With the ban on kite flying in force, Basant, a celebration of nature and culture, may soon become a matter of the past in Pakistan, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

With the help of pliant media, saffron powers have discredited Muslims as an obstacle to the country's development and an enemy of equality, secularism and women's rights, writes Sohail Ahmad for South Asia Monitor

There was also a proposal for a plebiscite in Goa; Nehru stood the ground that Goa’s merger with India is non-negotiable, writes Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor 

The upcoming meeting of Indian and Pakistani Rotary Club members and others at Kartarpur this week highlights Rotarian efforts to develop an Indus Peace Park near the Kartarpur entrance writes Beena Sarwar for South Asia Monitor 

International communities should criminalize the intentional propagation of hatred towards a particular faith, write Monira Nazmi Jahan and Nusrat Jahan Nishat for South Asia Monitor

The CEPA’s larger significance is that it serves as a template for an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) whose members include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

The junta will likely leverage the hearings to gain substantial de jure recognition as the legitimate government of Myanmar within other UN bodies and beyond, writes Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan for South Asia Monitor

As of now, Pakistan’s much-sought ‘strategic depth’ with a friendly government in Afghanistan has proved elusive, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

Millions of Indian cricket fans across the globe are the real foundation of the Indian cricket board's financial power, writes Qaiser Mohammad Ali for South Asia Monitor

The Hindu rightwing gets its due provocation from Muslim communalism and extremism. Is there any role of Muslim communalists in fueling the hijab row?, writes Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor 

Nepal will be permitted to export power to Bangladesh via India at a later time in order to fulfill the expanding energy demands of that country, writes Benedict B. George for South Asia Monitor 

Russia is well aware of how Pakistan has been facilitating the movement of ISIS cadres from Iraq-Syria into northern Afghanistan at the behest of the US, writes Lt Gen P.C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor 

It takes no great political intelligence to point out that a tumultuous democracy like India desperately needs a credible national counter to Modi’s BJP, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor

One major reason the Indian Army has not allowed women officers in fighting arms and would not like to do so is that it does not want them captured by the enemy, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor

The recent trends in elections have shown undeniable evidence that women no longer remain passive voters, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor