India’s nuclear policy and developments

The purpose of the research examines the evolution of India‟s nuclear program as it developed from the 1940s by a small group of influential scientists and the current nuclear capabilities that they now posses. The Indian nuclear program continues to develop improved weapons technologies and economic development with the potential to proliferate nuclear material. India since 1947, in order to develop a comprehensive strategy that utilizes all the instruments of national power that will encourage India to become a responsible stakeholder among the nuclearized countries and demonstrate the responsibility that goes along with nuclear technology. India‟s nuclear policy was also influenced by India‟s international security condition as well as by domestic variables such as the vagaries of political change and the influence of bureaucratic elites. India aspired to be a nuclear state after 1962 conflict with China, particularity after China conducted its first nuclear test in 1964 The role of "the nuclear‟ in global power status however is central to being recognized as a power to be reckoned with. Despite India‟s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, such recognition had always eluded India. Since India was not a signatory to the NPT

Kashmir conflict and India

The origin of the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan dates back to the partition of the British colonial empire after World War II. The policies of princely states were affected by the British plan to divide the colonial empire into two independent states: India and Pakistan. Princely states were given the chance to choose which country to join. Kashmir, however, chose not to join either of them. Maharajah Singh, Kashmir’s ruler at the time, sought avenues to independence. Eventually Singh, afraid of a Pakistani intervention, decided to join with India. The immediate solution recommended by the UN was a cease-fire and a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir. The following succession of intense conflicts and India’s unwillingness to hold a plebiscite has shaped the status of modern Kashmir. Simultaneously, India also started taking steps to gradually change the status of Jammu and Kashmir. This study is an attempt to analysis and discusses the Indian policy vice versa Kashmir, which has been continuously changed with the route of time and is based on wrong assumption. This study is based on an interpretive approach. The data were collected primarily from secondary sources such as published and unpublished records, books, journals, newspapers, internet articles…etc

a study focusing on violence against sri lankan muslims and buddhist hegemony

Background/ justification Following the end of the thirty years old civil war in Sri Lanka, there were expectations that the post‐war period would usher in peace, development and reconciliation. The last four years have witnessed several positive developments including resettlement of people and rehabilitation of infrastructure. Nonetheless there are range of problems and policy gaps that have hindered the transition from war to sustainable peace. A key post-war challenge is that of violence against religious sites and members of religious communities. The attack on a mosque in Dambulla by a mob led by extremist Buddhist monks has reignited concern about targeted violence against Muslim religious minorities in Sri Lanka. The first serious riots against Muslim by Buddhists took place in 1915. After 1915, an occurrence of a riot of the same nature as that of 1915 was the violence in 1975 when some Muslims were killed in the Puttalam mosque due to a misconception that the Muslims were an economically privileged group and which fact fired the major motivation for anti-Muslim hatred. More recently, from last year, there has been an unprecedented level of violent attacks, demonstrations and hate speech targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslim population. Mainly perpetrated by Buddhist-fascist fundamentalist groups, the events have left the country’s second largest minority community - the Muslims feeling afraid and vulnerable which forcing a concerted campaign against them. In addition to attacks on places of religious worship there are calls to boycott Muslim shops and establishments, all of which is increasing tensions, particularly in areas where Muslims and Sinhalese live close to each other. These were virtually programmed by some prominent and influential personalities in governing circles, besides others who had a vested interest in seeing Sri Lanka imploding amid heightening ‘communal tensions.’ It noted a ‘sharp uptick’ in religiouslymotivated violence and said the authorities are ‘passively and sometimes actively’ condoning extremist Buddhist groups, such as the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ or ‘Buddhist power force’ and the Hela Urmaya are the main groups behind these targeting of Muslims. Objectives of the research work On this context, this study focuses on the recent incident of violence against Muslims in Sri Lanka. The primary objective of this study is to examine the motive for violence against Muslims as well as impact of the violence. The fundamental questions of this research are the following: why does postwar violence and hate propaganda arise against Muslim in Sri Lanka? In which ways the violence against minorities, particularly Muslims impact on reconciliation process? And why does Buddhist nationalist hegemony arise soon after civil war in Sri Lanka? Materials and methods This study is based on an interpretive approach. The data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. In addition to primary sources, qualitative interviews were conducted with selected specialist on this particular research area. Secondary sources such as published and unpublished records were also consulted. Finally this study provides appropriate recommendations to improve ethnic relations in Sri Lanka

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) in post-conflict societies

The purpose of this study is to understand the concept and explore the reasons why the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-belligerents has characteristically been so essential to achieve peace in societies emerging from years of armed conflict. (DDR) of former combatants have become an integral part of peacekeeping operations and post-conflict reconstruction plans.The success of such programmes is essential for sustainable peace and development. Following the end of the cold war, the international community shifted its attention from dueling ideological warfare to the many intra-state, or internal armed conflicts occurring globally. The United Nations, along with a wide array of aid agencies, have devoted greater and greater time and resources in post-conflict environments. Programmes that address ex-combatants as well as broader post-conflict recovery are essential. (DDR) is one such programme that has received widespread attention. Policy analysts have debated the factors that contribute to a successful DDR programme. In a key component of peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction is the (DDR) of ex-combatants. From the combatants who lay down their weapons, to the governments that seek an end to armed conflict, to the communities that receive—or reject—these demobilized fighters. At each level, these transitions imply a complex equation between the demands of peace and the clamor for justice.Based on that, this research will deliver a critical analysis of the DDR’s achievements of this process. It may also allow conclusions on the overall prospects for theoretical approaches to DDR in their practical application

Ethnic conflict, war crimes and human rights: revisiting U.S sponsored UNHRC resolution against Sri Lanka in 2013

The civil war ended in 2009 but four years later the country has yet to find its path of reconciliation and to heal the wounds of war. At the present time it also appears that Sri Lanka is moving backwards, and not forwards, in terms of securing the rule of law and reconciliation. This has impacted negatively on the rule of law and by extension the protection of human rights and political accountability. There is also the rise of inter-religious tensions fanned by government allies. A new dimension of inter-communal unrest is the rise of Buddhist extremism in some quarters; it has targeted the Muslim community and taken on an open and frontal confrontational approach. One of the main elements of external intervention in the internal affairs of post-war Sri Lanka is the continuing pressure being brought to bear on the government to adopt a system of province-based devolution as one of the instrumentalities of ethnic reconciliation. It is, indeed, unfortunate that the LLRC itself has made a similar prescription. There is no evidence in the voluminous report produced by the Commission that it made any attempt to draw "lessons" relevant to the subject of territorial devolution and sub-national inter-group conflict from our own experiences, leave alone the abundance of international experiences. Its recommendation, however, has had the effect of legitimizing the demand made by the global west which, in earlier times, was so obviously based on a nakedly superficial, local NGO-nurtured, understanding of Sri Lankan affairs

Peace building in post : war societies

Post-Conflict peace building is evidently not a simple process. There are significant limitations and complications that need to be addressed, including political and resource constraints and also peace building in post-conflict societies is a multi-component process, most important of which is finding lasting political solutions within the framework of nation states. While the term peace building is relatively new, external assistance for post-war rebuilding goes back to the reconstruction of post–World War II Europe and Japan. What was new in Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s formulation, and what caught the world’s attention, was a realization that the end of the Cold War opened new possibilities for international action? The United Nations, individual states and international non- government organizations (INGOs), have become increasingly involved in trying to rebuild peaceful societies in the aftermath of violent Conflict. Post-Conflict peace building encompasses the full range of non-military commitments undertaken by the international community to assist countries to achieve self-sustaining peace and socio- economic development. This article studies one such effort of peace building and sustainable development in a war-torn nation. This paper focuses on the original definition of peace building. More specifically, it examines elements of peace building and interventions by external actors to help war- torn societies not only to avoid a relapse into Conflict, but more importantly, to establish the conditions for sustainable peace

Revenue collections and local government: an evaluation of Akkaraipattu municipal council of Sri Lanka’s revenue in 2011-2012

As the life-wire of every state, revenue refers to the income of government at any level. Revenue is critical as it determines to a large extent how much money will be available for spending. Without income, there will be no budget, and thus no spending. Revenue for government spending is generally raised from taxes, levies, service fees, and licenses. Local governments differ in the extent to which they can raise sufficient funding within the local government area for the services for which they are responsible. Therefore, local government receive a smaller or larger part of their funding from revenue raised at their territory level, Furthermore; the ways in which revenue is raised have implications for equity and economic stimulation. For a number of reasons, local governments have other responsibilities for the development of certain sections of the economy by providing limited range of social services and public amenities. In the recent years, administering revenue generation has transcended all known considerations in importance because the extent to which local government executed its development projects depends, largely on the amount of revenue generated. Each local government body of any state has a number of ways through which it denied revenue required to meet up its public expenditure needs. It is in view of this that the challenge is taken to examine the sources of revenue as well as problems encountered in revenue generation in the Municipal Council of Sri Lanka. This study focuses on the revenue collections and the related issues in Akkaraipattu Municipal Council in Sri Lanka. The prime objective of this study is to evaluate the revenue collections of the Municipal Council from last two years. The fundamental questions of this research are the following: how does the local body generate the income, what are the problems faced by the council during revenue collection and how they can improve their revenue collection at the local level. This study is based on an interpretive approach. The data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. In addition to primary sources, qualitative interviews were conducted with representatives of council and a particular number of voters. Secondary sources such as published and unpublished records, both from different levels of government and from NGOs, were also consulted. Finally this study provides appropriate recommendations to improve revenue collections in the studied area

Muslim Politics of Sri Lanka and Roles of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress

Traditionally the Muslim politics of Sri Lanka has been viewed as the politics of Muslim based on the major political parties in Sri Lanka since independence. On this backdrop, the Muslim politics viewed as politics of the southern Muslims and politics of north-eastern Muslim based on their affiliation with the major, ethnic and regional parties. However, the emergence of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), as a Muslim party based on Islamic faith and Muslim’s rights among the eastern Muslim in the middle of 1980s paved the way for tremendous impacts and contributed to dynamic changes in traditional setups of Muslim politics in Sri Lanka. Most importantly, the Muslim politics began to turn to a path of ideology and identity based politics. Then, the politics of Sri Lankan Muslims have come to be viewed as the politics of the SLMC and vice-versa, nationally and internationally. The politics of the SLMC brought the Muslim community in Sri Lanka at a time. However, the Muslim politics of Sri Lanka became to loose it pride and shifted to another trend after the demise of the founder leader of the SLMC, Mr. MHM.Ashraff, in September 2000. There were break-ups and ups and down in the politics of the SLMC as well as the Muslim politics of Sri Lanka. This research paper tries to pay attention on the cleavages within the SLMC and its impacts in the politics of the SLMC and in the discourse of Muslim politics of Sri Lanka.&nbsp