The upcoming meeting of Indian and Pakistani Rotary Club members and others at Kartarpur this week highlights Rotarian efforts to develop an Indus Peace Park near the Kartarpur entrance writes Beena Sarwar for South Asia Monitor
India and Japan’s Next Security Challenge Is Strategic Endurance
India and Japan should conduct regular stress tests involving scenarios such as disruption to an energy route, a cyberattack on logistics infrastructure, loss of an undersea cable or the unavailability of a specialized defense component.
Sri Lanka's Influential Buddhist Clergy Throws a Religious Challenge to Government
Sri Lanka’s Constitution gives Buddhism a special position under Article 9 while also protecting freedom of religion under Article 10 and related constitutional provisions. The government therefore has responsibilities both to protect Buddhist traditions and to ensure that the law is applied fairly across religious communities.
Amid Changing Geopolitics and Internal Turmoil, South Asia may Paradoxically get more European Attention
Some observers wrongly assume Europe's current crises will lead to a retreat from Asia. The opposite may occur. The EU's internal turmoil is accelerating a fundamental redefinition of its external priorities. South Asia is becoming increasingly important
Air Power and National Security: Strategic Choices that the Indian Air Force Needs to Make
Air power will remain central to national security. Whether India has enough of it, in the right form, and can afford it in scarce dollars, is still an open question. ACM Singh is to be commended for his distinguished service and stellar leadership – and more importantly – rendering objective professional advice to the apex leadership, an increasingly rare trait in the current times.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
Media and Islamophobia: Need for reconciliation and understanding
International communities should criminalize the intentional propagation of hatred towards a particular faith, write Monira Nazmi Jahan and Nusrat Jahan Nishat for South Asia Monitor
India’s closer engagement with UAE is a win-win situation for both
The CEPA’s larger significance is that it serves as a template for an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) whose members include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
ICJ should not give legitimacy to the Myanmarese junta in Rohingya genocide case
The junta will likely leverage the hearings to gain substantial de jure recognition as the legitimate government of Myanmar within other UN bodies and beyond, writes Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan for South Asia Monitor
Has quest for 'strategic depth' become Pakistan’s tactical disaster?
As of now, Pakistan’s much-sought ‘strategic depth’ with a friendly government in Afghanistan has proved elusive, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Why Indian money rules world cricket
Millions of Indian cricket fans across the globe are the real foundation of the Indian cricket board's financial power, writes Qaiser Mohammad Ali for South Asia Monitor
In India's hijab row, Muslim girls' education trapped between extremists of both religions
The Hindu rightwing gets its due provocation from Muslim communalism and extremism. Is there any role of Muslim communalists in fueling the hijab row?, writes Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Nepal power: Caught between Chinese capital and Indian market
Nepal will be permitted to export power to Bangladesh via India at a later time in order to fulfill the expanding energy demands of that country, writes Benedict B. George for South Asia Monitor
After Beijing, its destination Moscow for Pakistan PM Imran Khan: Can Russia take Islamabad at its word?
Russia is well aware of how Pakistan has been facilitating the movement of ISIS cadres from Iraq-Syria into northern Afghanistan at the behest of the US, writes Lt Gen P.C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
An adrift Congress in India is a serious problem for democracy
It takes no great political intelligence to point out that a tumultuous democracy like India desperately needs a credible national counter to Modi’s BJP, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
Growing presence of women in India’s armed forces: An issue that should not be politicized
One major reason the Indian Army has not allowed women officers in fighting arms and would not like to do so is that it does not want them captured by the enemy, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The interplay of caste and politics in India's most populous state
The recent trends in elections have shown undeniable evidence that women no longer remain passive voters, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh has stake in peace and stability in India's Northeast
Connectivity and infrastructural development with Bangladesh will also open up new routes to India's Northeast, Bhutan and Nepal, writes Benedict B. George for South Asia Monitor
India’s intangible heritage: Its composite, living culture carries a multidimensional message in trying times
Such recognition by UNESCO, whether of Durga Puja or Srinagar as a Creative City, helps to underline that India’s culture is a living culture, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The Nightingale has fallen silent: Lata Mangeshkar's music had universal appeal
Numbers have defied easy recording, whether Lata sang 25,000 songs or 30,000, for an estimated 1,000 films, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
