Though expected, but until the attack began on February 28, the sentiment at FORCE was that the US wouldn’t commit the hara-kiri of starting a war with Iran. The issue wasn’t merely about the difficulty of defeating Iran, but about putting the entire West Asian region in the spiral of uncertainty and instability.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war of annihilation in Gaza two years back, West Asia has been restive—the public sentiment has unanimously been with the Palestinians, even as the regimes stood with the US-Israel combine. In this backdrop, it made no sense to disturb the delicate balance with which the worried rulers of the Gulf Cooperation Council were holding their countries together by outsourcing sympathy for Palestinians to the common people.

But sense obviously played no role in the decisions made by US President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu—former’s hubris and latter’s vile opportunism did. And the world is now in the midst of a war which may spiral out of West Asia, engulfing the larger Eurasian region. Hope, sense finally triumphs over arrogance and vileness. But until then, may victory be on the side of justice.

Since, FORCE was not expecting the war to break out, the cover story ensemble for March was on the internal security situation in India’s Northeast. There were multiple reasons for that. Lifting of the President’s Rule in Manipur and installation of the state government, immediate issuance of a death threat to one the Kuki deputy chief ministers, reports of India’s ‘purported’ drone attacks inside Myanmar, growing resentment among the locals against the banning of Free Movement Regime with Myanmar and the deliberate communal politics in the border state of Assam. In addition to this was government of India’s slumberous, but myopic, approach towards the region, which instead of tempering down the discontent was keeping it on a slow burn.

But with the war in West Asia, the cover story had to change. While some part of the Northeast story appears here as a special report, another part will appear in the April issue. In this issue, the focus is on the Iran-US war prompted by Israel, its impact on the region and on India’s position in both BRICS and SCO, of which Iran is a member too. SCO members, with the exception of India, have expressed ‘grave concern over the armed attack on Iran’ and have emphasized ‘the need to ensure the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran.’ They have also expressed ‘deep condolences to the families of the victims of this attack and stand in solidarity with the government and people of Iran.’

India, on the other hand, has expressed solidarity with Israel and other Gulf states who are currently facing the brunt of Iranian missiles. Hence, it’s not just the future of West Asia which is set to change, but India’s position in Global South will change too. FORCE will continue to focus on these issues in the coming months. May the Spring bring good tidings!