- 64 countries in all will hold major presidential or parliamentary elections in 2024.  Read more here.

Let's start with this week, and the end of the CoP 28, Climate Change summit held in Dubai, ended with a final document called the UAE consensus that agreed to a number of actions. Read more here.