Constitution of India and Parliament

Constitutional Supremacy vs. Parliamentary Sovereignty Debate: Parliament is a Creature of the Constitution, not its Master

India’s constitutional design operates on the line of a fully functional parliamentary democracy anchored in constitutional supremacy rather than parliamentary sovereignty. In an era of evolving challenges, the supremacy of the Constitution continues to serve as the ultimate safeguard of Indian polity.

Born Together, Governed Apart: How India and Pakistan Became Two Different Political Civilizations

Eighty years after Partition, the overarching lesson of this comparative history of India and Pakistan is that national trajectories are not preordained by culture, talent, or geography. They are determined by the rules and values a state enshrines for itself in its formative years.

Re-engineering India's Grassroots Administration: A New Bottom-Up Development Model

It is time the Indian district administration’s focus shifts to economic development and prosperity-building through strategic planning, resource mobilisation, and effective resource allocation; productivity enhancement, competitiveness, skill-building, employment generation and ensuring the security of life and property.

Imran Khan, the Cricketing World and the Paradox Confronting Pakistan

The man who once led Pakistan to its only World Cup triumph has now become the subject of an international cricketing appeal for humane treatment. The more the authorities try to keep his story behind prison walls, the more the cricketing world appears determined to take it beyond them.

More on Governance, Public Policy and Law

Rupee convertibility: Can it make the Indian currency stronger?

Days are ahead when the rupee will tend to become fully convertible. Full convertibility means fully capital account convertibility in the balance of payment. It opens the market for foreign investors, businessmen and trade partners

Is Bangladesh heading for stagflation?

Bangladesh is going through a tough economic situation; the government’s two largest sources of foreign currency revenues are the export of readymade garment products and remittances from overseas. Remittances are already suffering

On their 75th independence anniversary, peace pilgrims from India bring message of love to Pakistan

This is part of a long tradition of celebrating the two countries’ independence days together, started by activists like the late Dr Mubashir Hasan, Nirmala Deshpande, Asma Jahangir, Kuldip Nayar, and others.  Peace groups on either side have been doing this for a couple of decades now, even as administrations in both countries try to prevent them

Indian cultural diplomacy - and creation of a South Asian identity

The basis of all Indian philosophy is the recognition of divinity in the human species and giving respect to all faiths and shades of opinion

Indian Navy’s all-woman aircrew creates history

Over the years, women officers in the Indian armed forces have begun notching various types of achievements

Welfare spending is not freebie culture

It must be understood that welfare spending is essential to partly redress the widening inequality in Indian society

Ameliorate plight of cross-border prisoners: Joint appeal by South Asian organizations

Release prisoners on completion of jail term, decriminalise inadvertent border crossings, especially for fisherfolk and minors

Misuse of Indian Army uniforms has dangerous consequences: Army’s distinctiveness must remain paramount

Uncontrolled proliferation of the existing combat uniform has led to many cases of breach of security of military establishments and personnel and, while it has been a cause of concern, not enough action has been initiated

Save the children: Millions of children victims of acute malnutrition, hunger and diseases in Afghanistan; girls shut out of education

The country is already one of the worst places in the world to be a child, And, in the past year, the situation has become grimmer because of crippling poverty, violence, and drought, according to UNICEF.

Militants, separatists better than opposition: Imran Khan's remark shows Pakistan's deteriorating democracy

His remarks came days after some media reports indicated that the Pakistan Army could try to facilitate a dialogue or deal between Khan and the ruling coalition to create a consensus on early elections, which remains Khan's primary demand, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor

Pakistan’s ruling coalition dealt yet another blow, its legitimacy in crisis

The decision to oust Imran Khan ultimately allowed him to hijack the anti-establishment tag in his favour. Khan’s repeated reference to the government as the “imported government” and to the military as “neutrals” further reinforced his perception as a popular civilian leader

India's 15th President Droupadi Murmu, hailing from the tribal community, says she embodies dreams of the country's poor

In that sense, her choice by the dispensation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, otherwise seen as an autocratic leader who has been accused of undermining many of India's democratic institutions, is seen as nothing sort of revolutionary, both by the standard of the country's conservative political and social norms

Why is India resilient to oil volatility despite overdependence on imports?

In India over 75 per cent of electricity is generated from coal-based thermal plants. Oil accounts for less than 2 percent of electric power, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor

South Asia does not value its manhours: Change working hours

The simplest solution will be to change working hours by advancing it to 0700 hours and ending the workday at 1530 hours, so that the entire working hours are during daylight hours, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor

China, India woo Nepal’s political parties ahead of general elections

Under no circumstances would New Delhi like to see a break in the recent momentum in bilateral relations generated through increased economic and developmental cooperation, even if there is a change of the government in Kathmandu later this year, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor