The question India needs to answer is not whether to side with Washington or Tehran. That framing is itself a trap. The question is whether India has the political will to build the energy independence, the institutional credibility, and the diplomatic infrastructure that would make such a choice genuinely unnecessary.
Deforestation in Pakistan is a pressing issue with serious implications for wildlife and ecological balance. Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and ecosystem disruption are already evident, and the situation will worsen without decisive action. While initiatives like large-scale tree planting are a step in the right direction, they must be complemented by strong policies, effective enforcement, and community involvement.
South Asian states prioritise partners who can deliver immediately in times of economic and political uncertainty. Despite expanding economic ties with China, they continue to turn to India for vital supplies like diesel, LPG and crude oil. This is not only about proximity but rather reflects a level of trust built through repeated experience. China, in response to the crisis, chose to restrict exports of refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel to protect its domestic market.
COP30, Viksit Bharat, and SDG 13 cannot be separated into silos of policy. They have to be woven into one coherent climate-development narrative. At COP30, India can exercise credible ambition and obtain enabling mechanisms from international partners. At home, Viksit Bharat has to internalise climate—not as a compulsion, but as the basis for India’s success. SDG 13 is the yardstick by which India’s growth needs to be measured to determine if growth is both sustainable and future-proof.
There is a darker side to AI, it is now seen. Firms have established that AI can manipulate, blackmail and threaten. Findings by Anthropic have revealed that advanced AI systems can resort to blackmailing and threatening human users to achieve assigned goals or ensure their survival. As AI writes better versions of itself and big business powers it to seek new frontiers to occupy, will India re-skill and re-arm to keep its independence or run the risk of becoming a digitised colony?
Bangladesh has previously demonstrated its ability to decisively dismantle militant infrastructures. The question now is whether that momentum can be sustained amid shifting political and regional dynamics. If left unchecked, Islamic State Bengal’s evolving model - family cells, criminal financing, cross-border sanctuaries, and technical bomb-making sophistication - could reintroduce a phase of asymmetric violence not only within Bangladesh but across parts of South Asia.
The killing of Ayatollah Ai Khamenei is not an isolated headline; it is a defining chapter in the evolving story of Middle Eastern and regional geopolitics. It forces a reckoning with questions of power, legality, and consequence. Whether this moment becomes the spark of broader conflict or a catalyst for renewed diplomatic urgency will depend on decisions made now, in Tehran, in Jerusalem, in Washington, and beyond. One era has undeniably ended. What begins next will shape the region for years to come.
Iran’s constitution explicitly anticipates such scenarios. Article 111 provides that if the supreme leader dies or becomes incapacitated, authority transfers immediately to an interim council consisting of the president, the head of the judiciary, and a cleric chosen through the Expediency Council. The aim is continuity, not transformation. While qualifications for the next leader are specified, the constitution leaves room for interpretation rather than imposing a rigid religious pathway.
After Munich, Rubio travelled to Budapest and aligned himself warmly with Orbán’s government, praising Hungary’s trajectory. For European leaders committed to participatory democracy and the rule of law, the signal must have been disquieting. It suggested that Washington’s conception of Western solidarity may prioritise cultural homogeneity over liberal pluralism.
The structural transformation of India’s export basket is no longer incremental—it is systemic. Technology-driven industries with higher value addition are steadily outpacing traditional sectors. If managed strategically, external tariff pressures could accelerate this transition. Rather than viewing tariff hikes solely as a threat, India can leverage them as a catalyst for deeper integration into global supply chains and stronger positioning in high-technology manufacturing. The reshaping of India’s export architecture is already underway. The tariff shock may simply fast-forward the process.
Considering the potential of AI in solving complex questions and generating contents in individual writing styles, institutions need to ask a few fundamental questions - what is the role of academia in ensuring that the learners are not being slaves to AI, but masters who are aware of the potential bias and hallucinations that has a huge impact on knowledge acquisition and dissemination? Should it be a social responsibility of higher educational institutions to ensure meaningful curriculum and assessment practices which make learners future ready in such a rapidly changing AI era?
Recent global adoption indices confirms that South Asia has become one of the most dynamic regions for cryptocurrency engagement, with implications for remittance use. According to the 2025 crypto adoption index by Chainalysis, India secured the top position worldwide in overall crypto adoption across retail usage, reflecting pervasive grassroots digital activity. Pakistan and Bangladesh also feature prominently, with Pakistan ranking among top three in Asia and Bangladesh within top 20
Humans have always pretended we can resist new inventions, from the printing press to electricity to computers, only to discover that the world shifts regardless. AI is different only in degree, not in pattern. It moves faster than our debates, scales faster than our regulations, and integrates faster than our instincts. The question is no longer whether AI will matter. It is whether we will matter in deciding how it is used.
The broader geopolitical implications of Modi’s visit are equally significant. India’s expanding footprint in West Asia reflects its transition from a traditionally non-aligned actor to a proactive participant in regional affairs. Unlike major powers that often approach the region through rigid alliances, India seeks flexible partnerships rooted in strategic autonomy. Its engagement spans Israel, the Gulf monarchies, and Iran, allowing it to maintain a diversified diplomatic portfolio.
The larger lesson is sobering. Pakistan’s experience illustrates the perils of instrumentalising militant proxies for short-term strategic gain. Strategic depth, once viewed as a force multiplier, has become a source of strategic vulnerability. As Islamabad turns to air power to manage a problem decades in the making, the deeper fracture lies not just along the Durand Line—but within the logic of proxy warfare itself.
However, a balanced assessment suggests that India’s superpower trajectory could also generate opportunities for Bangladesh. Enhanced regional connectivity, expanded market access, greater investment flows, and improved regional stability could benefit Dhaka—provided cooperation and mutual respect remain central to bilateral engagement. Ultimately, the impact on Bangladesh will depend not only on India’s power trajectory but also on how both countries manage diplomacy, trust-building, and regional cooperation in an evolving geopolitical landscape.
Today, in 2026, India stands at a historic moment in its healthcare and technological evolution. The convergence of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and entrepreneurship has created unprecedented opportunities. India’s strengths in scientific talent, digital infrastructure, and cost-efficient innovation position it to become one of the world’s most important centres for healthcare innovation. However, sustained leadership will require continued investment, regulatory reform, and strategic vision.
Yunus paved the way for this election with his credibility as interim administrator intact, but his economic legacy will now be under scrutiny. The man who brought microcredit to the world’s poor — a model replicated across dozens of countries — has struggled to arrest the decline of Bangladesh’s industrial base. Between August 2024 and July 2025, nearly 245 factories closed, displacing approximately 100,000 workers.
Bangladesh’s centrality to South Asia is grounded as much in material realities as in symbolic politics. As one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and a strategic gateway to the Bay of Bengal, Dhaka plays a pivotal role in initiatives such as BBIN and BIMSTEC. Its ports and transport corridors provide critical access for landlocked neighbors, while its manufacturing sector integrates regional supply chains. Cross‑border electricity trade with India and Nepal, along with prospective hydropower cooperation with Bhutan, highlights Bangladesh’s emerging role as an energy and connectivity hub.
