By narrowing the space for dissent and dichotomizing values, the ruling Awami League has effectively defanged the opposition, media as well as ordinary people writes Rishija Singh for South Asia Monitor
The growing role of middle powers adds another layer of complexity. Yet the term itself remains imprecise. Not every country outside the United States and China qualifies as a middle power, and many reject the label altogether. India, for example, increasingly sees itself as a leading power pursuing strategic autonomy rather than as a middle power seeking alignment with one bloc or another.
If India and Japan genuinely envision Northeast India as the gateway connecting South Asia with the Bay of Bengal and the Indo-Pacific, then the next chapter of the partnership cannot remain confined to New Delhi and Tokyo. It must also be written in Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Imphal, Agartala, Kohima, Gangtok and Itanagar
In several neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, China has demonstrated an ability to move from agreements to implementation far more rapidly than many competitors. India, despite enjoying unmatched geographic and cultural advantages, has often struggled with delays
The echoes of 1971 are not proof that Balochistan will become another Bangladesh. They are proof that Pakistan has yet to learn what East Pakistan was trying to tell it in the first place: that a state cannot indefinitely draw wealth from a people it refuses to hear.
By narrowing the space for dissent and dichotomizing values, the ruling Awami League has effectively defanged the opposition, media as well as ordinary people writes Rishija Singh for South Asia Monitor
The warmongering narrative, primarily driven by the ruling party and the media at large, may fetch some electoral gains to the BJP but it has proved to be welcome fodder for the Army in Pakistan as it tries to reinvent itself to remain relevant, writes Mayank Mishra for South Asia Monitor
As those who follow the India-Pakistan dynamic would know, there are two aspects to this relationship, often diametrically at odds with each other. A neutral observer would not know where the truth lies - perhaps, in between
Some foreign policy analysts from Southeast Asia have questioned the lack of performance by India, hinting at a subtle resistance to the concept of “Indo-Pacific” as a replacement to the old “Asia-Pacific,” writes Tunchinmang Langel for South Asia Monitor
Given their situation, the only reason most Afghan refugees are staying on in India is to get a chance to go to any European country, writes Khatima Emami for South Asia Monitor
In a tumultuous fortnight, during which many an illusion was shattered at the turn of the year, some home truths emerged in the chronically accident-prone ties between India and Pakistan