nidalrahman

In my previous blog I started with hinting about the looming eventful presidency of Donald Trump. Its not even an year; we have already seen, a fierce condescending meeting between Zelensky at the Oval Office, mediation claims in the India-Pakistan conflict, a trade war through exorbitant tariffs, Nobel peace prize talks, and the recent false demise rumors. This blog is not about Trump, whom I feel is odd, frivolous and clumsy. But is about his delusion that the USA is still the only superpower and he is the master. One of my teachers used to say Bill Clinton was the last American president blessed to enjoy the only superpower suit. But I would cross a mark to place George W. Bush initial term (2001 - 2005) also, mainly because of the Afghanistan invasion soon after 9/11 and illegitimate Iraq invasion, both requiring strong conviction and arbitrariness. Unfortunately, Trump at the helm is having a daydream of having a similar cushion. The advantage of Clinton and Bush were the snail pa...

For the past four years, there was not even a single USA-based question on the Political Science and International Relations optional paper of the Civil Services Examination. When the results of the presidential election came out from Washington in November last year, the aspirant community realized the drought would soon be stalled. The obvious reason is the character and attitude of the man who is elected and the possibility of a far more eventful period than his predecessor. From businessmen to scholars and meme makers to common man, everyone is keen for this four years. Even the election period was live with an assassination attempt, replacement in opposition candidate, and outright assistance from some big names —all which culminated in something notable—beating a woman candidate who could have entered the White House as the first American president marking history, for the second time. The man who carried an America First policy elevated his vision to Make America Great Again thi...

  "Authority is based on power, and power is often used to mask fear." These words of Noam Chomsky can rightly be attributed to what really happened in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the early years of past decade. History portrays MENA as a region always under serious tussle. Before independence, nations were subjected to the Ottoman Empire and colonialism, and later to despotic rulers. Though the Arab Spring is often recognized as a spontaneous chain of events, it was not immediate. It was the culmination of years of violence, suppression, denial, and hate that finally bursted out beyond predictions. Starting from Tunisia, the movement spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and more. Massive numbers of men, women, youth, and students protested and became martyrs for their rights, dignity, and democracy in the squares, day and night. Tunisia The events launched in Tunisia when a young man, Mohammed Bouazizi, set fire himself as a dissent against the regime....

Inroduction According to the census report of 2011, Muslim women comprise 6.9% of India's population. However, only 4.9% of Muslim women have formal employment. Close to 48% of them are illiterate, as per the Census (highest in any religious group). According to experts, lack of education and patriarchy have been two key factors for Muslim women's poor workforce participation and the same is for their social backwardness. The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2018 observed that every third Muslim in India is multi-dimensionally poor, implying that 33.33% of Muslims live with lack of education, poor health and nutrition, unsafe housing, unsanitary water, and living conditions, in addition to having a low income. These coupled with discrimination amplify the inequalities and social challenges Muslim women face. But beyond these educational and socio-cultural factors, some of which are common to several other Indian minorities, there are several issues at play which haven...

The United Nations, the so-called international government, is looming towards its 80th anniversary celebration. The organization, formed in 1945 to ensure peace, stability, and democratice countries, is unfortunately in limbo. The creation of the UN was one of the watershed events of the 20th century. However, the body and its subsidiaries failed to change according to the changing world order. The body is currently misrepresented, undemocratic, sans accountability and transparency. Widespread human rights violations and conflicts between states are prevailing. When Woodrow Wilson, a stalwart of idealist principles, brought his 14 principles of idealism, it included room for multilateralism. He desperately exhorted for an international association where nation-states can sit together and find solutions through dialogue and diplomacy. However, with power politics taking charge in the form of the United Nations Security Council, the scope of dialogue and diplomacy has plunged over these...

Introduction Estimates from World Population Review count the percentage of the LGBTQIA+ community to be 8%. Brazil leads the list, followed by Spain, and the United Kingdom. The census of 2011 included transgenders in the "others" category and noted around 0.48 million population in India. Uttar Pradesh (28%), Andhra Pradesh (9%), Bihar (8%), West Bengal (6%), and Tamil Nadu (4%) were the leading five states. LGBTQIA+ is a ubiquitous umbrella term that represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and others. The + denotes identities that need to be explored. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) defines Transgender (or trans) as a term used to describe people whose sense of their own gender is different from the sex that they were assigned at birth. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 definition is also tantamount to the definition of OHCHR. History The transgender community encompasses a diverse array ...