Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project

Future of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project remains in limbo

While Iran’s ties with the West, especially US, may have hit rock bottom, Pakistan despite the public posturing will not be able to go ahead with the project at the cost of annoying the US.

Manipur: Where voters are more concerned about existential threats than electoral preferences

At the heart of the violence lies majority triumphalism combined with a systematic denial of knowledge acquisition, specifically histories, for the minority community in Manipur.

India's election: Is the Congress setting the agenda with a sharp ideological positioning?

Do note that the BJP because of its sloganeering and expectation-setting has to cross its previous mark of 303 to be seen as victorious; the INDIA alliance has to pull the BJP below 272 to claim victory. Barring the possibility, extremely remote at this time, of the Congress and/or the INDIA alliance faring very poorly at these polls, what we have is a party that will shape the direction of policy in India in the days ahead. 

India's election: What the manifestos missed out

Despite learning a bitter lesson from Covid-19, our governments, whether at the state or national level, have failed to recognise the importance of ensuring trouble-free access to public health.

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A zero-tolerance policy has helped Bangladesh contain terrorism and militancy

Bangladesh's zero-tolerance policy against militancy is bearing fruit. So far, eight militant organizations, namely JMB, Shahadat-e-al-Hikma, JMJB, Hizbut Tahrir, Huji-B, ABT, Ansar Al Islam, and Allahr Dal, have been banned by the government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tough stance has made it possible to virtually dismantle the militant network in Bangladesh.

750 fisherfolk prisoners languish in Indian, and Pakistani jails: appeals for release falling on deaf ears?

Herman Kumara, the national convener of the National Fisheries Solidarity Organization (NAFSO) in Sri Lanka, strongly opposes the practice of keeping arrested fishermen in jail even after their punishment has been served.

Why India needs a caste census

Today, what is needed is a genuine assessment of the population of different marginalized sections and to modify the country's policies so that the uneven growth of society is brought on the path of equality. The deaths of the likes of Rohith Vemula and Darshan Solanki should awaken India to the need to combat the biases constructed against the socially marginalized sections and strive for a future where ‘annihilation of caste’ is the central credo of our society.

Vigilante justice and its celebration: Time to recall Ambedkar's ‘Grammar of Anarchy’ speech

This is surely not the first or the last of the fake encounters (extra-judicial killing) in our country. Are people, including the police, losing faith in constitutional methods so earnestly championed by Dr. Ambedkar? What would he have said, had he been alive today?

Institutional arbitration in India remains a non-starter

Four years after the passage of the law, the promised Arbitration Council of India to authorise and regulate arbitration institutions has yet to be operationalised. Save for a small number of arbitration institutions established and funded by well-known law firms,  some state governments do not support professionally established arbitration institutions.

The Bangladesh-Bhutan trade and transit agreement is a shot in the arm for regional cooperation

This transit agreement will pave the way for energy imports from Bhutan. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed between the two countries in 2009. After last month's agreement, the FTA will gain momentum. The agreement will enable Bhutan to use Bangladesh's air, railways, river ports, land and sea ports since Bhutan is a landlocked country and has no river or sea ports of its own.

The US Democracy Summit is an instrument of power politics: A Bangladeshi perspective

India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Maldives are the four countries from South Asia among 120 countries at this year's Democracy Summit. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan were not invited, but Pakistan, one of the most authoritarian and corrupt countries in South Asia with scant respect for human rights, was invited.

A stress test for Indian democracy, a turning point for India?

India has some deep soul-searching to do as we explore the question: Are we truly a democratic nation? Or is democracy the story we sell to ourselves and the world when the nation and its people know that we are not what we think or claim to be?

After giving a clean chit on human rights, US should lift sanctions against Bangladesh's RAB

Bangladesh still has a terrorism problem and cross-border drug cartels pose a significant threat to its national security. And the elite force remains one of the important agencies to curb terrorism and narcotics control. 

Need to understand the invisible economics of nature

The reason we are losing nature boils down, in my mind, to one basic problem: our inability to perceive the difference between public benefits and private profits.

Bangladesh has a resilient economy, will not collapse like Pakistan; is streets ahead of it in all-round development

Pakistan will never catch up with Bangladesh in the race for economic development. The GDP growth rate of Bangladesh increased gradually to 8.13 percent in the fiscal year 2018-19. In 2020-22, the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war slowed down the growth rate of Bangladesh, but it was much higher than that of Pakistan and the growth rate is estimated to exceed 6.5 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23.

S. Jaishankar and George Soros: Politically at odds, but both speak up for the Global South

Another result of Jaishankar’s active advocacy for the Global South is the recently held “Voices of Global South Summit” which was hosted by India. Jaishankar led the summit with participation from 120 developing countries.

IMF‘a call to regulate cryptocurrencies a necessary step to ensure global financial stability

I believe that the increased regulation of cryptocurrencies is a necessary step to ensure the stability of the financial system and protect consumers, and can be achieved through collaboration between governments and industry participants.

A crying need for empathy and equity in India's education system

There is a culture that refuses to understand the pain of an entire class of population subjugated over the centuries, a harshness that translates in general to every other aspect of Indian life, superimposed on which is the ever-present threat of violence (State and non-State) that makes the claim of a nation that stands for non-violence hollow.

Giving poor easier access to welfare benefits: Need to develop citizen experience-focused policies

Across India, accessing the correct eligibility documents is many times harder for the poor than an average privileged caste and a class person. If we add complex digital interfaces for application to paperwork ordeal, then the experiences of the poor worsened. This burdensome citizen experience either dampens the confidence of citizens in welfare policy or reduces the net benefit access due to the cost borne by the citizen.