On 15 August 2021, the day the Taliban seized power militarily in Kabul, the world watched with trepidation the scenes of an ignominious end to the twenty-year-long efforts of the US to prop up a democratic government there
Changing Architecture of the Indian State: Public Trust can Neither be Legislated nor Certified
The recurring examination scandals were failures of governance. Likewise, concerns regarding foreign influence should not preclude critical examination of how regulatory institutions themselves function.
Two Years After Bangladesh's Youth Revolt: South Asia's Student Upsurge not a Passing Wave
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal are not producing a series of unconnected national episodes. They are producing a young, educated, and increasingly connected generation that is redefining what citizens expect from the state
The Grammar of Indian Democracy may be Changing: India’s Gen Z Demands Accountability Between Election Cycles
India had increasingly become an exception. The expectation that ministers should bear responsibility for institutional failure had faded almost to the point of disappearance especially since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014.
Nepal’s Unemployment Crisis: Needed Transformational Leadership to Utilize Available Resources
Nepal's greatest shortage is not simply money or infrastructure; it is leaders who can use them well. Without the right leadership, resources remain locked in inefficiency, corruption, and bureaucratic gridlock.
More on Public Policy and Governance
A Middle East Quad? Scope for synergies, but divergences over Iran
Within the new Middle East/West Asia Quad, there is space for trilateral economic cooperation between India, the UAE and Israel
Fake tea issue: Solution to Indian tea industry's problems lies in cooperation with Nepal and Bangladesh
India should assist Nepal and Bangladesh to obtain GI certification for their teas
The spirit of sport: When hate took a back seat
Will this demonstrable assertion of sportsmanship lead to a revival of bilateral sporting ties, particularly cricket, in the near future?
Making sense of New Delhi’s restrained response to Bangladesh’s anti-Hindu violence
The recent widespread anti-Hindu violence will not make any difference to the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh, said Dinesh K Patnaik, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), calling the recent events “small incidents”
Anti-Hindu violence does not symbolise Bangladesh; it is terrorism in the name of religion
‘Bangladesh Finalizes Agreement to Build Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, Nepal’ was the headline of the Hong Kong-based Global Buddhist Door’s news headline on October 11
US extrajudicial killings and ‘Western Immorality’
Since the last decade, the US drone strike has caused numerous casualties worldwide, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia
Will Pakistan’s terror exports ever stop?
Senior Indian Army sources asserted that the Pakistani youth's plea for surrender, as soon as his mate was killed, was a definite indication that he was not so convinced about the 'jihad' narrative but had taken on the cross-border 'task' out of financial compulsion
Women step up for peace in South Asia
The SAU aims to bring together peacebuilders and particularly women from the region to work towards a political and economic South Asian Union, along the lines of the European Union, by 2030
Which has a 'better behaved' media - US or India?
Trump also gave the Indian media backhanded compliments when he met with Modi in 2019
Taliban’s IPL ban shows media and entertainment industry won’t be able to survive for long in Afghanistan
The Taliban, the new rulers of Afghanistan, earlier this week announced a ban on the broadcast of the Indian Premium League (IPL), the hugely popular and monetarily lucrative Indian cricket league, which is widely watched in Afghanistan as their star player, Rashid Khan, is part of it
'Infiltrators' who get royal treatment on both sides of India-Pakistan LoC
They “violate” the otherwise volatile Line of Control (LoC) at their own sweet will, but far from being challenged for their “infiltration”, they are treated as guests of honor on both sides of a disputed frontier – India and Pakistan
Rights of the incarcerated: Plight of pre- and under-trial detainees overcrowding prisons in South Asian nations
Prisons in South Asian countries are overcrowded-- with some countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka having almost double their official capacities-- as most people spend years there as pre-trial detainees in the absence of speedy justice, according to data presented at a conference titled "The Rights of The Incarcerated in South Asia", organized by the South Asia Peace Action Network (SAPAN)
Academic Freedom in South Asia: SAI Heidelberg seminar attracts renowned scholars
Concerned by reliable reports of harassment of academics in India, the South Asia Institute (SAI), Heidelberg University, Germany hosted the webinar "Academic Freedom in South Asia" on 2 August, 2021 in which the following, internationally renowned scholars took part
The little-known Chinese Kali temple in Kolkata - a testament to cross-cultural bonding in challenging times
Kolkata is home to more than 2,000 Chinese, a close-knit community that has made the city its home for decades and arduously hung on to their culture and heritage through generations while making their mark in the tannery, beauty salons, shoe and restaurant businesses in the teeming eastern metropolis
