“It shows that even popularly elected prime ministers can be humiliated, incarcerated and even sent to the gallows when the state desires it and that the legal system can be manipulated to suit the whims of powerful forces.”
Pollution blows with the wind: South Asia's public health challenge needs harmonized regional action
In the larger South Asia context, air pollution does not follow national boundaries and therefore the solutions for all the airsheds cannot come from any one city or a country. The countries in South Asia – India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan - that share a common airshed are impacted by the transboundary pollution. More than half of the air pollution across major cities in South Asia is not local but transboundary in nature.
South Asia's climate crisis needs a regional response
Regional bodies like the SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, have the potential to foster cooperation on climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and trans-border pollution control. However, geopolitical tensions, particularly between India and Pakistan, hinder progress.
India's Caribbean outreach carries geoeconomic and geopolitical significance
In the years gone by, India was defined by its religious and cultural strengths, but it has now taken Prime Minister Modi, with a new initiative, to give a boost to India-Caribbean ties through a purely development agenda. It is hoped that CARICOM would set up the mechanisms to get this agenda going. Is it that India is now showing its readiness to take on American and Chinese frontiers aimed at becoming a leader of the Global South if not a world power?
Securitization of the South Asian refugee: Where national security trumps human security
While the South Asian states securitize, local politics has often scapegoated refugee populations, turning majority insecurities into electoral capital – a fear that refugees’ encroachment on physical and political spaces, jobs, land, corner welfare resources meted out by the state and place undue pressures on infrastructure; acase in point the rhetoric against Bangladeshi migrants in India.
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Demography and skills: What South Asia has to offer to the EU
The EU therefore will need to depend on other regions to bridge the manpower gap and South Asia could be an important source, but global partnerships in skilling will need to happen in a big way.
Patriarchy breeds deep-rooted misogyny across Bangladeshi society
Women have to take risks at every step while walking down the streets. In the vast area of Bangladesh, there is hardly any place where a woman can breathe safely. Hatred towards women is being spread at every level of society.
Can India become an economic powerhouse?
The two major reforms in labor and land policies being politically sensitive will be a dampener if not implemented. These are political decisions much like the aborted advantageous farm reforms.
Challenges of securing the nation in the era of new wars
Building trust within our societies and institutions is paramount, as evidenced by the correlation between trust levels and resilience during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Landmark judicial verdicts seek to preserve Indian democracy
What is of significance and runs parallel in both the above verdicts is the Supreme Court's innate concern for upholding democratic values in the Indian polity.
Is there a gradual shift in focus in US-Bangladesh ties?
The United States wants to keep the South Asian region stable, seeking to neutralize the overdependence of any nation on China. Bangladesh, because of its geostrategic position, is being lured to align Dhaka with Washington’s strategic objective for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Pakistan-Afghanistan border friction continues to be haunted by the divisive Durand Line
While the contentious Durand Line has become one of the main reasons for cross-border skirmishes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban has turned from being seen as an ideological ally that can give Pakistan 'strategic depth' against India, to a troublesome neighbour that is now viewed with deep suspicion.
India should be prepared for a long war with China
Since 2019, China has been building 628 dual-use military villages (termed ‘Xiaokang’ or ‘well-off’ villages) along the southern border of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), including inside Bhutan and in Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Bhutan's new government should safeguard territorial integrity and uphold cultural pluralism
Diplomatic efforts must be intensified to address the ongoing border situation with China and safeguard Bhutan's sovereignty. It is also imperative to address the unresolved Bhutanese refugee issue and protracted family separation among Bhutanese Americans.
Pakistan elections: A rebuke to the military establishment's policies?
The time has come to drastically curb the unchecked and ultra-constitutional powers of the army chief, subject the intelligence agencies to public scrutiny and accountability, and limit their influence over domestic and foreign policy.
Are Manipur's warning bells going unheeded?
Much more violence could be expected in Manipur, with Meitei radicals waging all-out war against the Kuki-Zo, with Nagas fearing they would be the next target since the Arambai Tenggol alone outnumbers the tribals of Manipur hugely.
A new 'great game' in the Maldives? Male's shifting sands a strategic challenge for Indian diplomacy
The Maldives has undergone a radical transformation. To see this as playing the India or China card would be a miscalculation. Indeed, the strategic narrative of what is going on is very different.
An emerging force in Sri Lankan politics may have wider regional implications
While the NPP’s visit to India exemplifies changes in its political understanding, it has an important dimension in Sri Lanka's domestic politics. New Delhi appears to have judged that the NPP coalition has the potential to play a decisive role in the upcoming presidential election.
Pakistan: Will it remain a democracy in uniform?
The Pakistani military went all out to deliver this vote. Its idea to have direct control of the political situation to what it comprehends will bring stability to Pakistan’s crisis may be a pipe dream with a fractured verdict leaving Pakistan open to elements that will only compound its instability.
