Bangladesh’s Lord Ram Statue

Bangladesh’s Lord Ram Statue Controversy fuels Renewed Debate over Religious Freedom and Social Cohesion

The controversy surrounding the proposed Lord Ram statue has emerged at a time when the BNP government has been in office for only 100 days. Some political observers believe that certain groups may be attempting to exploit the issue to deepen existing tensions between Bangladesh and India 

Foreign Funds, Civil Society Freedoms, National Security and India-US Friction

Every democracy permits foreign funding under regulated conditions. The question is whether democratic states possess adequate mechanisms to ensure transparency, accountability and protection against external influence operations, which could be against core national interests.

India's Push-In Policy on Suspected Illegal Immigrants: Need to Mitigate Human Suffering

Over the past two months, a series of alleged push-in incidents along the Bangladesh-India border has reportedly left scores of people stranded in zero-line and no-man's-land areas under difficult conditions.

From Protectorates to Partners: The US Resets Security Expectations in Asia

The central message at the Shangri-La Dialogue is that America is staying, but on new terms. It will remain the core military balancer in the Indo-Pacific, but it expects allies and partners to become serious contributors. The era of strategic free-riding is ending. The new Indo-Pacific order will increasingly be defined by those willing and able to share the burden of preserving it.

More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs

Hopes and expectations from COP28: The world is at a tipping point on climate change

What happens in COP28 on Dubai’s climate conference battleground in the first half of December 2023 may not result in bloodshed but its consequences could be drenched in blood, mass migration, and starvation.

Sri Lanka's emerging mall cities: Urban spaces where modernity and tradition intersect

The evolution of mall cities in Sri Lanka represents a complex and multidimensional transformation that intertwines economic, technological, environmental, and social dimensions. 

Himalayan tunnel collapse raises many questions: Was this a manmade disaster?

Why then after 18 years we have had to get foreign help and equipment for the Silkyara tunnel rescue? Should this equipment and capability not be with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)? 

US’s flagrant double standards in dealing with anti-India terrorism

Both Ottawa and Washington have historically been rather lackadaisical, if not downright conniving, in their dealing with India’s decades-long attempts to act against the Khalistan movement’s violent underpinnings in the two countries.  

Sri Lanka's hi-tea culture: A new marker of class signalling in the digital era

Overall, whether one opts for the casual charm of hi-tea platters or the indulgent variety of hi-tea buffets, Sri Lanka's hi-tea culture seamlessly blends British colonial influences with local traditions, adding a unique and culturally rich touch to this eating-out experience.

South Asia's unacceptably high road fatalities: Need to bring about changes in emergency-care system

The South Asian region is home to an estimated 1.7 billion people, representing around 25 percent of the world’s population and also accounts for 25 percent of the world’s road crash fatalities.

The politics and hypocrisy of carbon emissions: Behind charges of India being third biggest polluter lurks West’s evasion

India is one country, but its 28 states are as diverse as the 27 nations of the European Union in language, culture, cuisine and economic development. The 27 nations together put out almost as much emissions as India at 3.1 million kilotonnes with only a population of 448 million, a third of India’s, for a per capita output of 5.5 tonnes.

Bangladesh's coming election draws big-power attention: New Delhi against external interference

India's position on the upcoming election is consistent with its friendly and good-neighborly relations with Bangladesh, its national interests, and international legal principles. Elections are an internal affair of Bangladesh, and only the Bangladeshi people have the right to decide their future.

Delhi's annual pollution blight: Is an end to stubble burning in northern India possible?

The power plants, cement and fertiliser units, and chemical industries have to be encouraged to utilize the paddy straw for the production of manure, briquettes and ethanol. These units could be provided the responsibility and authority of cutting the paddy straw from the fields after paying a nominal fee to the farmers. The arrangement could be a win-win situation for the paddy growers as well as user industries

Sikkim’s tragedy has lessons for all: But is anyone listening?

It is imperative that Infrastructural requirements like roads, bridges, tunnels, power plants and other industries should be weighed against their ecological impact by experts and their cost-benefit analysis undertaken before final decisions are taken. The damage done by man to nature can sometimes be irreversible and irredeemable.

Is the West pushing for a regime change in Bangladesh?

This despite full knowledge that the BNP and its permanent ally Jamaat e Islami are aligned with China and Pakistan. During the earlier BNP regimes in Bangladesh, major state-supported anti-India terrorist camps were running in that country, mainly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which also had instructors from Al Qaeda and Pakistan’s army-ISI.

Pakistan's leviathan has the country and its economy in its vice-like grip

Any facet of the economy one might imagine has the army's hand over it as evidenced in 2016 when the Pakistan Senate reckoned that the army operated more or less 50 commercial entities. Between 2011 and 2015 the Fauji Foundation, which perhaps serves as a facade for the Pakistani military’s commercial wing, grew its assets by 78 per cent.

Teenage pregnancy in India: A human rights issue swept under the carpet

Setting aside all the hullabaloo about the much-debated National Educational Policy 2020, the latter has hardly anything to offer on improving the sexual and reproductive health of women in India. This was unexpected since NEP 2020 aimed at holistic education.

Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean Rim : Challenges and opportunities for region

The global political and economic order is beginning to aggressively impact our region. It may effectively alter the balance of power and cordiality, especially within the South Asian neighborhood. 

Sri Lanka needs to optimise advantage from China's BRI 'grand strategy'

Given its strategic location blended with the old maritime silk route legacy, China places Sri Lanka in the pole position of its maritime strategy.