From extending aid to Sri Lanka to building mega projects, Bangladesh is transforming its image to emerge as a South Asian miracle, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Neither Bangladesh nor India — including West Bengal — is likely to fully concede its position. The future instead lies in pragmatic compromise, where domestic political constraints are balanced against the imperatives of regional cooperation. Ultimately, the trajectory of India–Bangladesh relations will depend less on identity politics and more on whether both sides can align economic necessity with political will.
The broader reality is that even if a political understanding emerges, restoring confidence in the Strait may take far longer than restoring a ceasefire. Shipping markets operate as much on perception of risk as on military realities. Tanker operators, insurers, charterers, and energy traders require predictability — and that predictability is currently absent.
New Delhi now occupies an awkward middle space: not fully trusted by the West, yet no longer fully aligned with the broader Global South consensus either. That ambiguity becomes riskier if Washington and Beijing move into even a temporary phase of strategic stabilisation.
The major bilateral issue is border security and management. While India claims that millions of Bangladeshis enter India illegally, reside and work here, Bangladesh dismisses that contention outright, saying that as their per capita income was higher than India’s, there was no reason for economic migration from Bangladesh to India.
From extending aid to Sri Lanka to building mega projects, Bangladesh is transforming its image to emerge as a South Asian miracle, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Kangana Ranaut is just one offshoot of an ecology where fact and truth have been systematically torn away from the national discourse to be replaced by ideologically tailored half-truths and lies, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
A Pakistani film looks at the 1971 war anew and wants Islamabad and Dhaka to bond, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
In India, festivals have an interesting blend of representation through dolls, especially during the agricultural season of autumn, writes Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai for South Asia Monitor
With Pakistan's built-in political dominance of Afghanistan, the economic control can only get stronger, writes Hamayun Khan for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan and India should work together to revive SAARC to maximize regional interests, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Having adopted hardcore Islam over the years, and using it to enact terrorism as a state policy, the Pakistan government can hardly afford all-out confrontation with the TLP, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd.) for South Asia Monitor
Conclusion of bilateral arrangements on sharing common water resources will banish a constant source of misunderstanding and mutual suspicion between India and Bangladesh, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The Rohingya crisis is the result of a long-smoldering problem that may become the catalyst for new sources of conflict in the region, writes Kazi Mohammad Jamshed for South Asia Monitor
Prime Minister Dasho Lotay Tshering has said that if Bhutan’s infrastructure, economy and trade improves, the country will undoubtedly want to be part of BBIN-MVA, writes Rinchen Kinznag for South Asia Monitor
The Roppur nuclear power plant is expected to be a model of clean energy in Bangladesh and provide affordable, reliable and quality electricity in the long run, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
The coming weeks pose a serious challenge to the Pakistani government to deal with the TLP’s threats and increasing pressure, writes Shantanu Mukharji for South Asia Monitor
India's withdrawal from RCEP resulted in India losing out on the opportunity of re-shoring of Japanese investment from China, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
India and Pakistan’s toxic official relations continue to take a human toll and hold South Asia hostage even as the region deals with the crisis of climate change which includes fish migration patterns, writes Beena Sarwar for South Asia Monitor
China and Pakistan are always scouring for opportunities by utilizing any kind of strain in Bangladesh-India ties, and would obviously try to exploit the present regional political scenario, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor