Saturday, May 28, 2022 | Last Update : 06:04 AM IST

Sunanda K Datta Ray

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and President Joe Biden take their masks off as they arrive with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity launch event at the Izumi Garden Gallery, Monday, May 23, 2022, in Tokyo. (AP)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | After Tokyo summit: How will the Quad help India?

The White House describes the Quad as only 'a premier regional grouping… on issues that matter to the Indo-Pacific'

24 May 2022 7:05 AM

A ruling party that isn’t directly to blame for this inherent violence is all the better placed to take steps to curb it. (Representational Image/ PTI)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Violence in Indian life: Can rulers take steps to curb it?

Drifting towards bigotry and blinkers, we must bear in mind that there is a domestic as well as an international dimension to these trends

12 May 2022 1:09 AM

ndia’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with his Britain's counterpart Boris Johnson. (AFP)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Boris’ UK & Modi’s India: On the same wavelength?

History is reinforced by 1.4 million Indian-origin people comprising the largest ethnic group there after whites

26 Apr 2022 1:00 AM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden (PTI file image)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Can ‘shared values’ douse discord in India-US ties?

Mr Narendra Modi’s actions must live up to his rhetoric before he can respond to Mr Biden’s call to help suffering Ukrainians

13 Apr 2022 12:38 AM

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Biden, Putin and Ukraine peace: Keep God out of it!

It’s the Cold War all over again, the Great Game that never ceases day and night

30 Mar 2022 12:34 AM

FILE | Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a bilateral meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in Glasgow. (Photo: PTI)

Sunanda K. Datta Ray | Crisis over Ukraine poses fresh challenge for Modi

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is too burdened with the weight of European history, nuclear one-upmanship and Cold War rivalry

15 Mar 2022 12:09 AM

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Amid Europe crisis, let’s look afresh at China ties

It serves little purpose in the circumstances to brand China a rogue state

02 Mar 2022 2:08 AM

The young men in saffron scarves who yelled “Jai Shri Ram!” at girl students in hijabs were deliberately trying to foment serious political and religious conflict. (Representational Image/ DC File)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Of prejudice and religion: Free choice is paramount

There is no alternative to social evolution in a free society that respects everyone’s right to choose his or her lifestyle

16 Feb 2022 3:35 AM

Artists perform during Republic Day Parade 2022 at Rajpath in New Delhi, Wednesday, Jan 26, 2022. (PTI)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | To celebrate the republic, focus on humble Indians

Around 230 million Indians were pushed into poverty during the last 12 months

01 Feb 2022 1:01 AM

An Oxfam report claims that India’s richest one per cent holds over four times the wealth of 953 million people who make up the poorest 70 per cent of the population. (Representational image/ AFP)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Identity politics threat to social cohesion in India

Tragically, symbols have acquired all the substitute value of substance under leaders who splash out on the circus of gigantic statues

19 Jan 2022 1:36 AM

Some 60 per cent of Indians who still depend financially on farming struggle with debt, bankruptcy and endemic suicide. (Representational Image/ DC File)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Eco mess, climate of hate, Covid: Tough days ahead

The World Bank reckons that its share of the gross domestic product dropped from 43 per cent in 1967 to 16 per cent in 2019

06 Jan 2022 1:55 AM

President Ram Nath Kovind being welcomed as the Guest of Honour by Bangladesh President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the gala celebrations of Mujib Borsho and Golden Jubilee of Independence of Bangladesh, in Dhaka (PTI Photo)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | How the past overwhelms Bangla’s present & future

Culturally, economically, politically and strategically, the present and future of the 2 countries are too closely entwined to be separated

22 Dec 2021 7:07 AM

The diaspora would not have swollen to more than 30 million if Indians had found India a more attractive place to live in. (Representational Image. AFP)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | New messiahs of diaspora: India’s success or failure?

The answer to the dilemma lies at home

08 Dec 2021 2:50 AM

However casual and cavalier it may have sounded, Mr Modi’s November 19 address could mark a new beginning. (PTI)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Will repeal of farm laws mark a new beginning?

The manner in which the three laws were hustled through the two Houses of Parliament suggested little respect for parliamentary niceties

24 Nov 2021 3:43 AM

Sunita Narain, director-general of the Centre for Science and Environment, warns that global warming presents the world with an 'existential threat'. (DC File Image)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Can India deliver on 2070 Net Zero Glasgow pledge?

China, has promised to reach “net zero” levels by 2060, beating India by a decade

10 Nov 2021 2:32 AM

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | South Asia confederation: Is it still a workable idea?

That ideal inspired Syama Prasad Mookerjee to break the law and court arrest, leading to his death, in Kashmir in 1953

27 Oct 2021 2:09 AM

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (PTI Photo)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Priyanka to lead UP race? Cong must stop dithering

With or without Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress alone cannot correct the distortions arising from this massive mismanagement

13 Oct 2021 1:20 AM

Former US President George W. Bush had gone a step further. He saw Australia not as a deputy sheriff but as a sheriff. (AFP Photo)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Quad, AUKUS challenge: How will China respond?

Nearly 20 years ago John Howard, Australian Prime Minister from 1996 to 2007, described his country as America’s deputy sheriff

29 Sep 2021 2:49 AM

Mr Modi’s problems are rooted in India’s geopolitical location, culture, identity and aspirations. (ANI)

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | 20 years after 9/11: India must adapt to new world

Even a 'Hinduist' India’s aim should be to secure the goodwill of a stable Afghanistan that is not a base for terrorist attacks

13 Sep 2021 3:22 AM

Since Dhondy’s title Fragments Against My Ruin, taken from The Waste Land, has been interpreted in many ways, one can’t be sure of his precise meaning. (Image: Amazon)

Book Review | An immigrant’s progress and other scoops from Old Blighty

Did Ronald Reagan really think after seeing Attenborough’s film that Indira Gandhi was the Mahatma’s daughter?

12 Sep 2021 2:30 AM

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Shobhaa De