Osama bin Laden's Compound

Never Forget Abbottabad: The Other Chapter of 9/11 Should not Fall Victim to Selective Memory

Abbottabad itself is symbolic. Just 30 miles north of Islamabad, along the historic Karakoram Highway, it is home to Pakistan’s premier military academy. For bin Laden to live there undetected is not simply a mystery—it is a reminder of the uncomfortable realities of counterterrorism

India’s Push-Ins Could Push Bangladesh Towards China

Amid strategic challenges from Beijing in Bangladesh, New Delhi cannot separate border management with foreign policy. New Delhi should hold high-level dialogue with Dhaka and develop a cooperative roadmap to facilitate the identification and repatriation of undocumented migrants from India. 

Growing Sri Lanka-India Defence Cooperation Throws Up Air-Defence Questions

The visit therefore should not be viewed simply as another bilateral defence engagement. It represents an attempt by New Delhi to institutionalise India's security relationship with Sri Lanka, while simultaneously reassuring Colombo that India's expanding security interests need not threaten Sri Lankan sovereignty.

Belgium and India: Building a Strategic Partnership Beyond Economics and Trade

Belgium views India as an opportunity to reduce its economic dependence on China and limit vulnerability to developments in the United States. India offers scale, growth, industrial capacity and ambition, while Belgium offers technology, specialised expertise, logistics and access to the European market.

More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs

ICJ should not give legitimacy to the Myanmarese junta in Rohingya genocide case

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

Has quest for 'strategic depth' become Pakistan’s tactical disaster?

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

Why Indian money rules world cricket

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

In India's hijab row, Muslim girls' education trapped between extremists of both religions

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 power: Caught between Chinese capital and Indian market

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 

After Beijing, its destination Moscow for Pakistan PM Imran Khan: Can Russia take Islamabad at its word?

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 

An adrift Congress in India is a serious problem for democracy

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

Growing presence of women in India’s armed forces: An issue that should not be politicized

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 interplay of caste and politics in India's most populous state

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

Bangladesh has stake in peace and stability in India's Northeast

Connectivity and infrastructural development with Bangladesh will also open up new routes to India's Northeast, Bhutan and Nepal, writes Benedict B. George for South Asia Monitor

India’s intangible heritage: Its composite, living culture carries a multidimensional message in trying times

Such recognition by UNESCO, whether of Durga Puja or Srinagar as a Creative City, helps to underline that India’s culture is a living culture, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor

The Nightingale has fallen silent: Lata Mangeshkar's music had universal appeal

Numbers have defied easy recording, whether Lata sang 25,000 songs or 30,000, for an estimated 1,000 films, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

India must not politically or economically appease China

The fact remains that as long as India, Nepal and Bhutan do not protest Chinese aggressive moves because of political compulsions China will keep having its way, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd.) for South Asia Monitor

Sri Lanka will come out of its present crisis stronger

With heightened external geopolitical fissures in the region, balancing infrastructure diplomacy between China, India and the US is indeed a daunting challenge for Sri Lanka, writes Sugeeswara Senadhira for South Asia Monitor

Why does Pakistan lag far behind Bangladesh?

Although Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, it has already surpassed Pakistan in almost all socio-cultural and economic indicators, writes Jebeda Chowdhury for South Asia Monitor