TIF Collection

Trade in turmoil

India’s Economic Dependence on China

India cannot afford to cut its economic links with China since imports from its northern neighbour dominate sections of the economy, especially in electronics and pharmaceutical intermediates. This…
▶23-Jul-2020
Biswajit Dhar, KS Chalapati Rao

The India-EFTA Deal: A Model for Developing Countries

Governments are shifting from investor-state dispute mechanisms to treaties that encourage and ease investment. The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement could be setting a new standard…
▶15-May-2024
Danish

The Death of Multilateralism in Trade; the Extinction of the WTO

With its arbitrary imposition of tariffs, the US has dealt a body blow to the multilateral trading system and its guardian, the WTO. Yet, the US shows no sign of quitting the body it has weakened and…
▶23-Jul-2025
D. Ravi Kanth

What will it take for India's New Free Trade Agreements to Avoid Pitfalls?

The India-UK free trade agreement may serve as a model for a future deal with the EU. However, talks with the US risk introducing tough terms into a bilateral pact. As imports rise through these FTAs…
▶04-Jun-2025
Biswajit Dhar

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Pays the Price for a War with No End

For over 70 years, people in border villages of India and Pakistan have lived with uncertainty. Political decisions or tensions on the border can instantly disrupt lives. Yet, they persevere daily,…
▶09-Jun-2025
Anuradha Bhasin

Pahalgam, Sindoor and After

Pakistan’s army has an interest in provoking India for it can then rally the masses to its side. But over time domestic antagonism to the “khakis” will only grow, which could then change the dynamics…
▶18-Jun-2025
Kesava Menon

Fragile Peace, War, and the People on the Border

The most recent round of India-Pakistan hostilities reaffirmed a stark truth—for border residents, war is a zero-sum game. They gain nothing, but lose their safety, property, livelihoods, and even…
▶30-May-2025
Nazir Ahmad Mir
Essay

Kashmir: Loss, Memory and a Shared History

‘Is there something in the shared, yet dissimilar, histories of Kashmiris that might yet contain the hope of a more viable future, with all its challenges and difficulties?'
▶28-Apr-2022
Suvir Kaul

Sri Lanka

Migrants and Minorities in Ceylon: Lessons for the Present

Sri Lankan politics bears the mark of a century of anti-Tamil policies. A majoritarian outlook has helped Sinhalese groups gain power, grow corrupt and weaken democracy.
▶03-Nov-2022
Ritesh Kumar Jaiswal

Stirrings of Hope? Notes from Colombo and Jaffna

"Sri Lanka looks to the possibility of politics beyond ethnic identities. But its history is a history of missed opportunities. The people want to believe that a change is coming."
▶23-Jun-2025
Bilal Tantray

Sri Lankan Peoples' Protests of 2022: The Present from the Past

The protests that have swept Sri Lanka for months, threatening the existing order, did not emerge out of thin air. They may have been sparked by an immediate economic crisis but they are a part of a…
▶19-May-2022
Devaka Gunawardena, Ahilan Kadirgamar

Fertility Transition

Rapid Convergence of Fertility across all Socio-Religious Groups in India

The differences in fertility between communities in India are no longer a matter of concern. All socio-religious groups show a significant decline in the average number of children per woman, and…
▶10-Jul-2024
Srinivas Goli, Shubhra Kriti

India’s Fertility Transition and Differences between Religious Groups

‘Overpopulation’ can no longer be a concern in India, as across states and across religious groups fertility has been falling in recent decades and approaching replacement level. Fears about a…
▶01-Nov-2021
K. S. James, Md Juel Rana

Prospective Changes in the Age Structure of India’s Population: The Regional Dimension

Rapid population growth is no longer a major issue in India as it was in the 1970s. Current challenges include harnessing the demographic dividend, developing elderly care systems, addressing inter-…
▶15-Jul-2024
Purushottam M. Kulkarni