The sensationalized reports from Indian media about attacks on minorities could further complicate this dynamic, potentially shaping Trump's perceptions and policies toward Bangladesh. The fear is that these narratives could lead to a skewed understanding of the situation in Bangladesh, undermining Yunus’s efforts to establish legitimacy and garner international support.
Things changed overnight and within hours after the presidential election results were announced, India’s High Commissioner in Colombo Santosh Jha turned up at the JVP office in capital Sri Jayawardenepura with a bouquet of red roses. Interestingly, Dissanayake in his brief conversation with the Indian envoy, recalled his visit to India and said that too was a contributory factor in his victory.
Film Southasia is more than just a film festival. It brings together creative voices from across the region, establishing Kathmandu as a regional hub where South Asian storytellers connect across borders. It has become a special space where artists can share their stories and break down the barriers that often keep South Asian countries apart. Over the years, the festival has welcomed many iconic cultural figures, including poet-filmmaker Gulzar, actor Shabana Azmi, and directors Shyam Benegal and Goutam Ghose.
The lack of homework by the Modi government on the adverse implications of the CAA is now clearly visible both domestically and internationally, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
Sri Lanka is at the centre of the IOR and the country which will have greater stakes and leverage over this island nation will have an edge in the Indian Ocean, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
There are enough existing solutions to alleviate air pollution which is a result of a waste-disposal problem. However, there is a need to have political and administrative will to implement them, writes Anil Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
India understands the needs of Bhutan and is equally willing to diversify the relationship beyond hydropower. During his last visit, Modi showed India’s intent towards the diversification of bilateral relations, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
Gandhi was an engineer at heart. He improvised and built equipment like better snake-catching tools, small cotton-spinning wheel (takli) and chappals (sandals) from used tires. In 1929, he even instituted an INR one lakh prize (INR 20 crores in today’s value; 2.6 times bigger than the Nobel Prize) for the design of a modern charkha (spinning wheel), writes Anil K Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Trump realized that the draft deal, if signed, would be labeled a surrender to the Taliban, which would be politically damaging for him. Another reason could be that he never really wanted to meet the Taliban, but wanted to showcase the peace efforts made, and place indirect pressure on them through the subterfuge writes Lt Gen PC Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
With India's growing political and strategic interest in the continent, and inclination to leverage its diaspora as an instrument of soft power, it’s natural for New Delhi to establish a beachhead in Somalia, that straddles the Horn of Africa, the source of the Nile and a gate to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, through which tens of thousands of vessels pass through Somali waters every year in what is one of the world’s busiest sea-trading lanes, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
Delhi has not yet made an official statement, but legitimizing the Taliban at a Camp David ceremony would have had an adverse impact on India’s strategic interests in the region, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
For an outsider, the NRC process has come to be perceived as anti-Muslim. This is drawing the line along religious identity—a factor to which the indigenous Assamese Muslim community does not agree, but whose voice has been largely ignored in this massive debate, writes Azera Parveen Rahman for South Asia Monitor
Trump ordering withdrawal of some troops is very much on the cards. The situation in Afghanistan over the next few months is unpredictable, with the internal turmoil and economic situation in Pakistan also deteriorating, writes Lt Gen Prakash Chand Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Sri Lanka, being an Indian Ocean island nation strategically located at the international maritime crossroads, has significant diplomatic influence in the West due its Christian community, write Srimal Fernando and Mizly Nizar for South Asia Monitor
The creation of a CDS cannot (and must not) be an isolated action because it carries with it a whole new ecosystem that can transform India’s national security paradigm. writes Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Why can’t India begin by addressing the Balochistan problem at international forums, especially the heavy-handed suppression and continuing human rights abuses the people of that province face?, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor