Prashant Shukla

  SCO 2025  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent sojourn to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, set against the jarring backdrop of escalating trade tensions with the United States, vividly underscores India's precarious yet purposeful position on the global stage. New Delhi finds itself at a critical inflexion point, tasked with mastering a sophisticated geopolitical tightrope walk to safeguard its economic future and strategic autonomy. The traditional paradigms of alliance and non-alignment are increasingly obsolete. India is now forging a path of "Multi-Alignment 2.0," a pragmatic and hard-nosed strategy that leverages diverse partnerships without compromising its sovereign interests. A Frosty Neighbourhood, A Necessary Forum: The China Conundrum India's relationship with China has rarely been one of easy camaraderie. The unresolved border along the Line of Actual Control remains a flashpoint, infrastructure development continues a...

I strongly and unequivocally condemn the barbaric terrorist attack that devastated the peaceful meadows of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April 2025. In an act of unspeakable malice, 26 innocent civilians, including foreign nationals, were brutally gunned down. Dozens more were injured. This atrocity marks a tragic milestone in the global struggle against terrorism that increasingly targets civilians in cold blood. This was not merely an attack. It was a choreographed slaughter. Armed militants emerged from the forests and fired indiscriminately on unarmed people, families, tourists, and newlyweds gathered in Pahalgam. Among the victims was Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, a young naval officer from Haryana, whose life was extinguished not by the fate of war but by a bullet fueled by hatred. The group claiming responsibility, The Resistance Front (TRF), a known proxy of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, justified the massacre through divisive ideological rhetoric. However, the truth is chill...

A New Reality for Countries Receiving US Support: The Risk of Compromised Sovereignty in the Age of Trump's Policies As the world navigates a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, countries traditionally relying on the United States for military, economic, and diplomatic support grapple with a new and unsettling reality, the risk of compromising their sovereignty in exchange for continued American aid. The case of Ukraine, caught in a high stakes negotiation with the Trump administration over a controversial minerals deal, offers a striking example of this dilemma. However, it is not alone. Across the globe, countries dependent on US support are now facing increasingly harsh terms, forcing them to weigh the immediate benefits of aid against the long-term erosion of their national autonomy. Under the Trump administration, US foreign policy has shifted from traditional alliances and mutual benefits towards a transactional approach driven by economic interests and geopolitical calc...