South Asia Monitor, Window to South Asia - events, views, analyses, reports, papers

Afghanistan needs to build national intelligence structure

UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Jan Kubis said that more than 3,092 people in Afghanistan have been killed or wounded so far this year - 24 percent more than the same period in 2012 writes Gaurav Kumar ...

Myanmar's heady transition: Suu Kyi's role being watched

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy political party of Myanmar, was released from house arrest in November 2010 writes Obja Borah Hazarika ...

Afghanistan post 2014: Implications of NATO's new role

A few days before the two coordinated suicide attacks in Kabul on the international airport and the Afghanistan Supreme Court, a crucial NATO defence ministerial meeting took place writes Monish Gulati ...

Nawaz Sharif: Battling the dem...

The US drone strike on May 29 was the first inside Pakistan since April 17 this year and the firs...

India-Japan relationship rece...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Japan (May 27-29) may yet prove to be the mos...

Bhutan elections– participator...

The primary phase of the elections to the National Assembly (Lower House) in Bhutan concluded suc...

US flight from Afghanistan: Wh...

President Barack Obama's landmark speech on May 23 is seen as a reflection of his deep reserv...

Regional Focus

Talking to Kerry Aides briefing United States Secretary of State John Kerry on his visit to India must show him a news report in this ...

Bilateral Issues

The Forthcoming Anarchy Diluting the 13th Amendment In 1987 India and Sri Lanka signed a treaty titled ‘Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement to Establish Peace and Normalcy in...

News Highlights

India working for all communities to find place in Sri Lanka: PM Author Name Chennai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that India was working towards finding the rightful place for all com...

Kaleidescope

Too many South Asian heritage events dilutes its impact Author Name There are a lot of people out there who believe that there are way too many celebrations that showcase South Asian he...

Country Voices

Afghanistan

2014 and Afghan Optimism

There may be many frightening factors in one’s life but worrying about it and feeling disappointed has never solved any problem. The news of withdrawal of International ...

Pakistan

Foreign policy challenges

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's move reflects his interest in getting Pakistan’s foreign relations right and signals this intent to the implementers of the county&rsqu...

Nepal

Eyes on the prize

The Pipariya raid into the Dalit hamlet in Rautahat district by caste Hindus has come as a slap to the murmurings of unification among the Madhesi parties for the upcoming Constituent Assembly (...

Bangladesh

Birth of Bangladesh and after

When revolutions are in quest of freedom and justice even after four decades of the happening, this means that they have gone awry. If hartals and demonstrations are staged wi...

Sri Lanka

SL needs a constitution of modern democratic principles

United National Party (UNP) MP for the Kandy district Lakshman Kiriella in an interview with Daily Mirror’s Kelum Bandara

India

Chhattisgarh Maoist Killings - Challenge has to be met

In the stepped-up operations after the May 25 Jeeraghati ambush, the Maoists’ have again instilled ‘the fear of god’ in the security forces writes Lt. Col (Rtd) Sam Sha...

Maldives

Islam Being Used As A Political Tool In Presidential Elections?

It is very unfortunate that almost all the political parties except the MDP are using religion as a political tool to keep former president Nasheed from winning the presidenti...

Bhutan

The Bhutanese model: Baby steps towards democracy

The 2013 general elections laid another milestone writes Ipsita Durah.

Contributing Articles to South Asia Monitor

Asia Focus

Myanmar-Bangladesh-India gas pipeline

Indian commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma recently led a delegation to Myanmar to revive the Myanmar-India gas pipeline project. According to the Times of India (June 7), he discussed the possibility of setting up the pipeline along a land route, bypassing Bangladesh, to benefit the underdeveloped regions...

Open Forum

The ‘Karmayogi’ for whom time was always short: Tribute to B. Raman

On 30th May, 2013, B Raman tweeted, “Hanumanji willing, shd be back home coming Saturday.” Instead, he left for his heavenly abode, yesterday 16th June, 2013 in the evening.

Events

U.S.- China- India relations, emerging critical triangle: relevance for the EU

Cmdr Bhaskar, a leading strategic affairs expert and Distinguished fellow with the Society for Policy Studies, will deliver a talk on US-China-India relations at INCIPE, Madrid, Spain, on 27 June at 09.30 Hrs. For additional information and invitations, please contact cmadrid@casasia.es

Economy

Poppy Cultivation and Saffron as Substitute

Afghanistan would face myriads of challenges after the withdrawal of international troops. One of the basic challenges would be the economic challenge. There would be decrease in the amount of the support that Afghanistan is getting today; therefore, it would have to rely on its own capacities to develop its eco...

Books

Dealing with the World

Book: India's Foreign Policy: A Reader; Edited: Kanti P. Bajpai and Harsh V.Pant Critical Issues in Indian Politics Series; Publisher: OUP Price: Rs 1095; Pages: 464

The history of Bhutan

Such a massive tome (663 pages) on a country that calls itself India’s only permanent friend in South Asia demands serious attention. Bhutanese scholarship is so rare and scholarship on Bhutan has been so scanty since M...

Across the Himalayan Gap – A Chinese Quest for Understanding India...

India and China have shared historical ties and, as immediate neighbours, have seen many ups and downs in their relations. As a result, bilateral ties between the two countries...

Sudeep Sen to address Nobel Laureate Week

Delhi-based poet Sudeep Sen has been invited to address the Nobel Laureate Week being held in Saint Lucia, a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea, in January. Mr. Sen is the first Indian, and the only one thu...

Fountainhead of Jihad

Book: Fountainhead of Jihad Author: Vahid Brown and Don Rassler Publisher: Hachette India Price: Rs 650

Imperialists, Nationalists, Democrats: The Collected Essays...

'Imperialists, Nationalists, Democrats: The Collected Essays of Sarvepalli Gopal' edited by Srinath Raghavan. Permanent Black, 444 pages, Rs 895....

Samudra Manthan: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific...

Samudra Manthan: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific Author: C. Raja Mohan Publisher: OUP Price: Rs 895 Pages: 329

Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom

Author: Raghu Rai Publisher: Niyogi Books Price: Rs 1495 Pages: 115

'False Sanctuaries': Rekindling hope for dark subcontinent...

BOOK: "False Sanctuaries: Stories from the Troubled Territories of South Asia", AUTHOR: Meenakshi Iyer; PUBLISHER: Bibliophile South Asia (Promila & Co.); PAGES: 282;

When the Great Game Dawned

Like so much else in India’s recent past, the First Afghan War (1839-42) means little to India’s elites. But the military history of the British Raj has been a specially neglected domain. With their many other preoccupations, India&...

Untold stories, unseen war

Journalist-author Frances Harrison tells ANJANA RAJAN her book on the human suffering engendered by Sri Lanka’s “hidden war” is written with the belief that if people know, they will care

La Nueva India" ( The New India)

"La Nueva India" ( The New India) is the first Latin American book on the rising of India in the twenty first century in the Spanish language. It was launched on December 4 at Santiago, Chile.

The Magic of Bollywood: At Home and Abroad

After Joseph S Nye coined the term “Soft Power” (culture, language etc), it became a fad and, for some, an academic necessity to use it to discuss notions of ‘power’ in international politics. Though accepted, still unmo...

Pakistan: The Garrison State Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947–2011)...

This study seeks to solve the following puzzle: In 1947, the Pakistan military was poorly trained and poorly armed. It also inherited highly vulnerable territory vis-à-vis the much bigger India, aggravated because of serious disputes wit...

Book Review– Persian Gulf– 2012: India’s relations with the region...

Author / Editor: P R Kumaraswamy Middle East Institute at New Delhi, 2012 Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon for MEI@ND, September 2012

Ramkinkar’s People Live Again

Book: Ramkinkar: The Man and the Artist Author: A. Ramachandran Publisher: NGMA Pages: 168 + plates

India's liberalisation through middle class eyes

The middle class will decide the course of liberalisation in India which will become more micro-level in search of solutions to problems, says writer and journalist Hindol Sengupta in his new book, "The Liberals".

'Afghanistan's future lies in strengthening democracy, checking corruption'...

The future of Afghanistan depends upon how it strengthens its fledgling democratic institutions and arrests corruption, says Sujeet Sarkar, the author of a new book on the war-ravaged country.

Consumers and Economic Cooperation: Cost of Economic Non-cooperation to Consumers in South Asia...

Author(s): Bipul Chatterjee and Joseph George Publisher: CUTS International

Religious Movements, Militancy, and Conflict in South Asia: Cases from India, Pakistan, and Afghanis...

Author(s): Robert D. Lamb, Liora Danan, Joy Aoun, Sadika Hameed, Kathryn Mixon, and Denise St. Peter Publisher :Center for Strategic and International Studies ISBN 978-0-89206-738-1 (pb)

Afghanistan in Transition Beyond 2014?

Book: Afghanistan in Transition Beyond 2014? Author: Shanthie Mariet D`Souza (Ed.) Pages: 264 Price : Rs. 795 Publisher: Pentagon

A candid post-mortem of the LTTE (Book Review)

Book: The Prabhakaran Saga Author: S. Murari Publisher: Sage Publishers Pages: 362 Price: Rs.425

India’s Neighbourhood: Challenges in the Next Two Decades...

Authors: Rumel Dahiya and Ashok K. Behuria 2012

Mujib, in his own words

Book: The Unfinished Memoirs Author: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Translated by Dr Fakrul Alam with a preface by Sheikh Hasina) Publisher: Penguin Viking Pages: 323 Price: Rs 699

The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed- Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British R...

The book is a chronological account of the partiation of Punjab Province of British India

Nepal in Transition: From People’s War to Fragile Peace...

Book: Nepal in Transition: From People’s War to Fragile Peace Author: Edited by Sebastian von Einsiedel, David M. Malone and Suman Pradhan Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pages: 398...

The Taliban Cricket Club

Book: The Taliban Cricket Club Author: Timeri N. Murari Publisher: Aleph Pages: 325 Price: Rs 595

Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads

Burma has been ruled by a succession of military regimes which rank among the most oppressive dictatorships in the world.

'Nehru's foreign policy needs to be revisited'

In these turbulent times, Jawaharlal Nehru's policies of non-alignment and mixed economy need to be revisited, says P.C. Jain, author of a book on India's foreign policy during the first prime minister's tenure.

THE PAKISTAN CAULDRON: CONSPIRACY, ASSASSINATION & INSTABILITY...

The killing of Osama bin Laden spotlighted Pakistan's unpredictable political dynamics, which are often driven by conspiracy theory, paranoia, and a sense of betrayal. In Pakistan, the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto famously declared, t...

Three publishing vets push English literary fiction in subcontinent...

The growing English language publishing industry in India has taken a step north with three veteran publishers - David Davidar, Ravi Singh and Kapish G. Mehra - joining ranks to push high-end literary fiction from the subcont...

No reunion, but union possible in subcontinent: Pakistani writer...

The subcontinent can become a paradise in the region by retaining cultural, social and political identities of countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, says former Pakistani Army officer, journalist, writer and commentator Abdul Rahman Si...

Video Gallery

	Inside Story - Why is the world ignoring Myanmar's Rohingya?
	SAARC: Looking Beyond Prophecies of Doom
	U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue 2012