But it may be the smaller South Asian states that feel the most pressure. Countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives are faced with a more polarised geopolitical environment. They want Chinese investment to boost development and keep close diplomatic and security ties with India and western partners.
A big development happened in 2025. Nepal started exporting electricity to Bangladesh through India's transmission network. This was the first time Nepalese hydropower was commercially transmitted to Bangladesh via Indian territory. The initial export volume was 40 megawatts. The significance of the agreement is much bigger. It showed that regional energy cooperation can overcome political barriers.
In the effort to combat this multi-dimensional challenge, democratic states are faced with deep policy constraints, many of which can be paralyzing. The fundamental paradox is how to maintain the open, democratic character of the digital commons while at the same time countering more advanced opponents who are not held back by democratic principles. Disseminating disinformation is a tactic governments use to influence public opinion that has the potential to conflict with the strong constitutional freedoms of expression that exist in liberal democracies.
The rising significance of the Bay links closely to the growing Indo-Pacific concept. As the economic and strategic focus shifts toward Asia, major powers like the United States, China, India, Japan, Australia, and the European Union are paying more attention to maritime corridors connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The Wickremesinghe government argues that sustained protests undermine the rule of law and create an anarchical situation in the country. Using these justifications, the government has been continuing its brutal and often violent repression in order to remain in power.
The troubled Rakhine region of Myanmar can potentially become a trade hub between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
If we keep our noses clean it will help us to remain healthy and happy!
The pre-conditions for the wishes on the eve of 2023 for peace and harmony to be realized is that the battle for the future has to be fought and won in the minds and hearts of the people.
This sorry situation in Indian engineering education is not the students' fault, but a skewed and faulty education system that focuses only on the numbers.
We had been a society where a joint celebration of festivals was part of our common culture. Now things have come to such a pass that provocative actions are planned to ensure a divisive trajectory in society.
The present edition of Freedom at Midnight is in its 36th edition since 1975.
His creativity included Aman Ki Asha, the ‘hope for peace’ project between Pakistan and India for which he penned the groundbreaking joint editorial, as well as other projects for education and rational thinking.
Until Pakistan apologizes for the genocide of 1971, it will remain a disgraced nation in the annals of human civilization.
Another important aspect of the Constitution is the protection of minorities. There are abundant safeguards to protect minorities against the arbitrary use of power by the majority. As Dr. Ambedkar said, "The majority has a duty toward minorities, as the latter have chosen to be under majority rule".
The message being sent out is ominous: What kind of society do we wish to create where, if victims and their families belong to a certain religion or class, they must be prepared to live with the perpetrators of crimes against them roaming free?
The inclusion of women in disaster planning must be strongly advocated. Doing so would not only aid in effective disaster risk governance but also strengthen the resilience of all the members of a community by addressing gender-specific needs.
Yet, many of the advocates of free speech and unhindered competition and zero controls fail to see that the enterprises themselves are anything but places where free speech is tolerated, let alone encouraged.
What is needed is to combat the ‘love jihad’ propaganda, which is being done with unimaginable intensity and is vitiating social peace. The need for national ‘help lines’ and support systems for such isolated girls in painful relationships is the need for the hour.
Carbon-neutral university campuses would not only be inspiring to government and businesses but also a pressure point for climate negotiators who are endlessly compromising the text of the climate agreement resulting in diluting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
