a

Lessons of COVID-19 for US and India: Need to invest in global public health, promote democratic norms

Both the US and India are remarkable democratic experiments and their ability to champion democratic norms and freedoms - rather than weaken them - will prove critical to global peace and prosperity in the years ahead, write Sohini Chatterjee & Swadesh Chatterjee for South Asia Monitor

More on Spotlight

Popular apathy towards elections a sign of institutional shortcomings in Bangladesh?

Fracturing political institutions like the Election Commission, Parliament and the Judiciary are also responsible for the popular apathy and political decay in Bangladesh, writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

Delhi defeat is BJP's fourth successive state loss: Is there a lesson in it for PM Modi?

The BJP may have also harmed itself by its poisonous communalism which cannot but have put off some of the party’s own sensible supporters, not to mention the Left-Liberals, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

US pullout from Iraq will embolden Taliban in Afghanistan

The US pullout from Iraq, which will be perceived as withdrawal under pressure, will have a fallout in Afghanistan, writes Lt Gen PC Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Fate of a film: How Pakistan is stifling creativity at the altar of extremism

In a country like Pakistan, where freedom of expression is strictly curtailed, guaranteeing that everything is in line with an openly orthodox and conservative interpretation of religion will only multiply the problem, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor

TTP leader Ehsan’s escape to Turkey queers Pakistan’s anti-terror stance

How Ehsan could escape high-security detention and how he could reach Turkey, along with his family, remains a mystery that Islamabad is unable or unwilling to answer, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

The message of the Delhi elections

If the Muslims were indeed considered equal citizens of a secular India, why would government ministers speak so disparagingly, and even scornfully, of anti-CAA protesters who are mainly burqa and hijab-clad women - ranging in ages from the twenties to the eighties - most of whom are out for the first time in the streets, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor 

Urgent police reforms and regulation required in India, but politicians unwilling

What is required to be done is that all enforcement agencies, like ED, CBI and, at the state level, the police, should be completely insulated from political masters, writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor

India must help curb rising Islamic extremism in the Maldives

Increasing Islamic radicalisation and the influence of Pakistan and China in the island nation may be troublesome and India must adopt necessary measures to counter their influence at the earliest, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor

Can India fulfil its commitment on Iran's Chabahar port?

The enhanced allocation of resources serves as a signal to both Iran and Afghanistan that India is ready to walk the talk and hasten the completion of the project, especially at a time when the almost complete Gwadar port in Pakistan received its first container shipment, in mid-January, writes  Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor

Will the Trump visit heal fissures in the Indo-US strategic relationship?

The US-India relationship has a number of contentious issues, trade being the most important of them, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor

Can Nepal’s domestic laws prevail over an IPR Compact with US corporation MCC?

The MCC, which has approved 37 compacts for 29 countries since its inception in 2004, could extend a claim on products originating or produced from Nepal, which would unfortunately lose its sovereign rights over certain products which have their origin in Nepal, write Jivesh Jha and Nil Prasad Paneru for South Asia Monitor

Is India’s populist surge a threat to liberal democracy?

The success of Modi’s populist campaigns in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, followed by the majoritarian mobilizations and lurking use of repression, pose a serious threat to liberal democracy in India, writes L T Om Prakash for South Asia Monitor

A battle for India's soul

With Delhi assembly elections set for February 8, the battle lines are sharply drawn between two pitting ideologies that have polarised national discourse like at no time before, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor

Soleimani’s killing has only helped Islamic State, will threaten South Asian security

The re-emergence of IS would have a definite impact on the Af-Pak region, with its consequential fallout for India and regional peace and stability in South Asia, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Shaheen Bagh protests: A unique civil society movement led by women

What makes the Shaheen Bagh rare in the history of Indian civil society movements is that this is the first-time Muslim women are leading a protest against a law passed by the state, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor