The borderland TTP now exploits is the same terrain that Pakistan's own security establishment worked for decades to create as "strategic depth." The world of proxy-war infrastructure seldom remains directed towards where its architects have aimed.
A significant factor that emerged after India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May 2025 was the strain in the India-US relationship under the Trump administration, driven by aggressive tariff disputes and policy friction. This indirectly accelerated India’s push to diversify partnerships, prompting New Delhi to lean more pragmatically into closer economic and strategic ties with middle powers such as Australia.
India and China need not share identical geopolitical visions to agree that a stable border, prosperous border communities and transparent rules are preferable to uncertainty. The most useful measure of Nathu La’s success may therefore be not how many tonnes cross the pass, but how routinely two neighbouring systems learn to work together.
December could therefore become much more than Victory Month. It could become a test of whether Bangladesh's next chapter will be written through democratic accommodation or another round of political vengeance. The danger is that a leader returning to face her past could inadvertently reopen the country's deepest wounds.
While the number of those who have benefitted from the Art of Living’s trauma relief is some 150,000, a total of 2,000 fighters are claimed to have laid down their weapons in various parts of the world including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kosovo, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Iraq and the Philippines after being inspired by the spiritual group, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh's leaders struggled to protect people's right to vote when they were out of power; in power, they continue their attempts to deprive them of the right to vote, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor
If only the leaders in both India and Pakistan would listen for once to the voices of young people and the dreamers, and not be swayed by the fanatics, no time can be short enough to make a new beginning, not just for India and Pakistan, but for the two billion people of South Asia, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
The reality is that Delhi had forfeited the tactical advantage that the Indian Army had acquired at considerable cost, to ostensibly facilitate the negotiations with China. However, despite multiple rounds of talks, the PLA has not moved back from all the areas that it had intruded into along the LAC, writes Cmde C Uday Bhaskar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh is a miracle story, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan are disaster tales, writes John Rozario for South Asia Monitor
Yameen’s ‘India Out’ campaign is centred on his firm belief that independent of change of governments and leaderships in New Delhi, India was against his becoming president, writes N. Sathiya Moorthy for South Asia Monitor
Even in these dark times, one can see bright rays of communal harmony. One only hopes these trends are encouraged and divisive loudmouths are punished, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Museums and art galleries are the preserves of the common heritage of South Asia, and it is a pity these are often destructively targeted during political conflicts, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
In another CSDS study of post-poll analysis after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it was found that between 2014 and 2019 support for the BJP among Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Class has more than doubled, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Unlike many other South Asian countries, Bangladesh's prudent and selective engagement with China's BRI has helped Dhaka avoid debt problems, writes Sheikh Abdur Rahman for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh may not face the same situation as Sri Lanka in the near future but it has considerable weaknesses in its economy and good-governance processes, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor
The allure of Russian oil for India, however, is more than the imperatives of energy security. It also has deep stakes with $16 billion of investments in various oil and gas projects in Russia, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asian Monitor
Given that Sri Lanka has a post-independence history of episodic JVP militancy in 1971 and 1987, there is concern about the direction the street protests may take, writes N. Sathiya Moorthy for South Asia Monitor
On two counts – annoying Army and America, two of the three pillars on which Pakistan’s polity stands -- may block Imran Khan's future comeback. Only the third, Allah, can help, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh has very strong leadership, pragmatic fiscal policy and foreign reserves. The Sri Lankan case is totally different, writes Mehjabin Bhanu for South Asia Monitor
