Expanding the arc of aerial/missile destruction to the Bab el-Mandeb would irreparably threaten the last viable option for Gulf oil exports and a regional war will soon cascade into an ‘epic’ global crisis. Ironically, the tally of death and destruction is barely mentioned and the war sanitized to a daily video ritual. Scroll and move on. Sagacious global leadership is absent when it is most needed and a discerning global civil society has been paralyzed by the unending Trump theatrics.
Given that Nepali citizens enjoy national treatment in India, greater enrolment in higher education institutions across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal should be encouraged. India must remain the first responder to Nepal’s needs at all times. Sustained cooperation and mutual trust can help realise the vision of “Viksit Nepal” alongside “Viksit Bharat.” Regional frameworks such as SAARC, BBIN, and BIMSTEC should be leveraged to strengthen Nepal’s alignment with India across international platforms.
Balendra Shah’s rise as Prime Minister of Nepal represents a defining moment in the country’s contemporary political evolution. It signals a break from traditional party dominance and the emergence of a new political language shaped by youth aspirations and digital mobilization. At the same time, it introduces new uncertainties into Nepal’s regional relationships, particularly with India and China, both of whom will closely monitor Kathmandu’s evolving foreign policy orientation.
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.
Bhutan’s energetic and collective response under the personal leadership of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck helped to deal with the crisis. Bhutan has the advantage of both the Prime Minister Lotay Tshering and Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji being medical doctors with a background of public health, writes Shubha Singh for South Asia Monitor
The Modi government is methodically trying to resolve the Kashmir issue, which is lingering since the partition of the Subcontinent in 1947. India and Pakistan have already fought three wars, including the Kargil conflict of 1999, on Kashmir, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor
While in these difficult times when there is a need for more workers' protection, relaxation of labour laws may not be in the overall interest of workers and there is a need for a rethink on the entire issue, particularly after incidents such as the Visakhapatnam gas leak, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Major power interest in Sri Lanka despite the COVID-19 pandemic was noticed earlier this year when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Alice G Wells, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, all visited Sri Lanka in January to hold bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan government, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India's immediate neighbours, especially China, and its client state Pakistan, are conducting social media war against it. Countering them is a challenge, especially against opaque, digitally isolated China, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The present regime in Nepal has been blamed for attempting to push through several controversial bills, including the Media Council Bill and Information Technology Bill, among others. The intention and some provision of the bills are against the basic notion of democracy, writes Ravi Nayak for South Asia Monitor
The 2011 census had revealed that India has as many as 453 million internal migrants and this includes both inter-state migrants and those within each state. Absent credible national data for the last few years, some studies have suggested that this figure may now be in excess of 600 million, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
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
