The upshot of an inward-looking regime is a diminishing extent of trade openness - a sharp contrast with the East Asian miracle economies that prospered with export-orientation, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Post-uprising Bangladesh grapples with power, inclusion, and hope; rethink of ties with India
The aspirations of Gen-Z are on the walls, calling for a more tolerant and pluralistic society, with a sense of justice. "All political parties have heard that and understand that the newer generation are the most important voting bank at this moment. They don’t believe in the binary we have lived in for such a long time."
The changing state of Pakistani politics, for better or for worse
Today in Pakistan universities have proliferated and where in 2000 there were about 1 million post secondary students, in 2020 there were nearly 5 million and they have expectations, and they are also more political. But it is also the 30 and 40 year olds, generations of Pakistanis who are frustrated with the lifestyle of the rich and corrupt, and of a military they increasingly see in a similar light.
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.
More on Spotlight
Is Imran Khan proxy for Pakistan Army's 'minus two' gambit?
The most significant thing at the several ‘jalsas’ (protest rallies) that opposition have been organising across the country in Pakistan is to challenge the army’s role and, for the first time, the top brass is being named, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh: When democracy becomes a 'hybrid regime'
According to the EIU, for a decade Bangladesh has been in the middle of an autocratic and flawed democratic system, known as the hybrid regime, writes Mahmudul Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Black days: January 6, 2021 in the US, December 6, 1992 in India
It is clear, therefore, that the politics of polarization which divides the citizens of a country - whether in the US, India or countries in Europe - between nationalists and anti-nationals is here to stay, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
William Burns, who guided India-US nuclear deal but is critical of Modi, named CIA chief
Drawing on his experience of working with New Delhi, Burns wrote in what could be his roadmap for relations between New Delhi and Washington, emphasising continuity saying that it was bigger than the ties between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Nepal and India: A shared history of subversion of democratic norms
Nepal’s story is not much different than that of India’s. Nepal’s prime ministers - Girija Prasad Koirala (1994), Manmohan Adhikari (1995), and K P Sharma Oli (2020-) have taken steps to dissolve the house despite their parties’ being in majority, write Jivesh Jha & Alok Kumar Yadav for South Asia Monitor
Hate and right-wing politics: Only secularism can ensure peace among communities
If white supremacism is the basis of right-wing politics in America and Europe, Hindu supremacism is in India. Both have their roots in the concept of the "Master Race" and the "Chosen Land", writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
South Asia’s energy cooperation: Politics can play the spoiler
South Asia’s diverse topography lends itself to greater cross-border power trade, but political inhibitions have ensured that actual progress has been less than the potential, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Polarization and its corrosive implications: US happenings have lessons for India
Polarization over the prevailing socio-political orientation since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office has been marked and a bitter sectarian fissure has emerged in India, writes Cmde C Uday Bhaskar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh needs to resolve Rohingya crisis with help of regional countries
India is now a non-permanent member of the Security Council from January 2021. Following this, India has expressed interest in holding talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar on safe, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya, writes Mohammad Rubel for South Asia Monitor
Is monarchy the answer to Nepal's 'unsuccessful' democracy?
Nepal scarcely has political ground prepared for the king to return to the throne. The monarch also blatantly failed to deliver and fulfill their promises even when it had absolute power in the country's economic development, writes Bishesh Joshi and Laavesh Thapa for South Asia Monitor
India should take lead in shaping global maritime conventions to protect seafarers
Presently, there are almost two million seafarers worldwide with a significant number from the South Asian sub-continent. Indians in fact constitute the third-largest number of seafaring officers in the world, writes Cmdre Anil Jai Singh (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Growing Pakistan-Turkey axis and China's grand regional strategy
While the US and Israel is focused on Iran going nuclear, Pakistan is quietly transferring nuclear technology to Turkey. Beijing will be too happy to conduct Turkey’s first nuclear test on Chinese soil as it did for Pakistan, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asia: Emerging economic compulsions and the need for regional cooperation
A look at the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka - shows the importance of effective and modern trade facilitation measures, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Are EU and India sleepwalking their way to another lost decade on FTA?
India and EU today need innovative new ideas to enhance their trade and economic cooperation, this being the key component for stronger partnership promoting economic growth in these troubled times, writes Sunil Prasad for South Asia Monitor
