Bangladesh is almost entirely surrounded by India, with Myanmar forming a smaller eastern frontier. India remains the dominant regional power and Bangladesh’s most consequential neighbor in economic, cultural, and security terms. Any American strategy in Bangladesh that ignores India is inherently flawed. Aligning regionally with Pakistan—a country with which Bangladesh shares a traumatic history—offers Washington no meaningful strategic advantage in Dhaka.
Despite expectations that the JVP would move in a pro-Chinese direction after coming to power, not shown such moves so far. Instead, there has been moderation. China’s wolf-warrior moves of the Rajapaksa era also seem to have faced setbacks. Meanwhile, global politics is shifting, with regional hegemony once again becoming visible. In this context, will the JVP attempt to sever India’s long-standing engagement with Sri Lankan Tamils?
As the World Bank notes, isolated national actions are insufficient when pollution itself ignores borders. India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan share the same airshed. Without cooperation, each country keeps breathing its neighbour’s mistakes. “As the government representing the largest population affected by air pollution, India should lead this effort. Instead, the region has drifted away from cooperation, and the cost has been catastrophic,” Dr Subedee said.
This is certainly not a call to romanticise sport or overstate its diplomatic capacity. Neither did cricket ever resolve South Asia’s conflicts. But it softened their edges. It reminded the public that despite borders and disputes there existed a cultural language. The erosion of that language should now concern the whole of South Asia. Because when even the simplest forms of cultural exchange become difficult, rebuilding trust happens to be infinitely harder.
While carbon taxes are a key instrument in the climate policy toolkit, their limitations in the face of inelastic demand and global regulatory fragmentation suggest that complementary measures are essential. Subsidies for clean energy and research offer substantial emissions reductions while encouraging innovation and preserving economic competitiveness.
Cricket—especially the IPL—is a multi-billion-rupee industry. In 2023 alone, IPL revenue touched Rs.11,770 crores, with the BCCI posting a surplus of Rs.5,120 crores. Over three years, its cumulative profits crossed ₹15,000 crores. And yet, the world’s richest sports body pays no tax—shielded by a “charitable” status. In stark contrast, research labs and educational institutions are taxed.
India’s Pakistan Conundrum is a comprehensive and somewhat concrete account of the dynamics of the power and politics in Pakistan. Though one can differ with various minor details, one must remember that the author is a diplomat, a civil servant from India, so the burden of resolving theoretical riddles is not his to carry. However, what he must be applauded for is acknowledging Pakistan's problems
The twin crises of South Asia and the Middle East in 2025 reflect a dangerous transformation of global order from a managed, rules-based system to an increasingly fragmented and militarized world. The absence of consistent international norms, selective diplomacy, and double standards by great powers are undermining peace efforts and pushing humanity closer to irreversible confrontation.
But this declaration will never be signed. The actual G7 communiqué will likely promise "managed decline" disguised as "leadership"—words drafted in servitude to the oil beneath Alberta’s soil, not in the spirit of its majestic mountains.
The Middle East’s volatility is not an outlier—it’s a feature of the emerging global order. India’s challenge is to anticipate these tectonic shifts and act with strategic foresight, not just tactical response. Energy security, export competitiveness, and supply chain resilience must now be treated as interlinked pillars of national power. Failing to adapt could make India a casualty of distant wars.
The absence of any form of engagement with Pakistan other than military has narrowed India’s options substantially. As a sovereign state, Pakistan cannot be seen to nor will it bow to coercive tactics. The current Indian establishment’s perennially punitive approach to Pakistan and efforts to humiliate it as an object of domestic ridicule has not yielded any dividends.
For India, this summit offers a dual opportunity. First, to shape a more inclusive multilateralism; one that amplifies the Global South’s priorities on energy, security, and digital equity. Second, to rebuild strained ties with Canada, a relationship marred by recent tensions but too strategically important to neglect.
So if another terror attack happens, will India launch another deep-strike operation with all the attendant risks of escalation? And how long can the tit-for-tat actions continue with the loss of soldiers and civilian lives and homes and attendant costs of military armoury and infrastructure destruction at a time when economic growth and dwindling jobs need all the attention?
The broader picture is clear: drones have dramatically shifted the cost calculus of modern warfare. As analysts have noted, $10,000 drones are now routinely met with $2 million missiles. Only a country capable of producing its own unmanned systems, and adjusting its tactics in real time, can maintain strategic credibility under such conditions.
Bangladesh’s 2024 crisis has significantly strained civil-military relations. The military’s instrumental role in ousting Hasina and installing the interim government has amplified concerns of a deepening praetorian drift. As Yunus’s control weakens amid economic turmoil, law-and-order issues, and geopolitical friction, the military appears increasingly assertive—opposing civilian initiatives and resisting reforms.
The recent clash between Pakistan and India after the Pahalgam attack on April 22 has created concerns in Kabul over Afghanistan’s trade flow. Abdul Latif Nazari, a Taliban deputy minister of economy, emphasized, “Tensions in India-Pakistan relations negatively impact Afghanistan’s economic situation".
The climate crisis isn’t waiting. In South Asia, it’s already arrived — in the form of droughts, deadly heat waves, and flash floods. These are not future risks. They’re happening now. And for communities facing those impacts, a corporation’s sustainability page doesn’t count for much. This region deserves better than slogans. It deserves action that doesn’t just sound good but does good — for the air, for the water, and for the people whose lives are tied to both.
One high-profile case involving a Bangladeshi actress made this painfully clear. When private videos of her were leaked by a former fiance, the fallout was swift—but not for the man who betrayed her. The scrutiny, the mockery, the moral judgment—it all landed squarely on her shoulders. The technology was modern; the public reaction was anything but.
Indian media’s portrayal of Bangladesh as sliding into extremism also threatens to derail valuable regional cooperation initiatives. South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world, despite shared histories and cultural ties. Any attempt to isolate Bangladesh or provoke fear-mongering narratives does not serve the interests of the region’s people. India and Bangladesh have enjoyed largely cordial relations in recent years; however such baseless media narratives risk fraying this relationship
