The controversy surrounding the proposed Lord Ram statue has emerged at a time when the BNP government has been in office for only 100 days. Some political observers believe that certain groups may be attempting to exploit the issue to deepen existing tensions between Bangladesh and India
Every democracy permits foreign funding under regulated conditions. The question is whether democratic states possess adequate mechanisms to ensure transparency, accountability and protection against external influence operations, which could be against core national interests.
Over the past two months, a series of alleged push-in incidents along the Bangladesh-India border has reportedly left scores of people stranded in zero-line and no-man's-land areas under difficult conditions.
The central message at the Shangri-La Dialogue is that America is staying, but on new terms. It will remain the core military balancer in the Indo-Pacific, but it expects allies and partners to become serious contributors. The era of strategic free-riding is ending. The new Indo-Pacific order will increasingly be defined by those willing and able to share the burden of preserving it.
We are well on our way to sealing the ozone hole. But let us ensure that in doing so, we do not ignore the new fissures opening at our feet. The work of healing our planet is never complete—it simply evolves.Let our legacy be that we were wise enough to see the whole board, not just the move we just made. The ozone hole is being sealed, but the deal is not done. The lesson is not over. The action must continue—even in celebration.
For the Indian government, the interim Karki administration offers a valuable interlocutor who understands both the cultural and strategic sensitivities of bilateral relations. Supporting her government’s limited but crucial agenda aligns with New Delhi’s interest in maintaining regional stability, securing cross-border trade, and containing potential Chinese inroads into Nepal’s political and economic life.
The Pokhara International Airport has become emblematic of systemic failure. A 2025 parliamentary investigation uncovered Rs14 billion (USD 105 million) in corruption and irregularities, including fake payments, unauthorized tax waivers for the Chinese contractor, and disbursements for incomplete infrastructure. Yet, senior officials remain largely untouchable—even ministers accused of human trafficking.
After the overthrow of governments in the South Asian countries of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Nepalese crisis has consequences not just for the nation of 30 million people, but for the whole region, rooted in the country’s own turbulent political history and its legacy of attempting to balance ties between India, China and Pakistan.
Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries, struggles with the South Asian region’s lowest per capita income and an unemployment rate approaching 13 percent, according to official estimates.
Many in the Global South as well as key South Asian allies—including Nepal and Sri Lanka—are closely observing India’s approach towards macroeconomic stability. How India moves forward in the months and years to come will signal whether it emerges as a resilient regional rule-shaper or a reactive follower in the evolving financial system.
Much of Washington’s tough posture stems from India’s reluctance to deepen its role in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). During his October 2024 visit to Tokyo, Jaishankar rejected Japanese Foreign Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s proposal for an “Asian NATO,” reaffirming India’s non-aligned stance. This slowed efforts to create a NATO-style architecture in the Indian Ocean, frustrating Washington.
The stakes extend far beyond a single disrupted meeting or a dozen wrongful arrests. They concern whether Bangladesh will continue down the path of political mimicry, repeating the sins of the Awami League era under a different banner, or whether it can genuinely chart a new course—one in which dissent is not criminalized, mobs are not emboldened, and courts are not politicized.
Regionally, Pakistan is face-to-face with water insecurity, that too at a time when strained ties with India have led to abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty and Pakistan’s dependence on those waters continues. To the northwest, Afghanistan also keeps pressing for its increasing dependence on the Indus waters due to its landlocked geographic location. This keeps ties with Afghanistan strained.
If India is treated as an independent balancer, global multipolarity becomes stable. If the West instead tries to “arm-twist” India, it only drives India closer to Russia–China alignment. A respected, autonomous India helps prevent both Western hegemony and China-centric hegemony — creating a truly balanced order.
Two demographic shifts are increasingly seen to be transforming global economies and labour markets: aging and declining working-age populations, predominantly in the developed economies, and expanding working-age populations, predominantly in the less developed economies.
Digital agriculture offers a path towards farm practice transformation in addition to increased adaptive capacity and mitigation of extreme climate shocks. The strategy involves a package of tools from satellite-based weather forecasting to artificial intelligence-based diagnosis of pests, mobile-based market access platforms, precision irrigation equipment, and monitoring of the health of soil through cloud-based services.
According to Amarnath Motumal, former vice chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted and converted monthly in Pakistan. The number of documented cases of non-Muslim girls being compelled to marry Muslim men and convert to Islam as a result of forced marriage has increased noticeably. Girls are forbidden to contact their families after being forced to convert.
The UAE’s financial muscle and India’s AI talent base can together create an ethically grounded, globally competitive AI ecosystem. This collaboration can become a blueprint for cross-regional partnerships that strengthen innovation, digital sovereignty, and sustainable growth across the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
From a realistic perspective, the prospect of a Pakistan-Bangladesh axis does not herald a serious economic or strategic bloc. Instead, it signals the re-emergence of revisionist politics in South Asia. In seeking to rewrite history and align against India, both countries risk ignoring their own domestic crises.
