At the iftar gathering, attended by civil society members, ministers, bureaucrats and other distinguished guests, High Commissioner Verma emphasised the shared aspirations of Bangladesh and India. He stated that both nations stand at the threshold of a promising future as two vibrant and forward-looking societies. The event served as a platform to strengthen people-to-people connections and diplomatic goodwill between the two neighbours. By bringing together influential members of Bangladeshi society, the gathering reflected a clear intention to foster deeper engagement
The system under the Taliban regime treats girls as disposable items. They take away childhood experiences and destroy personal identities, creating permanent emotional scars. Yet these girls are not victims without agency. They are survivors carrying entire families on their small shoulders. Omid, Parvana, and every unnamed bacha posh are proof of Afghan, and Pashtun, resilience. The world must see them. The Taliban must hear us that no amount of disguises will hide the truth that women and girls are not lesser.
Khamenei’s assassination terminates an epoch of ideological confrontation, yet inaugurates profound uncertainty. Legally and normatively, it imperils protections for sovereign leaders; strategically and politically, it probes Iran’s institutional fortitude; religiously and narratively, it unveils unifying and divisive societal forces. Diplomatic containment—through intermediaries such as Oman or Qatar—must prioritise the transition's fragility without incitement. Absent such prudence, this strike risks catalysing a wider regional conflagration, where initial tactical triumphs yield enduring strategic costs.
The revival of SAARC will not come from dramatic diplomatic breakthroughs. Instead, it will emerge through incremental cooperation in education, digital infrastructure, disaster response and trade facilitation. Crucially, the future of South Asian regionalism may depend on a generation that increasingly experiences the region not through borders but through shared digital, economic and cultural networks.
When democracies embrace the traits of war economies and view peace as a sign of weakness, we need to question not about those who benefit from war, but rather about those who continue to engage in it. Not only does it include safety, but it also includes power, contracts, careers, and control.
The age of overt, high-visibility strikes is diminishing in returns. Covert operations, cyber infiltration, and disrupting terror logistics silently deliver greater impact at a lower political cost. India needs to establish a dedicated Psychological and Information Warfare Command, rather than relying solely on MEA press briefings or tweets from leaders.
BRICS has the potential—and perhaps the will. Ahead of COP30, it should convene a high-level “Redefining Climate Summit” with other like-minded nations invited to the BRICS table. Let the world know: BRICS can indeed build the force to break the climate blockade. The clock is not ticking anymore. It’s screaming.
BRICS represents more than just an economic grouping; it symbolizes the emergence of agency in the Global South. For too long, the contours of the world order were drawn in the boardrooms of Washington, London, and Brussels. That era is drawing to a close.
A sharp 60% drop in Chinese rare earth exports this April disrupted Indian electric vehicle manufacturing—highlighting just how brittle alternative supply routes still are. Despite diplomatic friction, India lacks the industrial depth to delink quickly from China
It may be a little too early to declare economic recovery, but certainly the growing forex reserve, remittance inflow, and surging exports are symptoms of the recovery that Bangladesh is aiming for. Bangladesh appears on the right track, though many other challenges remain.
Modi’s tour is, therefore, more than a series of diplomatic engagements; it is a declaration of India’s readiness to lead, collaborate, and contribute to shaping a just and inclusive global order. By leveraging historical ties, cultural affinity, technological strengths, and political goodwill, India is expanding its diplomatic footprint across the Global South.
The future of the South Asian region depends on building economies that are not just fast-growing, but fair. Ethical entrepreneurship and public oversight must go hand-in-hand. If the billionaires of today wish to be remembered not merely as tycoons, but as visionaries, their empires must rest on more than wealth. They must rest on justice.
With Pakistan's legal challenge still underway and India building hydro-assets and fortifying its strategic position, a dangerous legal and diplomatic standoff is brewing. Simultaneously, China's upstream ambitions introduce a parallel set of water-power dynamics that could dictate the future of Himalayan water governance.
Sultana Siddiqui has always strongly favoured the inclusion of cross-border talent in Pakistani and Indian cultural productions. She has participated in various bilateral conferences and meetings, including those organised by Aman Ki Asha (Hope for Peace), a joint platform initiated in 2010 by the two biggest media groups of India and Pakistan respectively.
The post-1991 era of economic liberalization catalyzed a paradigm shift in India's federal structure, empowering states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to engage in para-diplomacy and craft their global economic narratives. Their early success in leveraging IT-led growth demonstrated the transformative potential of subnational diplomacy.
Eviction of slum dwellers in South Asian nations cannot merely be dismissed as collateral damage of urban development and anti-encroachment drives. They reflect a larger, alarming trend of displacement of the urban poor and gross violations of their dignity and human rights.
South Asian feminist voices are calling for a shift from tokenism to transformation. The path forward lies in institutionalising women’s participation across diplomatic, security, and environmental policymaking. Whether it’s building back peace in Sri Lanka, safeguarding water rights in the Indus basin, or protecting Rohingya women refugees in Bangladesh, South Asia’s feminist peacebuilders are not just responding to crises; they are redefining what peace means.
The fateful March 1977 election vindicated Indian democratic traditions and proved the triumph of freedom over bread. Ballot after regular ballot has shown that just because a man is poor and maybe cannot read does not mean he does not care for his liberty and human rights.
The time has come to reject the mythology of civilizational war. It is time to reclaim the principles of sovereignty, multilateralism, and international cooperation. And it is time to imagine and construct a new security architecture for the Muslim world
