The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) sub-regional group has the potential to multiply the prosperity of its members, writes Amb. Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
However, evolving regional dynamics, particularly China’s expansion and Pakistan’s tactical nuclear developments, continue to test the durability and interpretation of this doctrine. While India has officially reiterated its commitment to No First Use, debates persist within strategic circles about its future applicability under extreme scenarios.
The significance of Shisir Khanal’s visit therefore lies not only in the agreements reached but in the broader message it conveyed. Both Kathmandu and New Delhi are signalling a willingness to move beyond the grievances and suspicions that have periodically defined their interactions. If the emphasis on development diplomacy, economic integration, and pragmatic cooperation is sustained, the current moment could indeed mark the beginning of a new chapter in India–Nepal relations.
This is also the terrain through which the US 62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) traverses, facing security threats from north to south, losing men and material in attacks by militants. That being the case, the US entry brings in another global player, ready to guard its interests against China’s looming presence. Is the South Asian region headed for a proxy war?
This contradiction—peace abroad, repression at home—defines Pakistan’s current posture. While Islamabad seeks international recognition as a mediator, its domestic record is marred by bloodshed and denial of democracy. The JAAC movement, rooted in basic economic grievances, has become a symbol of resistance against this hypocrisy.
The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) sub-regional group has the potential to multiply the prosperity of its members, writes Amb. Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Pakistani analysts say the civil-military 'hybrid arrangement' has been severely dented and mutual mistrust has set in, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
A potent Western Leg of Quad in partnerships with Russia, France, Japan and possibly Oman, South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore remains a must to craft, writes Lt Gen Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
A US drone base in Pakistan will adversely affect Pakistan-China relations; it will arouse Taliban anger with whom Islamabad is negotiating to curb the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Attacks on Hindu localities and places of worship, like temples and Durga Puja mandaps, are aimed at terrorizing Hindus so that they don't assert politically, stay away from voting and even vote against Awami League in frustration at lack of protection, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor
The Turkish actors are immensely popular in Pakistan, even as the women actors, glamorous and without any veils, even sporting swimwear in real lives, have drawn criticism from the Pakistani conservatives, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
While the ruling Awami League remains committed to protecting the minorities, the administration has been often unable to prevent Islamist rampages, writes Tapas Das for South Asia Monitor
Instead of following the unsustainable growth example of the US and China, which is based on extreme greed and a very materialistic outlook, we should give the world a new direction of development where high technology is guided by spirituality, writes Anil K. Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Had it not been exploited by Pakistan economically for 24 years (1947-71), Bangladesh would have gone further ahead, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
In a cooperative set-up of the four nations focused on the Middle East, UAE has the capital, Israel and the US the technology edge and India the manufacturing and execution capability, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
The GHI ranking given to India is certainly a wake-up call for the country, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan has shifted anti-India terrorist camps into Afghanistan and there is evidence of the Taliban allowing Harkat-ul Ansar (HuA) to push terrorists from Afghanistan into Kashmir, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The new strategy is a most welcome development for India, which had been juggling its national security interests in this vast and volatile region with support, as usual, from France, writes Amb. Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
In this 50th year of Bangladesh’s liberation, need India remind them that in 1971 it sheltered over 10 million Bangladeshi refugees without a whimper, with hardly any foreign aid, and that all Indians kept paying for decades afterward to defray the cost to the nation?, writes Amb. Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India’s energy problems, however, are not unique as its powerful neighbor, China, too, is experiencing serious shortages of electricity, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor