Maldives and India flag

Bad news for India from the Maldives: India needs to get neighbourhood act together

As it stands today, Maldives is going to be drawn deeper into China’s strategic sphere. Chinese presence in Maldives is set to increase.

A New Year by any other name: Diversity marks South Asian cultural identity

Designating it as a ‘Hindu’ New Year appears to be part of an ongoing attempt to homogenise our diversity and multiple, multicultural identities. 

A security crisis looms in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts: Need for coordinated regional action

It is critical to formulate a comprehensive strategy that involves both Bangladesh and India to counteract the potential threats posed by external actors in the CHT. This strategy should take into account the historical grievances and aspirations of the ethnic communities

The subcontinental dilemma: Should petty politics trump business pragmatism in South Asia?

After all, If India can do more than $100 billion worth of business with China, with which it is now involved in a far more complex border dispute and naval rivalry, then we can at least do business with our next-door neighbours and let consumers have a greater choice.

More on Spotlight

2022 floods in Pakistan: Violence and vulnerabilities of women increase during climate disasters

Climate crisis is a lesser word to describe the transformative shifts that are taking place in weather conditions across the Global South affecting mostly countries like Pakistan in South Asia. Attitudes of society need to change towards women. Societal attitudes, traditional norms and cultural practices create entrenched gender disparities that hinder women’s participation in development plans and in survival strategies devised to save them in the post-disaster period.

Modi's state visit to the US: A visit rich in style and substance

From Modi's standpoint, the visit unfolded precisely as he desired. The exceptional reception he received from the leader of the free world, less than a year before facing the billion-strong Indian electorate, serves as a significant boost for him. 

Labor in the Gulf: Unlocked goldmine or a bottomless pit for low-income Nepalese workers?

It is high time the Nepalese government strengthens its diplomatic muscle and stands up strongly for the legal rights of its citizens working overseas.

Manipur: Where ignorance and hatred fed into policy slants

Manipur is burning and the government knows not what to do next. This is a sensitive state in a sensitive region with not very friendly neighbours. The collapse of State machinery here should be a cause for alarm.

Indian Navy conducts twin-carrier exercise in vaunted 'power projection'; but fund scarcity hobbles full combat potential

The June 10 deployment of two carriers by IN  has received favourable notice internationally and  this has added salience on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state  visit to the USA (June 21)  in relation to India’s naval capabilities. 

Modi’s state visit to the US: Its significance for Indo-US ties and global politics

The centerpiece of Modi’s state visit to the US is expected to be a jet engine agreement that can propel Indo-US relations to a new sphere altogether. The application by General Electric to co-produce GE-F414 jet engines in India, along with technology transfer, has already received approval of the Biden administration.

Elite hegemony in Pakistan: Is the nation getting swallowed from within?

Such is the disparity that at a time when Aida Girma-Melaku, Unicef's representative, reported that Pakistan confronts a triple burden of malnutrition affecting young children, adolescents, and pregnant and lactating women, with 40 per cent of children under the age of five being stunted, Pakistan spent $1.2 billion on imports of luxury cars and electric vehicles for its rich and powerful in the last half of 2022.

Operationalisation of Sittwe Port in Myanmar can positively impact regional development: India has great stake in early completion of Kaladan project

For KMMTTP to be a success, locals from both India and Myanmar must be involved as project stakeholders. And India, while economically supporting the project, should also politically back Myanmar's return to democracy.

Gendered impact of natural disasters: Vulnerabilities of women increased in a post-tsunami Sri Lanka

The worst part of the disaster was not only loss of resources like property but the sexual violence the women in Sri Lanka faced. Apart from lack of proper nutrition, hygiene and clean water and health care, what was impossible to handle was sexual violence along with high cases of rape and domestic abuse. 

A Nepali in Pakistan: On a mission to improve healthcare for underserved communities in South Asia

Although not immediate neighbours in the South Asian region, Nepal and Pakistan face similar social issues and have always helped each other in times of need. And yet there are no direct flights between the two countries.

Between flames and the future: Seeking practical and sustainable solutions for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Unfortunately, the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees might not be a feasible option, given the current circumstances. They have already been in the camps since 2017 with little done. The need of the hour is to devise a long-term solution for their integration into the host society, and assimilation seems to be a more sustainable answer than repatriation

EU's growing engagement in South Asia will benefit India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan

In order to provide small company owners and women traders access to the market, South Asian countries should also adopt regional concepts like the border "haat" (informal markets) used at the India-Bangladesh and India-Myanmar border points.

Diplomacy and the global North-South divide: Need to redefine power dynamics in international relations

An alternate strategy for overcoming the North-South divide and altering power dynamics is South-South collaboration. South-South collaboration disproves the idea that knowledge and progress only travel from North to South, giving developing nations the chance to establish their autonomy and create their own narratives.

Climate crises affect women more: Vulnerabilities of Nepalese women increased manifold after 2015 earthquake

According to a UN report, three months after the quake in Nepal at least 245 children had been preyed upon by traffickers and that was just the “tip of a growing iceberg”

With a little help from India, an energy deal will open new avenues in Dhaka-Kathmandu relations

A trilateral energy sales and purchase agreement between Bangladesh, Nepal, and India are required for any Dhaka-Kathmandu power transaction to be implemented because Bangladesh and Nepal do not have a direct land link.