Climate change and nuclear conflict between India, Pakistan are real dangers. They need to be addressed

The trigger for a major conflict lies clearly in Pakistan, and this should be made clear to them through diplomatic channels. Meanwhile, our own hyper-triumphalism should not propel us in a direction that would directly lead to a conflict.

Since the recent dramatic changes in Jammu & Kashmir, Imran Khan has in every speech ended up by more or less threatening a nuclear war. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)

When I meet any of my six grandchildren, I often wonder what India will be like when they reach my age, which will be around the end of the century. I’m sure they will have been tremendous progress in many fields, but there are two areas that I find particularly worrying. The first is the continuing environmental degradation and global warming, which are creating serious problems. The air we breathe and the waters of our rivers have become highly polluted and unless this trend is reversed, we will face serious and widespread health problems in the years and decades to come. Climate change, in fact, is now one of the most serious challenges facing the human race, impacting as it does the entire world without exception, and it can only be tackled on a global basis. It is nothing short of tragic that the world’s most powerful country has pulled out of the painstakingly crafted Paris agreement