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November 22, 2024
 

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Gautaman Bhaskaran
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2008
Pakistan set to lift its ban on Bollywood
MADRAS, India — Cinema is a powerful weapon, though it is often called soft power. Men like Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Germany's Adolf Hitler understood the awesome might of movies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2008
Newly democratic Bhutan in a tight spot
MADRAS, India — Bhutan is now a democracy. Its transition from a monarchy to a democracy has been smooth. The tiny country, where Buddhism is the state religion, has been applauded by the world for changing with the times, and not waiting to be pushed like Pakistan, which has stubbornly refused to...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2007
Blood diamonds maintain their cover
MADRAS — Living in India, I grew up with diamonds. The most precious of stones are still an integral part of the Indian lifestyle. They are used every day, including for ceremonial purposes.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2007
U.S. influence behind Bhutto's return
MADRAS, India — One of America's playing fields has been Pakistan, and since 9/11 this small Islamic nation has been truly under the grip of Washington. U.S. President George W. Bush roped in Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to counter terror in adjoining Afghanistan and, in return, doled out aid...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2007
Holding hands within the limits of decency
MADRAS, India — The perception of sex and morality is once again creating problems in India.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2007
Indian women who never had a chance
MADRAS, India — India may be the land where the Buddha preached nonviolence, and Mahatma Gandhi practiced it to perfection, but the country's "womb murders" are a horrible reality.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2007
Pollution fouling a legacy of eternal love
MADRAS, India — The Taj Mahal has always been considered a wonder. As India's best known monument, this white-marble icon is now ranked among the "New Seven Wonders of the World," along with the Great Wall of China and Rome's Colosseum.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2007
Lions and tigers and the foibles of men
MADRAS, India — The Chinese now appear to be turning to Indian lions since a terrifying number of tigers have been killed for their body parts, which are sold to make medicines and even aphrodisiacs.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2007
Dalai Lama's shattered dream for Tibet
MADRAS — Tibet looks like a dream shattered. You feel this when you hear the stories of horror told and retold by Buddhist monks and nuns who have escaped from Tibet and taken refuge in Dharamshala, the center of the Dalai Lama's government in exile in India.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2007
Cotton prices wrecking Indian farmers
MADRAS, India -- The western Indian state of Maharashtra, whose capital is the nation's financial capital Bombay, has made great strides in lifting cotton production. Land dedicated to growing cotton increased from 92,000 hectares in 2003 to 480,000 hectares in 2004, according to government sources....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2006
Nuclear deal details worry Indian public
MADRAS, India -- The U.S. Congress has finally given its approval to a landmark law that allows the export of U.S. civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India for the first time in more than 30 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2006
Islamic extremism threatens Bangladesh
MADRAS, India -- Bangladesh is the latest South Asian flash point where democracy stands threatened. Bloody street battles between two rival political parties -- led by two women who hate each other -- and other violence have swept the small country northwest of India in recent weeks. The military is...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2006
India-American nuclear deal foundering
MADRAS -- The Indian-American nuclear deal signed in New Delhi in March seems to be foundering. The pact, which would give India access to American civil nuclear technology, must be approved by the U.S. Congress before it can become law.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2006
India's song of freedom creates a divide
MADRAS, India -- India has a national song, and a national anthem. The first, "Vande Mataram (Salute to the Mother)," signified the cry for freedom from British brutality. The song pushed the nation into a nationalistic frenzy that often caused fear and panic among the occupying British forces. The first...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2006
A.Q. Khan remains a hero in Pakistan
MADRAS, India -- If there is one man who can be held singularly responsible for nuclear proliferation, it has to be Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb. Khan was a metallurgist before he became a nuclear businessman. That's what he was: He ran a "Nuclear Wal-Mart," according...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2006
U.S.-India nuclear deal sets bad example
MADRAS, India -- The India-U.S. deal to cooperate in civil nuclear energy signed in New Delhi in March now appears set to be approved by the U.S. Congress. This will end India's nuclear isolation, which began in 1998 when the country first tested nuclear weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2006
Bombings demonstrate what Bombay is made of
MADRAS, India -- A day after maximum terror struck India's financial capital, Bombay, the city of 17 million people was back on its feet. Even London took four days after last July's explosions to get over the shock and trauma.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2006
Runup to war in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO -- My plane lands smoothly at Colombo's plush Bandaranaike International Airport, but beyond the runway lies the turbulence of ethnic strife that for 20 years has ravaged this hauntingly picturesque island nation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2006
Intolerance to the arts is growing in India
MADRAS, India -- The recent anger against director Ron Howard's latest film, "The Da Vinci Code," reminds us that intolerance against artistic freedom is growing in a world that we thought was past caring about such issues.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2006
Tibetans' next hope after Dalai Lama
MADRAS, India -- Railway lines fulfill dreams -- at least in modern times. But the one about to link central Tibet with China threatens to dash hopes.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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