If Jamaat comes to power it will likely begin with populist moves such as anti-corruption drives, predicts Ahmedur Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi writer and editor who has been living in Norway since surviving a 2015 attack. He says he fears mobilisation of religious groups to push for declaring Bangladesh an Islamic republic and enforce Sharia law. The result would be shrinking freedoms for women, curbs on cultural life, and serious threats to freedom of expression, religious minorities, and secular political and cultural spaces.
The threat from ISIS-K is real and growing. A resurgence in Pakistan would have serious implications for the broader region, including India. The danger is compounded if Pakistan once again attempts to clandestinely redirect ISIS-K towards Kashmir. What may appear as an isolated terror incident is, in fact, part of a wider pattern that demands sustained vigilance. Pakistan’s internal security instability risks creating openings for cross-border terror movements, potentially hardening new militant modules aimed at India and beyond.
The optimistic view is that the “Twin Election” will force a compromise. The referendum provides a mandate for reform that even a BNP government cannot ignore. The “July Charter”, if ratified, creates checks on executive power that did not exist before. The students, even if they end up on the opposition benches, will form a moral pressure group that cannot be easily crushed. The cynical view is that Bangladesh is merely swapping a monopoly for a duopoly, or worse, a monopoly of a different colour.
All signs point to a BNP victory. In a competitive contest without the Awami League, the BNP’s organisational depth and electoral reach make it the frontrunner. Yet victory alone may not translate into authority. The absence of the Awami League, the continued influence of Sheikh Hasina from exile, the rise of Islamist alternatives, and the central role of unelected institutions mean that any new government will inherit a fractured polity. The 2026 election may revive the BNP’s fortunes, but it will not by itself heal Bangladesh’s democratic wounds.
Bangladesh ranked the worst position in any country in South Asia. Even it’s worse than war-ravaged Afghanistan, which has been placed at 122, Pakistan (145), India (142), Sri Lanka (127), Nepal 112, Bhutan (67), and Maldives (79), writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor
With Pakistan in an economic mess more should be done to hurt its economy. Limited military means to do so remains a viable option, with all other unstated options open, writes Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Considering the working environment and densely populated area combined with shabby living conditions of the workers, Dhaka and its neighboring districts of about 2.87 million people could be the next hotspot of the coronavirus outbreak, write Dr. Mohammad Rezaul Karim and Dr. Mohammad Tarikul Islam for South Asia Monitor
In the wake of COVID-19, India, with its medical diplomacy, struck the right chords and made the best use of its soft power stature in this crisis and has been trying to fill the global leadership vacuum, writes V K Samudrala for South Asia Monitor
The economic discourse in India in a little over two months has changed from one of confidently steering the economy through investment and consumption measures to one of the stimulus packages for the needy and the vulnerable by government and liquidity infusion by RBI for businesses and jobs to survive, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
We have to reach out across the country to help these performing artistes, backstage technicians, designers, cultural entities and their employees to endure the economic hardships caused by the forced closure of their operations due to the spread of COVID-19, writes Gautam Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
The future of India’s retail thus is increasingly digital. Post COVID-19, consumers especially in urban India are bound to change their behaviour, avoiding crowded bazaars and malls and preferring to shop online. Kiranas -- there are 12 million small and medium retailers employing 40 million people, writes Nadella Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
With such positive initiatives towards a totally technology-driven and -leveraged communication culture, the day seems to be not very far when one will see a paradigm shift in education - from a brick-and-mortar education to a click-and-portal one, writes Ashim Kumar Goswami for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan wants to fulfill several objects by placing LY-80 missiles near Indian borders, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor
As many nations relocate their industries to newer locations, India should play its cards well and, with alacrity, could be one of the preferred destinations for replacing China, writes Lt Gen Kamal Davar(retd) for South Asia Monitor
There is a need to invest in scientific research in the South Asian region so that disease control measures could be taken in the right earnest, writes Shubham Singh for South Asia Monitor
Due to COVID-19, Bangladeshi workers abroad are caught jobless, quarantined in shabby living places, mentally disturbed because of their family crisis of getting no money, fear of being affected by the coronavirus aftermath and uncertainties of being back in Bangladesh, write Dr. Mohammad Rezaul Karim and Dr. Mohammad Tarikul Islam for South Asia Monitor
Some of the decisions by the CC have resulted in a major tussle between the Council and the Executive in Sri Lanka, writes Sugeeswara Senadhira for South Asia Monitor
Devising a strategy to help close the digital skills gap should be a key focus for all businesses during the next decade and beyond, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
A common thread that runs through them is of COVID-19 taking the back seat in the plans and actions of various stakeholders in the AfPak region working at cross-purposes, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
