UPSC Aspirant 2025-26

“Democracy is just a top dressing on the Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” - Ambedkar

📖 'Poverty and Famines - In an Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation Written by Amartya Sen 👉 Sen demonstrated that hunger is not a consequence of the lack of food, but rather of inequalities in its mechanisms of distribution.

As India tiptoes around a humanitarian crisis and waits to see how the Taliban settles into its second phase in power, and China readies itself to enter the great game with all its might, Delhi will have to ask itself whether it will choose to engage with a group it abhors for tactical reasons, or whether it can attempt to decisively step in and fill the vacuum America leaves behind instead of leaving it to Beijing (and by proxy, Islamabad) to do so, writes Maya Mirchandani. https://t.me/iv?url=https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-realignment-of-geopolitics-after-the-taliban-takeover-and-what-it-means-for-india/&rhash=e36df4d42d3427

👉 A study of the Taliban’s official statements and tweets since the beginning of Doha negotiations in 2018 reveals the transition from a rabble-rousing ragtag band to a politically mature group, apparently sensitive to the world opinions. However, this change is not reflective of any ideological moderation or military flexibility. 👉 (Imp*) The Taliban has learnt the art of sound byte diplomacy. It has realised that without international recognition, the regime won’t survive for long. This resulted in a softening of its rhetoric. 👉 Taliban used the peace negotiations to alter its image from a terrorist organisation to a legitimate opposition movement in a bid to gain more freedom of action. 👉 By participating in numerous multilateral and bilateral political negotiations, and by publicly sending high-level delegations to China and Russia, the Taliban started attaining political legitimacy. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/taliban-has-learnt-sound-byte-diplomacy-7456699/lite/