Bangladesh’s centrality to South Asia is grounded as much in material realities as in symbolic politics. As one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and a strategic gateway to the Bay of Bengal, Dhaka plays a pivotal role in initiatives such as BBIN and BIMSTEC. Its ports and transport corridors provide critical access for landlocked neighbors, while its manufacturing sector integrates regional supply chains. Cross‑border electricity trade with India and Nepal, along with prospective hydropower cooperation with Bhutan, highlights Bangladesh’s emerging role as an energy and connectivity hub.
Child sexual abuse within homes must be recognised as a central internal security and public health concern rather than a private family matter. Legal provisions such as the POCSO Act provide a strong framework, but enforcement gaps and social stigma continue to undermine protection. A coordinated response is required: universal child safety education, consistent training for frontline workers, faster court processes, and expanded counselling services across regions.
The most immediate and delicate challenge for the new government lies in its relationship with India. Following the events of August 2024 and the subsequent transitional period, the bilateral bond has faced unprecedented strain. The presence of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India remains a friction point, yet the early signs of 2026 suggest a pragmatic "reset." Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory call to Tarique Rahman on February 13, 2026 signals New Delhi's recognition of the changed political reality. However, the path forward requires addressing deep-seated issues that have long simmered.
Sri Lanka has a wide range of monetizable opportunities based on its strategic location and also existing domestic business landscape. The ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup is one example. No other country in South Asia, other than Sri Lanka, will find it possible to host a match between India and Pakistan. It is time Sri Lanka works towards leveraging its geographical location to weather global trade reset, while effectively leveraging its cultural foundation to boost its global soft power.
Keeping in mind the economic progress of Bangladesh, it can be said that besides the construction of the Padma Bridge, the new communication system being developed between the two countries will further strengthen their bonds, writes Tapan Das for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh has already taken cautionary measures to not be a loan defaulter to avoid a Sri Lanka like situation, writes Sufian Siddique for South Asia Monitor
Floods in the Brahmaputra basin in Assam and downstream Bangladesh are common every year, especially during the June-September monsoon that brings South Asia most of its annual rainfall
It must be noted that tolerance, acceptability and confidence form a nation’s basic tenets. Aggression, violence and intolerance stall its progress and development, write Abhinav Mehrotra and Dr Biswanath Gupta for South Asia Monitor
Although the results will change the government in Punjab, a politically important province of 110 million people, its implications may not be limited to the province, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
India can also help Bhutan to realize its green goals by promoting hybrid CNG/electric powered passenger and goods transport vehicles. These vehicles may be based at an EV park at Phuntsholing. Goods received there after customs clearance can then be distributed by Bhutan's own transport systems, employing their own nationals as drivers, helpers, mechanics and loaders, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What can we learn from Sri Lanka's disastrous style of ruling, intensification of sectarian divides, marginalization of minorities and power concentrated in autocrats is there for all to see, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
India also no longer capitalizes adequately upon her best known international icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Instability in Sri Lanka is not in India’s interests but at the same time it offers New Delhi an opportunity to help its strategic neighbour emerge from the epic mess it finds itself in, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
As South Asia is now better connected, ensuring BBIN food security will become even easier with packaging centres set up in each country with its own distribution, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Fifty years after the separation of what was then East and West Pakistan in 1971, the exchange of mangoes is a sign that friendly ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh are possible, writes Samina Akhter for South Asia Monitor
Barring India, no other supposed ally has so far come forward to help assist Colombo in a big way. New Delhi, with its obvious strategic stakes and interests in keeping the country afloat, has so far extended assistance worth around $4 billion -- something China has also acknowledged, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
The chars formed as the Brahmaputra, Ganga and other rivers brought silt down from the Himalayas. The river islands are so fertile that they have been fought over for centuries
Today, while a large section of the Muslim community lives in intimidation and fear, at the same time there are elements like Riyaz Ansari and Ghouse Mohammad whose insanity is not only a blot on Indian Muslims but also is totally contrary to the sayings in Koran that if you kill a single innocent person, it is like killing the whole humanity, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Solar roofed buses may be handy in providing mobile primary healthcare, primary and adult education, agricultural extension services and training, even telecom and TV connectivity in rural and far-flung areas across South Asia and Africa, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
