MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#55: 17 NOVEMBER 2021 Narco Routes: From Afghanistan to Africa Shanthie Mariet D’Souza & Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Afghan, Pakistani, African, and Indian drugs cartels continue to use circuitous sea and air routes of heroin consignments from Afghanistan through Mozambique and Iran, to India, South Africa, Australia, and some of the western countries. Each […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#37: 18 SEPTEMBER 2021 Afghanistan: Future of Global Terrorism Shanthie Mariet D’Souza & Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract The expectation that the new Taliban caretaker government would deliver on its promises of preventing the Afghan soil for terrorist activities elsewhere is unrealistic. While al Qaeda and a host of global terror organisations would exploit […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#54: 09 JUNE 2021 Myanmar: Urban insurgency takes root Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Since the 01 February 2021 coup, the civilian non-violent resistance to the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) has changed its character. In the civil disobedience movement, placard-bearing protesters appealed to the conscience of the international community, only to be crushed by the military. […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#36: 28 MARCH 2021 Left-Wing Extremism in India: Worrying Trends from Chhattisgarh Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract While extremist attacks claiming lives of security forces in left-wing extremism (LWE) affected states of India aren’t a new and unexpected phenomenon, each such attack underlines the potency of the extremists and provides a setback to the […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#53: 01 FEBRUARY 2021 Coup d’état in Myanmar: History unfolds in slow motion Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Following a coup d’etat on 1 February 2021, democracy in Myanmar took a back seat. Ever since the results to the parliamentary elections were announced in November 2020 in which the NLD secured a landslide victory, the military […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#35: 16 DECEMBER 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic & Prevention of Violent Extremism Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has impeded the fight against violent extremism. Lack of resources has affected operations of extremist/terrorist organisations as well. However, to overcome the limitations, extremist/ terrorist organizations have expanded their presence in the cyber space. As […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#52: 25 NOVEMBER 2020 Future of the military’s ‘dual function’ in Myanmar Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Myanmar’s parliamentary elections, held on 8 November, have produced a predictable winner—the National League for Democracy (NLD). The military-backed party— Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which finished a poor second in the race, has alleged fraud and irregularities, […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#51: 16 NOVEMBER 2020 Ending Militancy in Kashmir: Successes and Enduring Challenges Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Amid the Indian government’s continuing search for peace and stability in Kashmir, since the August 2019 decision to revoke Article 370 of the Indian constitution, security establishment in the union territory continue to face two primary challenges—home-grown militancy and […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#50: 20 OCTOBER 2020 Jihadist Messaging: Arrest of al Qaeda Cadres in India Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Arrest of ten men affiliated to the al Qaeda from West Bengal and Kerala in September by the National Investigation Agency has yet again brought into focus the continuing Jihadist mobilization targeting the vulnerable Muslim community in […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#49: 05 OCTOBER 2020 Insurgency in Mozambique: The Islamic State’s New Frontier Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract A spate of attacks on villages and towns since 2017 by Islamist jihadists belonging to the al-Shabaab have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced over 300,000 in north Mozambique’s mineral gas-rich Cabo Delgado province. Violence has spiked […]