Terrorist violence in Pakistan mosque

Mounting Instability in Pakistan: Consequences for Regional Security

India must also recognise that Pakistan's internal security crisis has wider regional implications. Escalating Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions could create additional uncertainty along the western frontier, while attacks on Chinese projects could affect regional connectivity and investment.

Indian Artillery: Speed of Acquisition Is as Important for Readiness as Technology

India has demonstrated that it can develop and manufacture modern artillery systems. What needs reassessment is how quickly we acquire, integrate and field them, and how effectively we ensure that new technologies communicate and operate together.

Why Dhaka and Delhi Must Find Common Ground - and Their Shared Space

If India says the security of its Northeast, border management, trade and connectivity matter, Bangladesh can equally say that water sharing, deaths at the border, market access, energy security, river management and sovereign equality matter to it. 

PLA’s Partial Pullbacks from Ladakh Frontier: More Tactical Than Operational Move by China

The Indian military views no disengagement in Arunachal Pradesh as part of a wider strategic recalibration, prompting India to match Chinese force rebalancing by shifting strike corps and resources equally across both northern and eastern fronts.

More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs

South Asian countries need to strengthen regional cooperation in food security, agriculture systems

COVID-19 has brought into focus supply chain issues and with it a fundamental change in the way food availability and access is viewed, one that goes beyond the conventional focus on weather, area, production, and yield (APY) paradigm of crops, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor

Rising xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe: Lessons for a secular India

These are challenging times with rising majoritarianism and nationalism and, with a large Muslim population, India must watch events in Europe closely, and ensure its secular fabric remains intact, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor  

India should consider a surgical strike rerun as Pakistan continues to violate ceasefire

The number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan troops from January till November along the J & K border has broken all records of the past 17 years, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Extrajudicial killings needs to stop in Bangladesh; authorities must ensure accountability

The police in Bangladesh have taken the role of judge, jury, and executioner, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor

Pakistan’s Umerkot: A neglected city with a historic past and an exemplar in communal harmony

People in Umerkot live in communal harmony. While the Hindus arrange Iftari in the month of Ramazan and Niaz in the month of Muharram, the Muslims come forward to attend Hindu festivals, thus sending a message of love, peace, and harmony, writes Furqan Hyder Shaikh for South Asia Monitor

Trump's decision to cut troops in Afghanistan gives Pakistan the upper hand

As the patron of the Taliban,  Pakistan will wield more direct influence over Afghanistan as Washington winds down its involvement, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor 

India needs to address challenges in education as a national imperative

India faces a grave challenge that has been accentuated by the pandemic. The crisis needs to be seen as a national imperative and addressed through a collective stakeholder approach with a sense of extreme urgency, writes Amit Dasgupta for South Asia Monitor

Islamists pose a challenge to Bangladesh's secularism

Conceding to the Islamist demand for stopping the installation of the Mujib statue at Dholaipar will be a huge political defeat for the Awami League, especially during the birth centenary of the founding father and a year before the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's independence, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor

Can India be a silent bystander as RCEP shapes future of Asia?

On the face of it, exiting RCEP definitely represents a setback to India’s economic ambitions of engaging with the Indo-Pacific, including attracting supply chains away from China, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

Is it all lost for India’s Congress party?

There is little doubt that the Congress will have to pay a heavy price for its blunder in Bihar, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

Will China have its way in Ladakh de-escalation?

By not accusing China of intrusions and putting the onus for talks on the army, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is the special representative for border talks, are shirking their responsibilities. This could be by design to blame the army for any territorial compromise forced by the government, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

France learns the bitter truth about Islamic fundamentalism; need for concerted global action

EU is now acknowledging what India, through its counter-terrorism dialogues with the West, had been warning for years, that Islamic fundamentalist networks and sleeper cells are active across the EU, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor 

Revisiting history: Pakistan's insidious resurrection of Junagadh issue

Today, there is nothing in Junagadh and its recent history to indicate the one-time, albeit brief, aspirations of its ambitious and misguided erstwhile Nawab to accede to Pakistan, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor 

Inland water transportation: Can Sahibganj become the Rotterdam of South Asia?

Interestingly, the current focus on encouraging inland water transportation along the Ganges and Brahmaputra only reactivates defunct commercial arteries of yesteryear when inland waterways linked Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

In Bangladesh, religion becomes a weapon when cultural norms fail

Bangladesh has witnessed many instances of mass lynchings, which is a major cause for concern as it looks that respect for rule of law has vanished, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor