Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Crisis in the Middle East

The Gaza war has continued beyond seven months. Amidst stepped-up diplomatic efforts, the fate of the hostage deal continues to be uncertain. The US Secretary of State Blinken visited Saudi Arabia and Israel. Israeli forces have entered Rafah. There...

May 20 , 2024

Human Rights and America’s Immigration Politics - Part 2

(Reading Part 1 of this article is a recommended prerequisite to gain proper understanding of the second part. The previous article took instances of Human Rights in PM Modi’s US visit and India’s response to it as an entry point to discuss the...

July 24 , 2023

Human Rights and America’s Immigration Politics - Part 1

The concern of Human Rights during PM Modi’s US visit The Indian Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi’s visit to the US was much discussed for its significance of being his maiden three-day state visit, with at least three meetings with the US...

July 20 , 2023

Responding to American Criticism of India’s Stance on Russia-Ukraine Conflict

If western governments are ready to accommodate India by balancing their longer term interest in keeping it within their “democratic” fold with their shorter term interest in drawing India into the circle of “democratic” states condemning Russia’s...

June 6 , 2022

Book Discussion - Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds by Prof. Jeffery D. Long

On 9th May, 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a book discussion on "Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds, authored by Prof. Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, U.S.A....

May 12 , 2022

Global Terrorism Trends in 2021 & Projections for 2022

संधिविग्रहयोस्तुल्यायां वृद्धौ संधिमुपेयात्। [Translation: If there is an equal benefit in peace or war, he (the king) should choose peace.] -Arthashastra 7.2.1 Amid the pandemic situation triggered by Wuhan virus aka COVID-19, the year 2021...

April 12 , 2022

Ukraine: As history returns to haunt the world

In the early 1990s, Francis Fukuyama proclaimed that with the liberal democracy and the free market economy of the West finally emerging as a one-size-fits-all model for all nations, all conflicts that were the source of history had ended. That...

March 28 , 2022

Reaping the Whirlwind; Michael Griffin; Pluto Press; PP 283; Price: Rs 1834

Afghanistan 2014: Forward to the Past? This is not a recent book, comparatively speaking; it was published in 2001, but remains topical. It covers the rise of the Taliban in the mid- to late-1990’s, and examines the main actors in the rise of this...

May 6 , 2014