US President Donald Trump Meets Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Islamabad’s defiance may complicate Trump’s Abraham Accords ambitions: Difficult Strategic Choices for South Asian Nations and Muslim World

Trump’s demand for Pakistan to recognize Israel threatens to trigger serious domestic backlash inside the country. Public sentiment in Pakistan overwhelmingly supports the Palestinian cause, while religious and political groups strongly oppose normalization with Israel without the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Rubio’s India Visit: Chinese Discourse Echoes Concerns About Quad and India's Growing Agency in Indo-Pacific

Chinese social media reactions to Rubio’s visit also reflected a degree of skepticism and criticism towards India. Several commentators focused on developmental and infrastructural contrasts between India and China. Discussions surrounding traffic congestion, pollution, aging infrastructure, and even the extreme summer temperatures in northern India were used by some online voices to project what they described as a “dismal” picture of India. 

 

The Reality Behind Putin-Xi Ties: A No-Limits Relationship has its Limits

The Putin–Xi meeting, therefore, should not be interpreted as the birth of a fixed anti-American alliance. Rather, it reflects a flexible alignment whose cooperation is strongest where grievances overlap, but weakest where ambitions collide. Putin and Xi are united more by pressure than by trust. They are aligned in opposing American dominance, but not necessarily in supporting each other’s long-term rise.

Amid Geopolitical Realignment, Russia's Outreach to Islamic World: Putin Underscores Importance of Islam in Russian Society

Though with a Muslim population much larger than most of the OIC member countries, India has not been given its membership due to Pakistan’s objection and, unlike Russia, has not applied for observer status either. However, organisers of the KazanForum invited local Indian Consul General Jeysundkhar, who is based in Kazan, for the special session "Greater Eurasian Partnership: Development Strategy" 

More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs

South Asia: Structural transformation, trade openness and self-sufficiency

The region’s dependence on imports for production, as well as the contributions of its exports through value chains place some of its economies in an influential position within the global production and trading network, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor

Terrorists may not seize power in Pakistan, but enabling environment for extremism remains

The legacy of the Pakistani state’s sponsorship of some terror groups - mainly those used to help pursue its objectives in Afghanistan and India - means that the infrastructure of terror will prove difficult to dismantle (though Islamabad has made progress in curbing terror financing networks, amid strong international pressure), writes Michael Kugelman for South Asia Monitor

Was Nepal’s parliament dissolved at Beijing’s behest?

Dissent within Nepal’s Communist Party was brewing for a long time but dissolving parliament without a provision in the Constitution is unprecedented. China has invested too much in Nepal to let go of control of Nepalese politics, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

India's swelling farm protests: Battle of attrition amid trust deficit

If contract farming is an idea whose time has come, it is necessary to ask why did it take off from 2002-03 and then sharply decline by 2011-12 in this vanguard agrarian state, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

Sustainable consumption in South Asia: Making use of sustainable opportunities from the pandemic

More importantly, the South Asia region needs to realise that workers and farmers have a key role to play in promoting sustainable consumption as they are both the end consumers as well as the producers at the start of the supply chain, writes George Cheriyan & Simi T.B. for South Asia Monitor

Bangladesh war of 1971: Pakistan's blinkered vision

But it is interesting to note that 49 years hence, there seems to be no change in how the nation views the civil war and a bloody separation of its eastern province, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

Pakistan should be compelled to apologise to Bangladesh for 1971 genocide

The ‘uncultured’ state of Pakistan has not apologized yet for the 1971 genocide.  It should be compelled, writes Farabi Bin Zahir for South Asia Monitor

Biden's Asia policy: Will India be able to cultivate its proximity with Washington?

New Delhi also needs to recognize that the rules of diplomacy are changing and that country, especially the US under Biden, would not hesitate to make remarks about human rights violations or on communal tensions and certainly, the changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir. None of these would qualify, for Biden’s Administration, as being ‘internal matters,’ writes Amb Amit Dasgupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Afghanistan, Bangladesh or undocumented Indians in US: Plight of displaced people needs attention

On this International Migrants Day, it is worth noting that not every migrant succeeds in an adopted land. For evidence, one need not go beyond the Indian American community. While the community’s many successes and accomplishments have been well-documented, a less-publicized fact is the plight of hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals in the United States, writes Frank Islam for South Asia Monitor

BJP’s fixation with polls made it ignore India's farmers

What the BJP may have realized, therefore, from these sporadic eruptions of protests is that electoral success is not the be-all and end-all of politics, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

Bangladesh's self-defeating 'sculpture politics': Who gains?

Many people want to know why the ruling Awami League is perpetuating this "sculpture politics". Why is this issue being given so much importance so as to forget the numerous other challenges Bangladesh is facing? writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

RCEP and India: Read the fine print before joining

India for the time being has chosen to call for an adjournment on the multidimensional chessboard of multilateral trade/strategic agreements which can be seen as a wise move, writes Kumardeep Banerjee for South Asia Monitor

Much preaching, but little support for Bangladesh in the Rohingya crisis

Little help has been extended to Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya problem. Even in international forums like the UN, no one voted for Bangladesh when it brought a resolution condemning human rights violations in Myanmar, particularly against Rohingya Muslims, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor

Beijing is settling Han Chinese on border with Bhutan and India

China’s aim of building these new villages along the LAC with India is multiple. These helped populate Han Chinese closer to the border areas,  overwhelming the Tibetan population demographically since the invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1959-51, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd)  for South Asia Monitor

Carbon-neutral economy will be 'new normal'; India poised to be biggest contributor

India is forecast to be the biggest contributor to the ‘new normal’ doubling its renewable additions in 2021.  Wind and solar additions are expected to jump by 30 percent in both the US and China,  writes Rajendra Shende for South Asia Monitor