Shringla, who came in from Washington where he served as India’s ambassador, will have his work cut out, writes  Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor 

The strategic gameplan of support to the Rohingya militancy is clearly visible. One, for China, making them into militants can be used to destabilize many countries, including India in South Asia, thus weakening its economic competitors, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor

In South Asia, the issue of marine litter management is not taken as a priority by any of the nations, write Harsh Mahaseth and Shubham Sharma for South Asia Monitor 

Salafist movements, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Jamiat-E Eslah, while opposing Taliban methods, are generally the same, and these movements, consciously or unconsciously, pave the way for Taliban recruitment in Afghanistan, Writes Saleem Payenda for South Asia Monitor

Bangladesh and Maldives, amongst others, are the most afflicted and vulnerable victims of environmental pollution and climate change, Write Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

The nature of protests and participation of people in anti-CAA rallies in Assam indicates that Assam rejects the communal agenda of the current BJP-led government and diversionary tactics of the mainstream media, write Minakshi Bujarbaruah & Rituparna Kaushik Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor

The Taliban has never been happy about Iran’s cultural influence in Afghanistan. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they rejected any cultural links between Iran and Afghanistan and ignored Iran’s interests, writes Zahid Aria for South Asia Monitor

The world must note the significance of the Shaheen Bagh phenomenon, as it highlights the power of Gandhian non-violent and secular protests in the face of the formidable State machinery, writes Brigadier Deepak Sethi (retd) for South Asia Monitor

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar missed an opportunity at the news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the two other participants at last month’s 2+2 strategic dialogue to clearly explain India’s goals behind the CAA in the rare opportunity he got to make the case in public before the US media, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor 

Nearly all the non-BJP state governments have ruled out implementing the two measures, thereby preparing the battlefield for an unprecedented confrontation which will shake up the federal polity, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

The dissent by young India is being cast as a diabolical anti-national act, even while many of the leaders in the BJP led government cut their teeth in politics during their student days, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor 

Can India challenge the sovereignty of other nations and think of living peacefully with them, asks Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor  

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke to Pakistani army chief Qamar J Bajwa on January 3, immediately after Soleimani’s killing, seeking Pakistani support, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

The issue of illegal immigrants, from Bangladesh to be precise, is, therefore, an old wound for the Assamese people. For someone familiar with the geography of the state, the changing demography is hard to miss, writes Azera Parveen Rahman for South Asia Monitor

The 'deep state' and the Imran Khan government should care about the pitiable condition of minorities in their own country instead of worrying about Muslim and Sikh minorities in India, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor