Collage: Panelists at Sapan Bangladesh Country Focus webinar. Visual by Sushmita Preetha

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.

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Why is Rafale seen as a game-changer in air warfare?

The most famous of Rafale's weapons is the METEOR - beyond visual range air-to-air missile - which is widely recognised as a game-changer for air combat, writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor

How human folly killed a famous natural lake in Pakistan

The Narerri Lagoon along the coast of the Arabian Sea, in the extreme south of district Badin in Sindh province, has been one of the few famous natural lakes of the province which is a recognized Ramsar wetland site since 2001, writes Muhammad Abbas Khaskheli  for South Asia Monitor

Envoy change signals tough road ahead for India-Bangladesh ties

Hasina's government has also been very distressed with provisions in the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act, which singles out Bangladesh, along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, as nations which persecute their minorities, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor 

Bangladesh PM Hasina as South Asia's peacemaker?

Hasina has some of the finest diplomats and public faces to handle the initial take-off of a South Asian peace process, if she were to push it, though much depends on how India and Pakistan respond, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor

India's currency swap agreements would help South Asian economies

While countries of the South Asian region are taking individual steps to battle COVID-19, currency swaps have emerged as an important tool of economic cooperation in the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra  for South Asia Monitor

Double whammy puts Bangladesh media in deep crisis

The media and newspaper industry in Bangladesh face two major challenges: First, economical challenges, and second, the repression by the government that has stifled the freedom of expression and has made various attempts to silence critical coverage, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor

Police brutality: The unavowed reality of India

The colonial legacy of the Indian police highlights how the use of force is endemic to policing in India, manifest in the organizational structure and the professional culture which often tolerates and even promotes abuse, write Subhranil Ghosh and Sreemoyee Majumder for South Asia Monitor

Changing dynamics of deterrence in international security and strategic paradigm (Part 1 of two-part series)

Deterrence requires a national strategy that integrates diplomatic, informational, military, and economic powers. India must develop strategies, plans, and operations that are tailored to the perceptions, values, and interests of specific adversaries, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor

India should sign a defence treaty with US

In the event of any hostility with China, India will have to fight two-front war because Pakistan also has assembled a sizeable number of troops and military assets in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, writes Susmit Kumar for South Asia Monitor

Indian foreign policy is changing in response to Chinese challenge

India under PM Modi is charting new territory in a clear break from the past. Indian foreign policy has shifted its goalposts, both in style and substance, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor 

China now has strategic interest in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is strategically important to China for dominating the Bay of Bengal in conjunction with Myanmar, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor

Is the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Pakistan a boondoggle?

The Pakistan government claims that the Diamer-Bhasha dam project will generate 4,500 megawatts of electricity which will be much cheaper in cost. But the reality is that the world has much better, environmental-friendly, cheaper, and sustainable solutions to generate electricity, writes Muhammad Abbas Khaskheli  for South Asia Monitor

India-US naval exercises: Can symbolism translate into powerplay?

Despite the US raising the ante with China over South China Sea and prioritizing freedom of the oceans, New Delhi remains wary of entering into a formal alliance with Washington, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor

Ershad's first death anniversary: Despotism still survives in Bangladesh

Ershad may have gone, but his shadow can still be seen in the political theatre of Bangladesh, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor

P.V. Narasimha Rao: The undervalued PM who changed India's destiny

It is to Rao's credit that within a short period of time he not only arrested the decline of his party but was able to unite the country on the most productive political platforms since the freedom movement - the pursuit of prosperity, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor