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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why has Russia formally recognised Afghanistan's Taliban government?
Written by Tabshir Shams At a meeting on July 3, Russia's Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov conveyed to Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi that Moscow had decided to formally recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The Afghan foreign ministry described Russia's decision as 'a historic step that will set a good example for other countries'. It remains to be seen whether China, Pakistan, and other countries follow Russia's lead. Days after Moscow's recognition of the Afghan regime, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants against Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, saying there were 'reasonable grounds' to suspect them of carrying out gender-based persecution. History of Russia's involvement in Afghanistan Pre-revolution Russia had a deep strategic interest in Afghanistan, which led to an intense rivalry with Britain in the 19th century that was famously described by the British intelligence officer Arthur Conolly as the 'Great Game'. Afghanistan, which stood as a buffer between Britain's colonial possessions in South Asia and Russia, was of great strategic importance to both imperialist empires. As a Great Game imperative, Britain had long tried to control Afghanistan, and had sought to impose itself on the country through the First and Second Anglo-Afghan Wars of 1839-42 and 1878-80 respectively. In 1919, the Emir of Afghanistan, Amanullah Khan, made an attempt to shake off the British, which resulted in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. The Bolsheviks, who had taken power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, were opposed to colonialism and imperialism. They renounced various treaties and agreements of Tsarist Russia, and gave up its colonial possessions, which profoundly impacted anti-colonial movements everywhere. In 1919, Vladimir Lenin offered the hand of Soviet friendship to Amanullah Khan. He wrote to the Emir that 'flourishing Afghanistan is the only independent Muslim state in the world', and that 'the Workers' and Peasants' Government [of the Soviet Union] is inclined to grant such assistance on the widest scale to the Afghan nation, and, what is more, to repair the injustice done by the former government of the Russian tsars…by adjusting the Soviet-Afghan frontier so as to add to the territory of Afghanistan at the expense of Russia'. In the early decades of the Cold War, as Pakistan joined the anti-communist Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), and the US and Britain attempted to run Iran through the puppet Shah, the Soviet stakes in Afghanistan increased greatly. It was crucial for Moscow to have influence in Afghanistan in order to maintain the USSR's regional security dominance, to prevent instability in Soviet Central Asia, and to assert itself as a global power against the capitalist West. As part of its ideological project, the Soviet Union propped up communist parties and governments in Eastern Europe and Asia, including the People's Democratic Party (PDPA) in Afghanistan. In April 1978, the PDPA led the Saur Revolution, a military coup in which the country's autocratic President Mohammad Daoud Khan was overthrown and killed, and a socialist government aligned with Moscow came to power. Several months of violence and repression followed as the Pashtun-led Khalqist faction of the PDPA cracked down on the so-called enemies of the revolution. This triggered armed resistance, and as uprisings against the socialist regime started to break out at various places, the Red Army marched into the country in December 1979. The invasion was justified on grounds of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which saw any threat to socialist rule in a Soviet bloc country in East Europe and Central Asia as a threat to them all. Thus began a decade of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and a bruising war in which the Afghan mujahideen were backed financially and logistically by the US-led West, which finally ended with the humiliating withdrawal of Soviet forces from the country. The Soviet-Afghan war of 1979-89 witnessed the deaths of around 20,000 Soviet soldiers, and more than 1.5 million Afghans. The recognition of the Taliban by Russia marks a strategic shift in what was once a relationship of animosity and mistrust. Post-communist Russia under President Vladimir Putin offered support to the US 'Global war on terror' in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which also gave Russia the international legitimacy to pursue its own wars in Chechnya and Dagestan. The first Taliban regime (1996–2001) had recognised Chechnya's independence, and allowed a Chechen embassy to open in Kabul. As the government of President Ashraf Ghani steadily lost its grip over the country and war-weariness grew in the US, Moscow sought to re-insert itself into the Afghan picture. The Moscow Format Consultations were initiated in 2017 as a regional platform for discussions on the Afghan reconciliation process among special envoys from Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan. Russia was concerned that a power vacuum in Afghanistan could make it an exporter of narcotics and terrorism, and a destabilising factor in the region. On August 15, 2021, as the last American soldiers left Afghanistan amid chaos, the Russian embassy in Taliban-controlled Kabul remained formally open. In September 2022 Russia and the Taliban signed a major preliminary agreement for Russia to supply Afghanistan with discounted petroleum products and wheat. This was the first major foreign economic deal struck by the new rulers of Afghanistan. During the fifth Moscow Format Consultation in 2023, there was special focus on the activities of the ISIS-K, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province. On March 23, 2024, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Moscow's Crocus City Hall in which more than 145 people were killed. That July, President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban 'allies in the fight against terrorism'. Later in 2024, representatives of the Afghan government participated in the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, the highest-level multilateral engagement by the country since the Taliban takeover. In April 2025, Russia's Supreme Court removed the ban on the Taliban as a 'terrorist organisation', which paved the way for Russia to formally recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The two countries can now conduct bilateral cooperation in trade, security, technology, and energy, even as the Taliban continue with their grave violations of human rights, denying Afghan women the right to study and work, and imposing severe restrictions on their day-to-day living. In September 2023, China had become the first country to formally name an envoy to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing. Pakistan, the UAE, Turkey, and Azerbaijan have appointed permanent ambassadors in Kabul this year. India has a 'technical team' in Afghanistan, which oversees humanitarian assistance, and in November 2024, the Taliban regime appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as 'acting consul' in the Afghan mission in Mumbai. A changed geopolitical context Why did President Putin choose to recognise the Taliban government? As outlined above, Afghanistan, the so-called 'heart of Asia' because of its location, has long been a theatre of geopolitical contestation. This 'graveyard of empires' has seen long-running wars and turmoil interspersed with short spells of stability. The decisive victory of the Taliban in 2021 signalled the arrival of relative political stability – some pockets of resistance in the north and activities of terrorist groups like ISIS notwithstanding – and the potential for a resumption of trade and economic activity. Dhananjay Tripathi, who teaches international relations at South Asian University, put the Russian decision to recognise the Taliban government in a larger geopolitical context that includes the war in Ukraine and its many fallouts. 'In the current geopolitical situation, Russia is facing immense pressure due to the economic isolation from the US and the West. The Ukraine war is draining them, and militarily they are dependent on China. Almost 40% of their ammunition is supplied by China via North Korea. So, it will be a good opportunity for Russia to build economic and military ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan,' Prof Tripathi said. Also, 'The power vacuum after the USA left Afghanistan, almost in a rush, had to be filled.' The Afghan economy has been devastated by decades of war, and presents a potential opportunity for a range of Russian exports. The Russian Business Center in Afghanistan estimates that bilateral trade reached $1 billion in 2024, and is set to reach $3 billion by 2025. At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Russia announced an expansion of its labour market to include Afghan specialists. In the absence of international recognition, investments have been a challenge for the Taliban regime. In May 2025, Afghanistan agreed to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a project of the Belt and Road initiative of China, but Beijing remains reluctant to invest in Afghanistan. The only known major Chinese investment is the $49 million that Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. has spent on developing oil fields near Herat. What this move by Russia means for India India has a shared history, cultural bonds and old civilisational ties, and deep economic and strategic stakes in Afghanistan. It also retains significant goodwill among large sections of the Afghan population. Over the years, India has invested more than $3 billion in projects like the Afghan Parliament, the Salma Dam, and the Zaranj–Delaram highway, which links Afghanistan to Iran's Chabahar port. India has built hospitals, schools, and offered thousands of scholarships to students. More than 3,000 Afghan students, including 300 girls, are studying in India, according to the Indian government. 'India needs to closely monitor developments in Afghanistan. With Russia diplomatically recognising the Taliban and China establishing close ties, India risks facing implications if it remains passive during this crucial period. Now is the time for India to recalibrate its approach and establish better diplomatic relations with the Taliban. A significant step that could earn India considerable goodwill is the issuance of student and medical visas,' Prof Tripathi said. A calibrated strategic engagement with the Taliban, driven by pragmatism, is in India's interest. Afghanistan is crucial for the Connect Central Asia policy that India launched in 2015, and it remains a relevant partner in tackling cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The writer is a Master's student of International Relations at South Asian University and a summer intern at The Indian Express.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Beetroot cutlets replace burger buns: How students at this school are checking sugar boards, cutting down junk and eating healthy at the canteen
Written by Tabshir Shams It's 11 am, time for a mid-morning break at Delhi Public School, Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Students are milling around the canteen for the best-selling beetroot cutlets. But they have sold out already. Class V student Anushka is relishing a whole wheat paneer roll instead. 'Our teacher says eating healthy will get us good grades,' she says. 'I didn't know that my favourite cupcake has five teaspoons of sugar, so much more than I put in my morning glass of milk. Mango juice has six teaspoons of sugar. Maybe I will have the jaljeera instead,' says her friend, keeping her eyes peeled on the board that displays all the sugar information of the fast foods and colas they are used to. The school has not only revamped its menu to include healthier options but has also displayed a graphic board indicating the sugar component in widely-consumed food products, recommended daily sugar intake and healthier alternatives. Two months ago, on May 14, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had suggested setting up informative sugar boards in schools to monitor and reduce sugar intake among children and prevent childhood obesity, a precursor to diabetes in adulthood. The communique was aimed at educating students, helping them make informed food choices at an early age and gear up for long-term health. The idea was to weave nutrition awareness into curricula in the hope that school regimentation would take care of the foundational health of students. The initiative has already begun showing some results. Like Anushka, who says she still likes junk food but has reduced the number of times she has it. Shashwat, another class V student, says, 'My parents were really happy seeing all the health foods being served here. They are now cooking the same for me at home too.' WHY TACKLING CHILDHOOD OBESITY IS PRIORITY Active public health interventions are necessary as next generation Indians are perched on the upper end of the obesity curve. According to UNICEF's World Obesity Atlas for 2022, India is predicted to have more than 27 million obese children, representing one in 10 children globally. The economic impact of obesity — measured in terms of increased healthcare spending and reduced workforce productivity — is expected to rise from $23 billion in 2009 to a whopping $ 479 billion by 2060. Principal Supriti Chauhan has decided to focus on ways to tackle childhood obesity and has been consulting diet counsellors for cleaning up the school meal. 'Our developmental years decide how we eat for the rest of our lives. That's why we conduct regular counselling sessions with students about healthy eating. We have been conducting awareness activities around junk food for our primary students much before the circular was issued,' she says. Tracing the childhood obesity curve, Dr Rajesh Khadgawat, endocrinologist at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, says, 'Obesity has been progressively rising in school-going children. Almost 20 per cent students in this age group are living with the condition, most being private school-going children,' he says. While government school children may not have access to pricey fast foods, the low prices of mini snack and cookie pouches means they are getting addicted to high salt and sugar foods too. WHAT ARE TRIGGERS OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY? The obesity spiral is because of the imbalance of the calories we consume and their expenditure, according to Dr Khadgawat. 'Children consume a lot of HFSS (high in fat, sugar and salt) foods and are physically active for a lesser number of hours needed to burn them. That's why the excess calories we consume are stored in the form of fat. Not all schools can afford large playgrounds where children can take to aerobic sports. School playgrounds are shrinking due to commercial encroachment of open spaces and community parks are unsafe for children. Up to 98 per cent cases of childhood obesity are because of calorie overload and lack of exercise,' he says. Obesity is not restricted to being a family or school-centric problem but has become a societal and national issue. 'Children who are obese right now and continue to be so into adulthood will have a higher risk of diabetes, hypertension and even cancer,' warns Dr Khadgawat. WHY THIS SCHOOL'S MODEL WORKS DPS, Gautam Buddh Nagar, has 10 sugar boards positioned across the campus. Most of them have been made by the students themselves, helping them internalise the messaging. Says Shikha Rathi, coordinator for the primary wing, 'Earlier, we would sell high calorie foods like samosas, chips, patties and sugary cold drinks. Now we have replaced them with whole wheat rolls, beetroot cutlets, baked kulcha, jal jeera and strawberry and banana shakes without added sugar. The menu is balanced in such a manner that the children can maintain steady energy levels. We also present healthy food in a manner that appeals to their taste buds.' Teachers have smartly made the children a part of the health awareness campaign. Pointing to a display board outside a classroom, social science teacher Sayeeda Kirmani says how students gave a few suggestions on what they would like to replace the branded sugary drinks with. The biggest sugar board is placed next to the canteen's main counter. 'We have put the biggest board here because we want our students to pause, read and make a conscious food choice before buying,' says Kirmani. Rathi says the school has also roped in parents to correct dietary habits among students. 'There has to be a synergy between eating healthy at school and eating healthy at home as well. Any indulgence would cancel out the benefits,' she adds. The school has built a lot of physical activity into the routine to break sedentary behaviour. Apart from football, badminton, basketball, lawn tennis and swimming, there are regular physical training sessions across age groups,' says Rathi. A WORD OF CAUTION Dr Khadgawat warns that schools should be vigilant about the food preparation method in their kitchens. 'Healthy foods prepared through unhealthy methods, like deep frying or adding excessive amounts of sugar or salt, can negate their positive effects. Watch out for trans fats,' he says. Dr Khagawat says there is no fixed caloric intake for a child between five and 17 years. It depends on their physical activity and BMI (body mass index). 'The best intervention to control the obesity epidemic is to educate our children. An experiment in Brazil found a positive correlation between health education and reduction in obesity of children. The study indicated how an awareness drive reduced childhood obesity by 20 per cent.' While sugar boards have stirred conversations around mindful eating, it's equally important that schools go beyond just visual reminders. The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises integrating lessons on nutrition and healthy lifestyles within the school curriculum, not just serving meals but teaching children why eating right matters. As Chauhan puts it, 'It's time for a very simple but goal-oriented slogan — 'Healthy food ensures a healthy body, a healthy body ensures a healthy mind, and a healthy mind ensures good academic performance.'
Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
As PM Modi lands in Namibia, this is why the country, and the continent of Africa, matters to India
Written by Tabshir Shams Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Namibia on the final leg of his five-country outreach trip to the Global South on July 9. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the resource-rich southern African nation in almost three decades. Modi's visit is expected to give a fillip to cooperation between the two countries in technology, health, infrastructure, development, and security. India and Namibia share a colonial past and a post-colonial partnership. As early as in 1946, India raised the question of independence for Namibia in the United Nations General Assembly, and the first embassy of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), which led Namibia's liberation struggle, was established in New Delhi in 1986. Besides according full diplomatic status and steadfast support through the Non-aligned Movement (NAM), India also offered material assistance and military training to fighters in Namibia's liberation struggle against the forces of apartheid South Africa. After Namibian gained independence in March 1990, the Indian Observer Mission in the country was upgraded to a High Commission. Namibia opened its full-fledged resident Mission in New Delhi in March 1994. Sam Nujoma, the leader of SWAPO and founding President of Namibia, visited India 11 times. In his autobiography, Where Others Wavered: My Life in SWAPO and My Participation in the Liberation Struggle of Namibia, Nujoma wrote: 'This was an extremely difficult time for our national liberation were helped by India which played a very vital role..' The last Indian Prime Minister to visit Namibia was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who travelled to Windhoek at the end of August 1998 before heading to Durban for a meeting of NAM. The host country, South Africa, was expected to draft a declaration criticising India's nuclear test conducted in May that year, and Vajpayee's visit was aimed at shoring up support from Namibia. As it happened, the Durban declaration only included a call for global nuclear disarmament, which Jawaharlal Nehru had proposed as early as in 1954. Former President Pranab Mukherjee visited Namibia in 2016. In an address delivered to the Namibian Parliament, he said that India 'was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders and the people of Namibia in their liberation struggle', and 'remain[ed] committed to a strong development partnership with Namibia in the South-South framework'. Why Namibia matters to India India has important stakes in the African continent, where it hopes to deepen ties of trade, development, and security and energy cooperation. By focusing on capacity-building, local ownership, and partnership, and increasing goodwill via moral diplomacy, it hopes to create a long-term, sustainable, post-colonial model of South-South cooperation, with less dependency and more dependability. With regard to Namibia specifically, the key pillars of the bilateral relationship include critical minerals, energy, economy, capacity-building, and development assistance. Of late, India's cheetah diplomacy has assumed importance. Namibia is the third-largest producer of uranium in the world, and one of the largest producers of lithium, zinc, and rare earth metals. There is, thus, great potential for a mutually beneficial energy security and critical mineral partnership. Economic and commercial ties have become stronger in recent years. Two-way trade touched $654 million between April and November 2023, after registering a 178% growth. India's exports were at $418 million, and imports from Namibia at $235 million. The main items of trade are mineral oil, pharmaceutical products, machinery, and cereals. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, India's investments in Namibia are in the order of $800 million, mostly in mineral resources such as zinc and diamond processing. An 'India Wing' has been established at the University of Namibia's Ongwediwa campus through a grant of about $12 million by India. India has provided training to Namibian defence personnel, diplomats, public health officials, and cricketers under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program, the MEA's flagship capacity-building initiative. In March 2021, New Delhi provided 30,000 doses of Covishield Covid-19 vaccines to Namibia. India had gifted rice for drought relief to Namibia earlier in 2019 and 2017, and has helped the country fight natural calamities like drought and floods on multiple occasions. Namibia has extended support to India's candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. In 2022, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the translocation of cheetahs from Namibia to reintroduce the big cat in the wild in India. Thereafter, eight cheetahs were flown from Namibia to India, the world's first intercontinental translocation of a major carnivore species. India and China in Africa Over the last 20 years, China has become the largest bilateral trading partner of Africa, with trade volume surpassing $200 billion. India is the fourth largest trading partner of Africa, with trade volumes around $100 billion in 2023. According to the MEA, India is the 10th largest FDI source for Africa, and has completed 206 infrastructure projects in 43 countries in the continent. Sixty-five projects are under construction. According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India has invested $76 billion in Africa since 1996, and this can increase to $150 billion by 2030. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has expanded India-Africa trade, ensuring economic progress, reducing poverty, and increasing employment opportunities. China has strengthened its economic cooperation with Africa through various strategic plans and initiatives within the frameworks of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a partnership platform that was established in 2000. However, even as China has been expanding its footprint in Africa and embedding itself in economies and supply chains, concerns have risen over these countries falling into Chinese debt traps. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an institution funded by the US Congress and functioning within the US Department of Defence, says that 'China's Africa policy is part of a global strategy to create dependencies and interdependencies that make countries and regions more inclined to support China's global ambitions'. Two of Namibia's most productive mines for radioactive elements are majority-owned by Chinese companies. India has taken a vastly more expansive and humanitarian view of its engagement with Africa. As early as 2018, Prime Minister Modi had articulated the manner in which India views this relationship: 'India's priority is not just Africa; India's priority is Africans – every man, woman and child in Africa. Our partnership with Africa is beyond strategic concerns and economic benefits. It is based on the emotional bonds we share and the solidarity we feel.' The African Union became a permanent member of G20 under India's presidency. Over the decades, India has given ideological support to Africa via NAM, and contributed to capacity building via ITEC. It has established defence cooperation via the Africa-India field training exercise (AF-INDEX), in which Namibia also participated, the India-Africa defence dialogue in 2022, and the SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the [Indian Ocean] Region – initiative. (The writer is a Master's student of International Relations at South Asian University and a summer intern at The Indian Express.)
