Although Bhutan will succeed in its vaccination drive, the scramble in the South Asian region for doses underscores the highly iniquitous access to vaccines to fight Covid-19, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Manmohan Singh had an innate vision of India’s greatness
It was an extraordinary speech delivered in the midst of a crisis that had brought India to the precipice of insolvency. Laying out an exhaustive prescription for how he would go about fixing a sick economy, Dr. Singh was sensitive enough to give it a highly optimistic and sanguine touch.
Women beyond their Dalit identity: A feminist moment beyond caste in India
The practices of wearing vermillion on her forehead, a ‘mangalsutra’ (auspicious thread worn by married women in their husband’s name) around her neck, a ‘laal bindi’ (red dot sign that a woman is married) and changing her name to include the name and/or the surname of her patriarch. The claims of patriarchal superiority thus come to embodied in her body, identity, entity, and space.
Pakistan Supreme Court ruling on May 9 riots has implications for civil-military relations
The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the pivotal role of the military in Pakistan’s national security framework. While civilian authorities are crucial, the military is often seen as the protector of the nation, especially during times of instability. The Court’s ruling underscores the importance of the military’s involvement in ensuring swift justice for those involved in anti-state activities, particularly when national security is at stake.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A prime minister who saw moderation in politics as a foundational principle
Vajpayee was known to speak slowly, sometimes with long pauses, because he chose his words with utmost care. But in those pithy but strong words lay Vajpayee's innate convictions about his 'idea of India'
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Dalai Lama turns 87: Should India continue to keep him at arm's length?
The Chinese Communists were never shy in shaking hands with insurgents and rebels from India. In contrast, the Dalai Lama has never wielded a weapon. In that sense, he is also a Mahatma Gandhi, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
Nepal in need of massive judicial reforms to ensure implementation of court orders
The Supreme Court of Nepal issued 246 verdicts in 2019-2020 to be implemented by the various ministries, The government, in most cases, didn’t comply with the court orders, writes Ravi Nayak for South Asia Monitor
How remote-area vaccination is boosting India's security
The government’s vaccination outreach to remote border areas, in Kashmir and the Northeast, and the local people's smiling embrace of these efforts was an indication of their comfort level and confidence in the Indian system, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
Can the US underwrite regional stability against emerging Chinese threats?
In the long run, if tactically implemented, the B3W initiative can also help India and its allies balance China’s String of Pearls strategy in South Asia and beyond, writes Pradeep S. Mehta for South Asia Monitor
Uttar Pradesh will be a bellwether of Modi's continuing popularity
A defeat in Punjab or in Goa will not bother the BJP too much. But UP is different not only because its location in the heartland has always provided significant pointers about political trends, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Can Imran Khan's 'Pakistaniyat' help improve the country's self-image?
“Hollywood-Bollywood vulgarity” has been one of Imran Khan’s pet peeves for long and he has ordered the drafting of a new nationalist, culturally-centred film policy for Pakistan that is yet to be made public, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh struggling to vaccinate its people amidst a looming third wave of Covid 19
Public health experts believe that Bangladesh, despite having a good record of conducting vaccination programs, has failed in the case of the Covid jabs because of its earlier reliance on a single vaccine, writes Rakib Al Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Can the Afghan government channelise numerous people's movements into a new anti-Taliban front?
If the Afghan government can accurately manage the spontaneous movements of the people and prevent them from becoming mere tools for the warlords, not only can it create a new front against the Taliban, but also mobilize public opinion to a large extent, as it is already doing to some extent, writes Saleem Payenda for South Asia Monitor
Modi's Kashmir meeting has many regional ramifications, will be keenly watched
Unless Kashmir moves towards democratic governance - and New Delhi is able to reach some kind of modus vivendi over it with Islamabad - it will remain vulnerable to extremist influences and spillovers from the notorious AfPak terror sanctuaries, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
US military exit from Afghanistan will be China's strategic gain
The US will realize its strategic blunder of surrendering Afghanistan to the Taliban after the entire Af-Pak-Iran region comes under Chinese influence, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor
India's digital talent can be harbinger of new direction in Japan-India cooperation
Hamstrung by the shortage of digitally skilled hands, Japan needs to rope in digital talents from India that constitutes one of the biggest digital talent pools, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
Why India is losing ground in Sri Lanka
India has to reflect on its own conduct vis-à-vis smaller neighbors including Sri Lanka to have some idea of why country after country it had counted as friends are leaning towards China, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
International community needs to extend humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh to end lingering Rohingya crisis
Bangladesh cannot solve the Rohingya crisis alone; the international community should come forward in implementing the promised humanitarian actions and work in coordination with Bangladesh to find a durable solution to the festering problem, writes Shaikh Abdur Rahman for South Asia Monitor
Covid-19, climate and China: The connection of the three Cs
This pandemic has awakened us up to the reality that no nation is safe, whether powerful or weak, when nature unleashes its fury. However, it also presents an opportunity where no citizen of any nation is weak if they are determined to live in a better and cleaner environment, writes Dr. Prachi Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
