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."
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.
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.
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.
What is needed between the two countries is close cooperation and not a competition – this is obligatory in the Nepal-India relationship – and of course, no confrontation both at political and people-to-people relations, as this will lead to a catastrophic, writes Maj. Gen. Binoj Basnyat (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The dilemma of growing COVID-19 cases and reviving economic activity is crucial at this juncture which the leadership in the South Asia region will have to resolve and, herein, lies the challenge for it, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Pakistani cinema industry, even as it fears being swamped by Bollywood, realises the need for films from India that, given the common culture, resonate well with the cinegoers, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
In view of the unprecedented tension between the Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army on the Line of Actual Control since early May 2020, it is vitally important for ordnance factories to be able to meet large requirements of arms, ammunition, vehicles, and various equipment, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The scourge of the COVID pandemic has radically altered the nature of the challenge cum dangers lurking in the maritime sector for South Asia as related to the Indian Ocean and the surrounding seas, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
Although madrasas educate only between 2-4% of Muslim children and youth, they need to modernize their curriculum and move away from Islamic centric or Islamic-only education to a holistic approach that enables these students to integrate fully into Indian society, writes Frank Islam for South Asia Monitor
The global healthcare has benefited hugely from the Indian pharmaceutical industry, and from generic drugs that the Indian pharmaceutical industry produces for the world, writes Sunil Prasad for South Asia Monitor
Now it became possible for young and talented cricketers with abilities to shoot into the top rung via the IPL. With cricket now being played increasingly across South Asia, one sees rising stars from Afghanistan and Nepal also in the IPL mix, writes Col Ravi Rajan (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Having a porous border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, Iran should focus more on institutionalized Shia killings in these countries, not Gulf states normalizing relations with Israel, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
COVID-19 has ushered in a global movement for cycling and India is slowly catching up to that trend with cycling to work, cycling for leisure and fitness becoming more acceptable than ever before, writes Pankaj M Munjal for South Asia Monitor
Integrating complementary approaches into the primary care setting will help widen its reach and efficacy and help India promote a healthcare service delivery model that will be unique in its approach and act as an example for developing countries across the world, writes K R Raghunath for South Asia Monitor
The ambitious provisions of fundamental rights mentioned in Nepal’s Constitution would lose its charm if the state turns a deaf ear in giving effect to its provisions in a true and material sense, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
Onions may just be a singular example but if unwritten undertakings are violated, the saga of bans exemplify a larger story of how a trust deficit ensures that trade within South Asia remains perhaps the lowest in the world, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The new defence agreement is a clear shift in the Maldives position towards the US after a period when the government in Male forged close economic and political ties with Beijing, writes Shubha Singh for South Asia Monitor
The progress of India’s air bubble agreements with neighbouring South Asian countries bears watching in the period ahead, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
