A nation's power today is judged not just by its military or economy but also by the credibility, speed, and resonance of its narrative. As adversaries evolve their hybrid warfare strategies to target public opinion, social trust, and international perception, India must develop a narrative response architecture that is anticipatory rather than reactive
Flashforward from 1971 to 2025 to a Pakistan facing almost the same kind of problems that it was facing in 1971: same intrusions of military in public affairs, same hopelessness, same corruption, same or more inflation and, most importantly, the same threat of rebellion.
The warm reception given to Pakistan's Army Chief in Washington is more than symbolic. It indicates Washington's strategic calculation—that India, despite its rhetoric, is becoming a more problematic partner. Washington, while not forsaking India, is hedging its bets. Its embrace of Pakistan is a backup plan.
India’s states play an outsized role in public spending accounting for nearly +/- 60% of total government expenditure. However, their fiscal health varies greatly across pan India. As someone closely observing both macroeconomic trends and grassroots governance models, I notice a growing divide between states that follow prudent fiscal practices and those still trapped in populist spending cycles.
Integrating complementary approaches into the primary care setting will help widen its reach and efficacy and help India promote a healthcare service delivery model that will be unique in its approach and act as an example for developing countries across the world, writes K R Raghunath for South Asia Monitor
The ambitious provisions of fundamental rights mentioned in Nepal’s Constitution would lose its charm if the state turns a deaf ear in giving effect to its provisions in a true and material sense, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
Onions may just be a singular example but if unwritten undertakings are violated, the saga of bans exemplify a larger story of how a trust deficit ensures that trade within South Asia remains perhaps the lowest in the world, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The new defence agreement is a clear shift in the Maldives position towards the US after a period when the government in Male forged close economic and political ties with Beijing, writes Shubha Singh for South Asia Monitor
The progress of India’s air bubble agreements with neighbouring South Asian countries bears watching in the period ahead, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Though, the Pakistan government does not officially support discrimination against Shias, it is failing to efficiently counter the influence of extremists and bring an end to violence against the community, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
Had the Kra Canal come up, China would have taken control of it in all probability like the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka giving it a tremendous strategic advantage, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
With the setting up of world-class education at low cost India will begin to attract students from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka for whom it is the first choice of destination when it comes to studying abroad, writes Dr. Sheenu Jain for South Asia Monitor
The Ambala media extravaganza ought to encourage an internal review by the Modi government about strategic communication and related signalling in matters military. Carry a big stick but talk softly is an adage that has not lost its relevance, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
Trade instruments like the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade (ISFTA) agreements are some of the gainful tools with which the US can use to access South Asia’s consumer markets, write Srimal Fernando and Vedangshi Roy Choudhuri for South Asia Monitor
It is high time that the child marriage rate - gone up during the pandemic - should be brought down drastically and for this, the Bangladesh government, NGOs, and society at large should work together to put an end to this menace, writes Sarmin Akter for South Asia Monitor
Cross border marriage, i.e., matrimony between Nepali son/daughter and India’s son/daughter, is very common in bordering districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is the reason why Nepal's Madheshis treat Indian soil as their relatives’ home, not a foreign land, write Jivesh Jha & Roshan Kumar Jha for South Asia Monitor
The Chinese had realised that not only were they outnumbered but totally outflanked, making their position untenable. Any armed clash hereafter would have been suicidal, writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor
India has tremendous goodwill and support from the international community which will influence Chinese future manoeuvres against India, writes Lt Gen PR Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Though the party crisis seems to have blown over, for the time being, the future of the Congress does not appear to be bright. And it has nothing to do with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
