India’s dependence on China in the telecom sector is unlikely to reduce in the foreseeable future, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Two May Deaths That Left Deep Political Imprint on India and Sri Lanka
For many in India and Sri Lanka, however, the memory of the assassination remains raw. Rajiv Gandhi’s killing was not merely the death of a much-loved former prime minister; it marked the violent spillover of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict into India itself.
Slow Drift Towards Catastrophe: Why the Primary Institutional Mechanism for Managing Nuclear Weapons Continues to Fail
Non-nuclear weapon states arrived at the conference with legitimate frustration. Nuclear arsenals are being modernized at enormous cost. The New START Treaty expired in February 2026 without a successor framework — the first time since the early 1970s that no binding limits govern the strategic arsenals of the United States and Russia. China is expanding its arsenal faster than any other nuclear power.
Anti-Taliban Front Growing: Former Afghan National Army Soldiers Mount Armed Resistance to Repressive Rule
The Afghanistan Freedom Front was formed in March 2022 under the leadership of Gen. Yasin Zia, the former Chief of General Staff of the Afghan National Army. The force comprises mainly the former members of the Afghan National Security Forces, trained soldiers and experienced officers, former defenders of Afghanistan against the Taliban under a democratically-elected government who are now stateless, exiles, and warriors once again.
China’s Soft Power Test in South Asia: It has Growing Influence and Dependency, but can it Build Trust?
The real question for South Asia is not whether to engage with China. That question is already settled. Every country in the region engages with China in some way. The real question is how to engage wisely. South Asian governments need transparency in project contracts, stronger debt management, competitive bidding, parliamentary oversight, environmental safeguards, and public debate before signing major deals.
More on Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs
India should explore expanding scope of 'two plus two' dialogue by including more countries, ministries to meet global challenges
While forging these dialogues, India should not forget Bangladesh as the interests of the two neighbors are increasingly converging in recent times, writes Shubham for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan’s energy sector is going through a paradigm shift: A greener electricity production portfolio is a policy imperative
The Pakistan government has set a target of generating at least 20 percent renewable energy by 2025 and at least 30 percent in the next five years, writes Haris Mushtaq for South Asia Monitor
India must come out in support of the rights of women in Afghanistan
It is in India’s strategic interest to continue its engagement with the Taliban, but withhold any official recognition, and continue to wait and watch to see if the regime’s assurances are matched by its deeds, writes Nisha Sahai Achuthan for South Asia Monitor
Engagement with Taliban provides Pakistan strategic depth, opportunity to create pan-Islamic axis up to the Gulf
Engagement with the Taliban and the latter’s return to the driver’s seat in Afghanistan allows Pakistan to bring the Afghanistan issue to the forefront of the ‘South Asia regional security architecture’, writes Anuttama Banerji for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh needs to be supported in thwarting Beijing's hegemonic designs
China’s growing investment and expanding economic activities in Bangladesh do not necessarily enable it to influence Dhaka’s foreign policy decisions, or seize infrastructure if loans are not repaid, or even potentially secure its support in a regional conflict, writes Rupak Bhattacharjee for South Asia Monitor
US policy paralysis at critical moments in region working to China’s advantage
The bond between US intelligence agency CIA and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is well known and recently declassified British documents reveal MI-6 connived with Pakistan and Taliban in Afghanistan, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asian government needs to relax fiscal austerity, promote high-skill, high value-added sectors
The most important challenge for South Asia is to revive livelihoods, which the crisis has devastated across the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Mahatma Gandhi and India@75: Fabricated news making a mockery of Gandhi's quest for truth
Paradoxically, but not surprisingly, over the last six decades, the collective commitment to truth as a principle to be adhered to with Gandhian conviction has been diluted progressively, writes Cmde C Uday Bhaskar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Mantra of development should be spirituality with high technology – the Gandhian way
Gandhi believed in all-inclusive growth and felt that India can only become a great nation when its teeming and impoverished rural masses become better off, writes Anil K. Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Global efforts, moral discourses and educational awareness must for combating terrorism
Terrorists and extremists need discourses in the inculcation of eternal moral values and practicing of yoga and meditation that can contribute immensely to attaining a perfect and balanced personality as described in ancient Indian classical texts, writes Prof. Sudhanshu Tripathi for South Asia Monitor
Lata Mangeshkar, at 92, plans to croon again: The music legend's singing truly defies attitudinal and technological changes
If Lata’s ‘Allah, Karam Karna’ and ‘Allah Reham” are popular among the Muslims, two of the Indian cinema’s best bhakti (devotional) songs, “Allah Tero Naam Ishwar Tero Naam” and “Prabhu Tero Naam” are sung six decades after she rendered them in Hum Dono, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Will Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Tamil diaspora shake hands?
A section of the diaspora has taken a line that it needs to bury the past and open a line with India, which many blame for the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
Will the Indian government’s move to use tech to fix agriculture enthuse its farmers?
But will this productivity-driving initiative really take off when the most prosperous farmers belonging to the vanguard agrarian regions of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh firmly remain on the path of agitation against government efforts to fix agriculture through reform? writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Can a Japan-India-Russia-China-South Korea coalition cement the Indo-Pacific?
Examining new paradigms and alternate formulations often leads to game-changing events, writes Lt Gen PR Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
