Dr. V.L. Dharurkar

After a period of drift, India and Bangladesh rediscover the logic of cooperation. In history and diplomacy, geography is destiny but memory often intervenes. For India and Bangladesh, two neighbours bound by history, culture and an unruly border, the past has a habit of intruding upon the present. Yet recent developments suggest that the bilateral relationship, strained by political transitions and mutual suspicion, may be entering a phase of pragmatic recalibration. The visit of...

In a world threatened by war and violence, Bhagwan Mahavira’s principle of Ahimsa Parmo Dharma is more relevant than ever.  In his volume  Our Oriental Heritage , Will Durant points out that the 6th century BC witnessed a protest against prevailing evils. In that backdrop, Mahavira travelled throughout the country and preached in Ardhamagadi, the people’s language. His  pravachanas  truly manifest his ideas, and they were popular in Indian languages, enriching the Prakrit language,...

The ongoing Iran conflict is a systemic shock that exposes how fragile the world economy becomes when chokepoints close and diplomacy fails. “ Arthasya mūlam karma ,” wrote Kautilya, wealth is the root of all human endeavour. It is a maxim that has outlived empires, surviving the churn of kingdoms, colonies and modern nation-states. But the present moment suggests a grim inversion of that wisdom. The engines of wealth in form of trade, energy and cooperation are being throttled by the very...