The ambitious provisions of fundamental rights mentioned in Nepal’s Constitution would lose its charm if the state turns a deaf ear in giving effect to its provisions in a true and material sense, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh's 'Red Telephone' Breach: More to it Than Meets the Eye?
More importantly, the alleged sabotage occurred during a period of political transition following the developments of August 2024. Institutional loyalties, political rivalries, and competing networks of influence continue to shape Bangladesh's political landscape. In such a context, any breach involving the Prime Minister's secure communications infrastructure deserves careful examination.
Between the Melody Moment and the Hard Work Ahead: Modi's Europe Tour Outcome Will Depend on Delivery in Coming Years
India's MSME sector, the backbone of its export economy, remains largely unequipped to navigate European standards and certification requirements. As ABC Live noted, the next stage will be tougher than negotiation: India must now prove that its exporters, MSMEs, regulators, ports, testing labs, and state governments can actually use the agreement. A framework signed in Gothenburg means nothing to a textile exporter in Tiruppur who cannot get a product certified to EU standards.
Why India and Pakistan Must Move From Rivalry to Responsibility: In Fragmenting Global Order, South Asia Cannot Afford Internal Paralysis
The central lesson is simple: unresolved India-Pakistan hostility weakens South Asia from within. It prevents trade, blocks institutions, raises nuclear risk, politicizes water, militarizes borders, and diverts attention from human development. Both countries will continue to disagree on major issues. But disagreement does not require permanent hostility. Strategic maturity means building rules to manage conflict before conflict manages the region.
The Race for Strategic Minerals: South Asia's Geopolitical Moment
The Quad's Critical Minerals Initiative provides an important platform for achieving these objectives. Through coordinated investments, technology sharing and supply-chain diversification, the initiative seeks to create resilient and transparent mineral supply networks. Australia contributes abundant mineral reserves, Japan offers advanced processing technologies, the United States brings investment and innovation capabilities, while India provides a rapidly expanding market and growing manufacturing base.
More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs
India’s onion export ban leaves South Asia teary-eyed
Onions may just be a singular example but if unwritten undertakings are violated, the saga of bans exemplify a larger story of how a trust deficit ensures that trade within South Asia remains perhaps the lowest in the world, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
In a policy shift, Maldives aligns with Indo-US strategy in Indian Ocean
The new defence agreement is a clear shift in the Maldives position towards the US after a period when the government in Male forged close economic and political ties with Beijing, writes Shubha Singh for South Asia Monitor
Time to boost connectivity in South Asia: India-Sri Lanka model can be replicated
The progress of India’s air bubble agreements with neighbouring South Asian countries bears watching in the period ahead, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan: The cost of being Shia
Though, the Pakistan government does not officially support discrimination against Shias, it is failing to efficiently counter the influence of extremists and bring an end to violence against the community, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
Kra Canal project cancellation will upset Beijing’s plans in IOR
Had the Kra Canal come up, China would have taken control of it in all probability like the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka giving it a tremendous strategic advantage, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
New education policy will make India global education destination; will attract students from South Asia
With the setting up of world-class education at low cost India will begin to attract students from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka for whom it is the first choice of destination when it comes to studying abroad, writes Dr. Sheenu Jain for South Asia Monitor
Rafale induction and the make-believe brigade: India should focus on hard techno-military realities
The Ambala media extravaganza ought to encourage an internal review by the Modi government about strategic communication and related signalling in matters military. Carry a big stick but talk softly is an adage that has not lost its relevance, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
US-India-Sri Lanka triad will be beneficial for IOR and Indo-Pacific
Trade instruments like the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade (ISFTA) agreements are some of the gainful tools with which the US can use to access South Asia’s consumer markets, write Srimal Fernando and Vedangshi Roy Choudhuri for South Asia Monitor
Child marriages go up in Bangladesh during COVID-19: Need to strike at root causes
It is high time that the child marriage rate - gone up during the pandemic - should be brought down drastically and for this, the Bangladesh government, NGOs, and society at large should work together to put an end to this menace, writes Sarmin Akter for South Asia Monitor
Nepal-India cultural and social ties hit hard by border sealing
Cross border marriage, i.e., matrimony between Nepali son/daughter and India’s son/daughter, is very common in bordering districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is the reason why Nepal's Madheshis treat Indian soil as their relatives’ home, not a foreign land, write Jivesh Jha & Roshan Kumar Jha for South Asia Monitor
It's going to be a long eyeball-to-eyeball standoff with China: But India is well prepared
The Chinese had realised that not only were they outnumbered but totally outflanked, making their position untenable. Any armed clash hereafter would have been suicidal, writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor
China’s nationalism and global aspirations: India can turn a challenge into an opportunity
India has tremendous goodwill and support from the international community which will influence Chinese future manoeuvres against India, writes Lt Gen PR Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The Congress rebellion that never was: India's political parties lack internal democracy
Though the party crisis seems to have blown over, for the time being, the future of the Congress does not appear to be bright. And it has nothing to do with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
Ironing out the bumps in India-Bangladesh ties
India-Bangladesh relations have grown deeper and wider in scope in the past decade. But irritants and hitches can develop between neighbours with even the best of ties, writes Shubha Singh for South Asia Monitor
