For India and Pakistan, therefore, which were once a single country, the anniversaries of their independence days are burdened with thoughts of what might have been, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
However, a balanced assessment suggests that India’s superpower trajectory could also generate opportunities for Bangladesh. Enhanced regional connectivity, expanded market access, greater investment flows, and improved regional stability could benefit Dhaka—provided cooperation and mutual respect remain central to bilateral engagement. Ultimately, the impact on Bangladesh will depend not only on India’s power trajectory but also on how both countries manage diplomacy, trust-building, and regional cooperation in an evolving geopolitical landscape.
Today, in 2026, India stands at a historic moment in its healthcare and technological evolution. The convergence of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and entrepreneurship has created unprecedented opportunities. India’s strengths in scientific talent, digital infrastructure, and cost-efficient innovation position it to become one of the world’s most important centres for healthcare innovation. However, sustained leadership will require continued investment, regulatory reform, and strategic vision.
Yunus paved the way for this election with his credibility as interim administrator intact, but his economic legacy will now be under scrutiny. The man who brought microcredit to the world’s poor — a model replicated across dozens of countries — has struggled to arrest the decline of Bangladesh’s industrial base. Between August 2024 and July 2025, nearly 245 factories closed, displacing approximately 100,000 workers.
Bangladesh’s centrality to South Asia is grounded as much in material realities as in symbolic politics. As one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and a strategic gateway to the Bay of Bengal, Dhaka plays a pivotal role in initiatives such as BBIN and BIMSTEC. Its ports and transport corridors provide critical access for landlocked neighbors, while its manufacturing sector integrates regional supply chains. Cross‑border electricity trade with India and Nepal, along with prospective hydropower cooperation with Bhutan, highlights Bangladesh’s emerging role as an energy and connectivity hub.
For India and Pakistan, therefore, which were once a single country, the anniversaries of their independence days are burdened with thoughts of what might have been, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
The document seeks to achieve Sri Lanka’s foreign policy objective vis-à-vis India while coming closest to admitting that China has cast a long shadow over Colombo-New Delhi ties, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
Indo-Saudi economic ties have seen tremendous growth over time, writes Asif Rameez for South Asia Monitor
India can offer to lend a helping hand in a new shared spirit of sporting togetherness that can bind South Asia, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
The forty years of protracted war has impacted Afghan society, especially women, in a way that has few parallels in human history, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
Although the Indian government believes that FDI is coming into the country in record amounts, most of it is through mergers and acquisitions and not greenfield investments which entail building factories, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The US may continue to bomb the Taliban and keep asking them to reconcile but such a scenario is not going to unfold, especially when nothing has been done in 20 years to block the financial support and arms supplies to the Taliban, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
If sportswomen are treated equally and provided with equitable opportunities, women athletes from South Asia are bound to participate in greater numbers in top international events like the Olympics, writes Sarita Bartaula for South Asia Monitor
India ought to tread cautiously in aligning with the US as a counterweight to China, writes Mayank Mishra for South Asia Monitor
Warship building and design is an arduous undertaking and India now joins a select group of nations that have demonstrated proven capability to conceive, design, and build an aircraft carrier, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
One can be optimistic that Biden’s selection will lead to a debate on freedom of religion and more interfaith dialogues in South Asia and other parts of the world, writes Frank F. Islam for South Asia Monitor
Instability in Afghanistan along with the discord with Pakistan does not augur well for South and Central Asian connectivity, writes Niranjan Marjani for South Asia Monitor
With the historic revocation, the Indian government has finally applied salve on the festering anger in Kashmir: anger born out of chronic underdevelopment and misgovernance, writes Suchismita Panda for South Asia Monitor
Cooperation among BCIM members is essential for the sustainable development of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, writes Dipankar Dey for South Asia Monitor
US Secretary of Defense General Lloyd James Austin has said that the Afghan forces must slow the Taliban’s momentum. The question is how, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor