With the agreement on what virtually amounts to an exchange of diplomatic missions with the USA and its appeal to the Chiang government for direct talks, China has tied all but one loose end in its foreign policy. This relates to its relations with India. This is not to imply … Read More
Since Chairman Mao Tse-tung met President Nixon himself for only 45 minutes last February, no one could have predicted that he would spend as much as two hours with Mr. Kissinger during his latest visit to Peking. But this is not particularly surprising in view of the personal interest the … Read More
By standards of books that are currently being written and published on contemporary affairs, Mr. Piloo Mody has not done a bad job of the biography of his friend, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. But in fairness both to himself and the subject, he should have resisted the temptation to produce … Read More
Mr. Kissinger’s arrival in Peking once again spotlights the well-known fact that the deployment of one million Soviet troops on the Chinese border lends legitimacy to Chairman Mao Tse-tung’s anti-Moscow stance in the eyes of his people and enables the United States to try to reassert its primacy in the … Read More
Few people in the world are as courageous, pragmatic or polite as the North Vietnamese. Even so, it is remarkable that they have agreed to receive Mr. Henry Kissinger in Hanoi within less than a fortnight of the signing of the cease-fire agreement in Paris. Only the very brave can … Read More
No other American President has aroused such widespread misgivings among both friends and foes as Mr. Nixon at the beginning of his second term. This may not worry him just now. He may even revel in his notoriety for toughness. But in the long run this is bound to hurt … Read More
In the absence of hard news it is difficult to say whether President Nixon has been able to extort more favourable terms from Hanoi. But the rest of the world will not bother about it. It will only heave a sigh of relief that the terror bombing of North Viet … Read More
Every economist knows that it is not necessary to settle major ideological issues in order to give a boost to the country’s economy. Public sector enterprises can, for instance, make a substantial contribution to the public exchequer instead of remaining a burden on it if their management is drastically overhauled. … Read More
It is time for the ruling elite to face up to the fact that in terms of a rational economic policy the country has been marking time for over a decade. In the past this harsh reality was somewhat obscured by one sensational development after another – the Chinese attack … Read More
Did the United States seek to help Pakistan achieve parity with India before the secession of Bangladesh? A cool examination of all the relevant evidence does not permit an answer in the affirmative. The US asked for and secured military bases in Pakistan and in return it provided a substantial … Read More
