India must try and upgrade its ties with Sri Lanka to the level of strategic partnership, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor
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.
India has its own legacy of maternal peacebuilding, from Jijabai to the Meira Paibi. What we lack is the language to celebrate and institutionalize these contributions. Recognizing mothers as peacebuilders is not just a cultural insight; it is a practical necessity for societies striving for harmony.
The numerical divide between the two camps is widening significantly, in favour of the West. The Artemis Accords added 19 nations in 2024, and 7 in 2025; and has already added 12 signatories in 2026 so far. By contrast, the ILRS has expanded at a much slower, tightly controlled pace. It counts 13 sovereign nations as members.
The timing of the present diplomatic initiative is also noteworthy. Ajit Doval’s visit to Beijing comes ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi and could create space for political direction at the highest level, including a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
India must try and upgrade its ties with Sri Lanka to the level of strategic partnership, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor
During the last 25 years both these so-called high constitutional offices have repeatedly come under judicial scrutiny and invited adverse comments from the Indian courts, writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
More Gulf States inking peace with Israel will upset Chinese plans to upstage Saudi Arabia’s position in the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and replace it with Turkey, using Pakistan as the handle, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What the Indian government has put forward is a grand vision and policy framework. It reflects the government’s aspirations as to where it would like to see learning, education, teaching, and research, writes Amit Dasgupta for South Asia Monitor
The non-compliance of court orders would not only lower the public confidence on the judiciary in Nepal, but it will also pose threats to judicial credibility and rule of law, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
South Asian nations would see a bilateral advantage in establishing trade and economic relationships with each other and the formal association of economic cooperation - SAARC- which they have set up would gain strength by giving each other more trade access and tariff concessions to their goods and services, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
It is clear that in the subcontinent, colonialism is a convenient bogey for the anti-English lobby, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
For the kind of person she has shown to be in the little time she has shot into prominence, Senator Harris will be a leader in her own right pushing for the national interests of America, not of any other country, writes Dr. Sridhar Krishnaswami for South Asia Monitor
In the pandemic period while the Pakistan government is providing temporary relief to many sectors in the country why is this key area of agriculture being ignored, writes Muhammad Abbas Khaskheli for South Asia Monitor
While Pacific and South China Sea are important, the Indian Ocean remains fundamental for India, writes Lt. Gen (Dr) Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India has major power ambitions. A strong strategic culture must be developed to guide India to fulfill such ambitions, writes Aneek Chatterjee for South Asia Monitor
The Rajapaksas have entertained several projects with Chinese support and money, which is bound to cost Sri Lanka its sovereignty dearly in the coming years, if corrective steps are not taken, writes N.S.Venkataraman for South Asia Monitor
It is high time the Chinese political and military leadership are made to realise that chronic hegemonism and doggedness in constantly trying to crawl and clutch Indian territories are not going to work anymore and that the LAC must be clarified, writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor
For India, however, questions arise whether the RIC fits New Delhi’s objectives as it increases its strategic engagement with the United States, Japan, and Australia which goes against the RIC’s objective to undermine a growing American presence in the Indo-Pacific, writes Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
Given Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean, India seeks to exert all its influence to rebalance the island nation away from the dragon’s embrace, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor