India and Pakistan’s toxic official relations continue to take a human toll and hold South Asia hostage even as the region deals with the crisis of climate change which includes fish migration patterns, writes Beena Sarwar for South Asia Monitor
If one location matters most to India in Sri Lanka, it is Trincomalee. With one of the finest natural harbours in the world, Trincomalee has immense commercial, naval, and energy value. For decades, strategists in New Delhi have viewed it as critical to the security architecture of the Bay of Bengal.
South Asia cannot remain an archipelago of isolated economies connected only by shared history and mutual suspicion. Changing acronyms does not change reality. Summit declarations will not achieve true economic integration. True integration requires the political courage to dismantle physical and bureaucratic walls. Only then will the region stop holding its immense potential captive.
The resultant reduced trust signals a declining democratic discourse that should be the biggest worry for the nation at this stage. The bill that failed thus tells the deeper story of all that is going wrong in the Indian democracy, bit by bit, in areas that are clearly visible and sometimes in many invisible ways.
Manipur today is not merely a regional crisis. It is a test of India’s democratic resilience. It highlights the limits of governance models that prioritize control over consensus. Without a shift toward genuine political engagement that addresses the fears, rights, and representation of all communities, the conflict will persist and resurface with greater intensity.
India and Pakistan’s toxic official relations continue to take a human toll and hold South Asia hostage even as the region deals with the crisis of climate change which includes fish migration patterns, writes Beena Sarwar for South Asia Monitor
China and Pakistan are always scouring for opportunities by utilizing any kind of strain in Bangladesh-India ties, and would obviously try to exploit the present regional political scenario, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Being oblivious to the history and traditions of Afghanistan, misreading the local culture, or a sickening obsession with 'Islamic terrorism' has always clouded the reality for the West, writes Anondeeta Chakraborty for South Asia Monitor
The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) sub-regional group has the potential to multiply the prosperity of its members, writes Amb. Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Pakistani analysts say the civil-military 'hybrid arrangement' has been severely dented and mutual mistrust has set in, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
A potent Western Leg of Quad in partnerships with Russia, France, Japan and possibly Oman, South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore remains a must to craft, writes Lt Gen Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
A US drone base in Pakistan will adversely affect Pakistan-China relations; it will arouse Taliban anger with whom Islamabad is negotiating to curb the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Attacks on Hindu localities and places of worship, like temples and Durga Puja mandaps, are aimed at terrorizing Hindus so that they don't assert politically, stay away from voting and even vote against Awami League in frustration at lack of protection, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor
The Turkish actors are immensely popular in Pakistan, even as the women actors, glamorous and without any veils, even sporting swimwear in real lives, have drawn criticism from the Pakistani conservatives, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
While the ruling Awami League remains committed to protecting the minorities, the administration has been often unable to prevent Islamist rampages, writes Tapas Das for South Asia Monitor
Instead of following the unsustainable growth example of the US and China, which is based on extreme greed and a very materialistic outlook, we should give the world a new direction of development where high technology is guided by spirituality, writes Anil K. Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Had it not been exploited by Pakistan economically for 24 years (1947-71), Bangladesh would have gone further ahead, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
In a cooperative set-up of the four nations focused on the Middle East, UAE has the capital, Israel and the US the technology edge and India the manufacturing and execution capability, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
The GHI ranking given to India is certainly a wake-up call for the country, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan has shifted anti-India terrorist camps into Afghanistan and there is evidence of the Taliban allowing Harkat-ul Ansar (HuA) to push terrorists from Afghanistan into Kashmir, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor