Escalating US-Israel actions, Iran’s calibrated response and shifting global diplomacy shape an uncertain regional trajectoryMore than five weeks into the ongoing West Asia conflict, the situation remains volatile, layered and deeply uncertain.
The trajectory of jihadist activity in India is shifting. High-impact attacks, such as the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam assault in Jammu and Kashmir attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba/The Resistance Front, and the November 2025 suicide bombing near Delhi’s Red Fort linked to a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) affiliated “Doctors network”, still mark the threat landscape. However, early 2026 indicates a change in direction. The pattern is moving from episodic, high-visibility violence to sustained, low-level radicalization within digital and local networks.
Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has primarily recognised contributions to four broad areas: arms control and disarmament, peace negotiations, the advancement of democracy and human rights, and efforts to build a more orderly and peaceful international system. In the 21st century, the Nobel Committee has also expanded its scope to include initiatives addressing climate change and environmental threats, viewing them as integral to global peace and stability.
I grew up in Guwahati (Assam), where questions of identity were never theoretical. They surfaced in school registers, land records, police verifications, and anxious family conversations. Some people carried documents with them like talismans. Others lived in fear that a single missing paper could erase their place in the only country they had ever known. Long before I understood the politics of migration, I witnessed its emotional cost.
Review by Banditarani Behera (November 29, 2024): Dr S. Jaishankar, India's current External Affairs Minister, exemplifies the rare combination of a seasoned diplomat and a thoughtful public intellectual.