It was interesting to observe how focused party representatives and voters in this small northeastern state bordering Bangladesh were on basic development issues; and how vocal voters are in seeking their basic rights at the local level, perhaps showing what genuine grassroots democracy should reflect.
Interestingly, strategies employed during the Covid pandemic are being replicated. Much like the Cowin app was used to track and monitor Covid vaccinations, the Indian government plans an app to monitor every eligible child to ensure that they are up to date with their vaccination schedules
It remains unclear why no leader from India’s closest neighbour Bangladesh has ever been a chief guest at the Republic Day parade, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
The government’s vaccination outreach to remote border areas, in Kashmir and the Northeast, and the local people's smiling embrace of these efforts was an indication of their comfort level and confidence in the Indian system, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
Hasina's government has also been very distressed with provisions in the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act, which singles out Bangladesh, along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, as nations which persecute their minorities, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
It is interesting that India opted not to be part of an international chorus of protests against the Turkish president’s decision to revert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque, a decision which not just hits at the foundation of the modern Turkish state, envisioned in the early 20th century by Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern…
With India–China military tensions already high in parts of eastern Ladakh, the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam will add to new security challenges for India, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
There is growing realization within the government and diplomatic community that India stands to lose a great deal in allowing Islamophobia to spread within India and among Indians abroad and some nimble diplomacy is required to change perceptions, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
The Indian government’s decision to pass and enact, in December 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act, naming Bangladesh as a country where minorities are persecuted, had an extremely negative fallout in that country, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
As India continues to script a new foreign policy path, skirting unprecedented levels of foreign criticism for a series of domestic policies and incidents of violence, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has appointed a new spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava, to take charge as the nodal voice on foreign policy issues from Raveesh Kumar, who…
