We need to learn a lot from China’s foreign policy; and when our own response to China is weak-kneed, how do we expect Sri Lanka to take up cudgels with Beijing?
Neither Bangladesh nor India — including West Bengal — is likely to fully concede its position. The future instead lies in pragmatic compromise, where domestic political constraints are balanced against the imperatives of regional cooperation. Ultimately, the trajectory of India–Bangladesh relations will depend less on identity politics and more on whether both sides can align economic necessity with political will.
The broader reality is that even if a political understanding emerges, restoring confidence in the Strait may take far longer than restoring a ceasefire. Shipping markets operate as much on perception of risk as on military realities. Tanker operators, insurers, charterers, and energy traders require predictability — and that predictability is currently absent.
New Delhi now occupies an awkward middle space: not fully trusted by the West, yet no longer fully aligned with the broader Global South consensus either. That ambiguity becomes riskier if Washington and Beijing move into even a temporary phase of strategic stabilisation.
The major bilateral issue is border security and management. While India claims that millions of Bangladeshis enter India illegally, reside and work here, Bangladesh dismisses that contention outright, saying that as their per capita income was higher than India’s, there was no reason for economic migration from Bangladesh to India.
We need to learn a lot from China’s foreign policy; and when our own response to China is weak-kneed, how do we expect Sri Lanka to take up cudgels with Beijing?
If the Taliban’s original purpose in taking over Kabul last year was to gradually gain some international recognition for what it calls the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it now stands fully destroyed
The ideological shift in politics towards prioritizing the majority religious denomination that has morphed into assertive political Hindutva goes against the fabric of the 'Idea of India' enshrined in the constitution
During the last eight years, Prime Minister Modi has elevated the quality of governance to a higher level and has introduced several imaginative schemes, keeping in view the requirement of the people at the lower economic level as well as the compulsive need to forge ahead in terms of technology and productivity
In recent years there has been a paradigm shift in the manner in which the government is bringing about significant policy measures to make India self-reliant and instituting mechanisms to overcome bureaucratic bottlenecks which had plagued the system for long
Although the Solih visit went off very well, concerns remained over domestic politics in the Maldives.
To reconcile the people of Bhutan and bring peace, we need collaborative efforts. Community agencies, local organizations, religious leaders, politicians, the King of Bhutan and businesses, all can play essential roles in this process
The challenges in the path of the fraternity project are many. But we must overcome them, as it is on the pillar of fraternal relations that a well-functioning and healthy democracy rests
Yet, with new technologies of 3D printing, reasonably priced materials and the Internet, one can teach students in such a way so that learning becomes enjoyable
The entire exercise can be seen as a striving to raise national morale among the people buffeted by economic stress and political turbulence
What is needed more is an end to the hate campaigns against the Muslim community and the start of affirmative action for the weaker sections of the Muslim population, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Thousands of Pakistani families are bearing the violation of the right to truth. Balochistan has been confronted with the burning issue of missing persons for the past two decades, writes Nizam Hassan for South Aisa Monitor
The visit by the Indian Army chief to Bhutan in the backdrop of China’s territorial advances in Bhutan and India have brought into focus China’s future intentions, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
But even if we put the moral aspect aside and try to be pragmatic, to regard Russia as a future strategic partner is also wrong. It will not bring any benefit - economic or military – to India, write Prof (Dr) Vesselin Popovski, Prof Abhinav Mehrotra and Surabhi Bhandari for South Asia Monitor
By holding the military accountable for its atrocities against the Rohingya, the ICJ might create the incentive for further international action to ensure justice for all victims of Myanmar’s security forces, writes Dr Arpita Hazarika for South Asia Monitor