India and Bangladesh have welcomed initiatives to strengthen their maritime security partnership. A MoU for the establishment of a coastal surveillance radar system in Bangladesh’s Chittagong and Mongla ports has been inked.
Will Bangladesh's New Government Shelve the July Charter?
Bangladesh stands at a decisive moment. The July Charter challenges the entrenched dominance that has defined its post-1991 political order. Whether it is implemented, diluted, or quietly sidelined will determine not only the balance of power among parties, but also the credibility of reformist politics in the country’s democratic future. If the BNP continues to delay or dilute implementation, and if tacit understandings emerge between the country’s two dominant parties, the reformist aspirations of the July movement may gradually lose momentum.
Witch-Hunting Persists in South Asia Targeting Vulnerable Women: Needed Stronger Protection Mechanisms
Social scientists argue that witch-hunting is a complex social phenomenon rooted not merely in superstition but in structural inequalities. Scholars studying rural India, including Surinder Jodhka, note that accusations of witchcraft often intersect with caste conflict, gender discrimination, and disputes over property or land. Elderly women, widows, and socially marginalized individuals frequently become easy targets because they lack protection within local power structures.
Cultural Diplomacy and Reviving Bangladesh–India Ties Beyond Political Divisions
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
Raw Courage Amid Patriarchal Terror: Where Girls Have to Disguise as Boys to Survive in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
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.
More on Spotlight
South Asian youth raise a collective voice for climate justice across borders
The event platformed youth environmental activists and entrepreneurs from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who have been working to educate, mobilise and organise people to combat climate change, obtain climate justice and move relevant policy regimes to these ends.
Will China have its way in Bhutan?
The question is whether Bhutan can ward off the Chinese pressure, given the dynamics of South Asia, chances of which don’t appear bright.
Trouble in paradise: Bhutan's little talked about political prisoners and minority discrimination
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, said, “The long-term imprisonment and mistreatment of political prisoners remains a blight on Bhutan’s human rights record. Bhutanese authorities should release these prisoners and embark on reforms to end torture in custody, unfair trials and poor prison conditions.”
India and Bangladesh transit agreement holds promise for both countries and the region
Bangladeshi products like clothing, cement, and food can be sold directly in Nepal and Bhutan via India. In the future, Bangladesh will also find it simpler to ship goods to Myanmar.
Taliban's war on women: International community must not remain a mute spectator
In a brazen on-camera interview, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, said in response to a question on how Afghan women feel unsafe to leave homes under the Taliban rule, “We keep naughty women at home.”
China poses no threat to the multi-faceted India-Bangladesh partnership
The accompanying data and graphs indicate that random charges about Bangladesh tilting toward China are just hype and with no basis in facts. Unlike Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh has conducted prudent macroeconomic management in order to avoid overdependence on China.
Helpless pawns in a bilateral dispute: No relief in sight for poor Indian and Pakistani fishermen
The current process shows the insensitivity of our systems and highlights how fishermen and others are of the lowest priority as they remain incarcerated without reason in the other country's prisons.
The Rohingya refugee dilemma: Does a sustainable solution lie in their integration into Bangladesh?
While the Rohingya issue remains complex and multi-faceted, the potential for the coming generations to integrate into Bangladesh seems natural and realistic. As we move into a seventh year since their major influx, it's evident that repatriation efforts have made limited headway.
Six years later, Bangladesh's Rohingya refugee crisis sees no signs of resolution
Declining funds, deteriorating camp conditions, growing insecurity, and the adverse impact of the refugees on the host community have made Bangladesh a desperate host looking to reduce the burden. This crisis is also destabilizing regional security.
Rivers as network: Towards a pluriverse South Asia
The Indus, the Brahmaputra, and the Ganges, as well as the Kabul river basin, which is interconnected to South Asian nations, are perennial rivers that have shaped and influenced South Asia's history, politics, culture, economy, and civilizations for many millennia on a shared basis.
Will BRICS create a new balance in the global order?
If BRICS can truly identify issues of larger common interest and move forward on the basis of consensus, it can become the new leader of the post-Western world order where the NDB will be the primary competitor of the World Bank and IMF.
Why despite few returns India remains invested in Afghanistan
A few months back the members of the Taliban regime in Kabul attended a four-day ‘India immersion’ online course offered by the Ministry of External Affairs through IIM Kozhikode. The course was part of the capacity-building assistance through the ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme to developing countries, including Afghanistan.
Can a Modi-Xi meeting at Johannesburg break the border standoff?
The Major General-level talks (initially described as confidence building) apparently aim for a conducive atmosphere when Modi comes face to face with Xi at Johannesburg for the BRICS summit August 22-24.
Will Bangladesh benefit by joining the RCEP? The pros outweigh the cons
If Bangladesh applies to join this year, it can be a member of RCEP from 2025 onward. Apart from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are also reportedly eager to join the China-led trade bloc.
