Changing our transport behaviour is therefore the need of the hour. It becomes imperative that cycling and pedestrian walking is fully integrated with our existing public transport systems, writes Pankaj M Munjal for South Asia Monitor
Since August 2024, Pakistan’s military establishment, its intelligence apparatus, and associated actors—including Turkey’s MIT—have allegedly been involved in sending weapons and explosives into Bangladesh. These materials are believed to have ended up in the possession of pro-Yunus loyalist mercenaries as well as various extremist groups, including Ansar Al Islam, a local affiliate of Al Qaeda.
Our shared values should call for appreciating others’ needs, endowment and expectations. In the closest proximity as ours, should there be difficult or sensitive issues, those can – and ought to be – addressed forthright in all sincerity and candour, be in trade, security or sharing natural resources.
The conflict in Iran, in this context, is acting as the moment of revelation. It is showing us what kinds of energy systems are still structurally dependent on distant chokepoints, and what kinds of energy systems are starting to build the foundations for resiliency much closer to home. The trajectory of the Pakistani experience, while still in its early stages, may represent the beginnings of an alternative model, one in which decentralization and renewables are key to managing global instability.
Sri Lanka’s political debate has long revolved around spy narratives, often casting suspicion on India and the United States. Yet, this fixation risks obscuring a more pressing reality. CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report identifies Chinese espionage agencies as the most active worldwide, surpassing even the CIA. In 2024, China’s cyber operations expanded by 150 percent, while attacks on financial services, media, manufacturing, and industrial sectors surged by 200 to 300 percent compared to the previous year.
Changing our transport behaviour is therefore the need of the hour. It becomes imperative that cycling and pedestrian walking is fully integrated with our existing public transport systems, writes Pankaj M Munjal for South Asia Monitor
The struggle for building a Ram Temple should be seen as a clash between civilizational values, writes Arun Anand for South Asia Monitor
India’s current policy reorientation suggests that for it to overcome its continental and regional challenges vis-à-vis China’s increasing assertion, it must also involve itself in Beijing’s geographic neighborhood, writes Don McLain Gill for South Asia Monitor
Is the Hindu rashtra already here, marking the end of Nehruvian secularism? Just as Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan is said to be keen on reviving the Islamic Ottoman empire, forsaking Kemal Ataturk’s secularism, is Modi leading India towards the pre-Muslim period of ancient India?, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
It is clear that Nepal is exposed to multiple forms of infectious diseases. So, it becomes imperative for the Nepal government to be better equipped and expedite viral monitoring to stop possible outbreaks in the future, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
There is little doubt, however, that the removal of the “temporary” provision of a special status for Jammu & Kashmir does have a strong measure of support outside the ruling party because it was perceived as an artificial barrier that fostered separatism, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
India has hopes on continuing talks but for Beijing, talks are only to gain time - similar to what the terrorists do, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
There are numerous conjectures against or in support of Ritchie who is fighting her own court battles against the PPP brass. But it is not difficult to conclude that she is being used to tarnish the PPP leaders, dead and living, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
There is a crying need for establishing a Nepal Study Center in New Delhi and an India Study Center in Kathmandu, writes Kamal Dev Bhattarai for South Asia Monitor
As the world battled a never health threat in coronavirus, India’s dependable pharmaceutical sector has risen to the occasion, writes Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu for South Asia Monitor
Our goal is to achieve punitive and credible deterrence capability against Pakistan and China respectively. While it will be a challenge, India has the capabilities and capacities to fight a two-front war and ensuring a stalemate, which will be a strategic victory, with grave consequences to the aggressors, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Continued exploitation of the natural world through hunting, trade, habitat degradation, and urbanisation has shifted mammal populations and led to the rise in infectious animal diseases that can jump over to humans, writes Sarmin Akter for South Asia Monitor
With trust in China – presently one of the largest exporters of aircraft components - weakening. India’s future as a manufacturer of higher-complexity aerospace items is completely in our hands. India must present itself as a viable alternative to China's sourcing, writes Ramesh Ramchandani for South Asia Monitor
One serious objection to the anti-defection law is the unlimited powers given to every political party to put down dissent or an alternative view, writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
It is going to be a very interesting winter to come, as it is going to be a defining moment in our history having far greater implications than tactical, if we come out of it achieving our national and military objective, writes Lt Gen PR Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor