In shaping foreign policy toward India, the people of Bangladesh expect a relationship based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and fairness. Public opinion often emphasises resolving border-related tensions, preventing cross-border push-in incidents, and ensuring humane management of migration and security issues. There is also a domestic expectation for constructive dialogue regarding political matters, including discussions surrounding the status or repatriation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, if relevant under legal and diplomatic frameworks.
History offers a consistent lesson: the difficulty is rarely in beginning a conflict; it lies in defining its limits. Sovereignty can be defended. Regimes can be challenged. Alliances can be activated. Yet none of these guarantee clarity about the end state. Without a defined objective and a disciplined exit, events gather their own momentum.
A prominent feature of this election is the massive influx of youth participation. Approximately 800,000 first-time voters are preparing to cast their ballots, and over 1,000 candidates under the age of 40 are contesting, signaling a profound generational shift. The political landscape is witnessing fierce competition between established traditional parties and emerging youth-centric forces. A key contest is unfolding in the Jhapa 5 constituency, a traditional stronghold where 35-year-old former Kathmandu mayor Balendra "Balen" Shah, representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is challenging former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML).
Escalation around Iran narrows diplomatic manoeuvring room across South Asia. India has cultivated strong defence ties with Israel, expanded strategic cooperation with Washington and maintained pragmatic engagement with Tehran, particularly in connectivity and energy sectors. A widening US–Iran confrontation complicates this balancing act.
One thing is clear: a Dalai Lama picked by atheist China will lack legitimacy in the eyes of the world. And if two Dalai Lamas emerge, it will be a test for India: who will it recognize as the temporal head of the Tibetan Buddhists, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
But if India fails to adhere to this main tenet of a modern society, it risks being labeled as an “electoral autocracy”, as Sweden’s V-Dem Institute has done, or “partly free”, as America’s Freedom House has done, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Is India being overtaken by its eastern neighbor? Far from it, although these numbers will no doubt upset a segment of the Indian political leadership that has pushed a narrative that Bangladeshi infiltration into India is largely because of hunger and poverty, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The suspected under-reporting in Uttar Pradesh is hazardous from an epidemiological perspective as it would stand against the state preparing for a targeted vaccination drive and a potential third wave, writes Akshat Singh for South Asia Monitor
Whatever sway Islamabad holds over the Taliban, Pakistan realizes it must weigh its options with considerable circumspection to at least mitigate blowback effects in case Afghanistan descends into a civil war, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
On May 20, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa explained to Asian leaders how Sri Lanka balances relations with China and India, writes Sugeeswara Senadhira for South Asia Monitor
Yet, the craze in Pakistan about Indian Bollywood beauties at times assumes dimensions that are wonderful but simultaneously bizarre, if published views of physicians and surgeons dealing with beauty-care are to be believed, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The 16th India-EU summit, though virtual, marked a watershed in India’s foreign policy, as far as engagement with the West is concerned, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The ceasefire announcement on February 25 came just over two weeks after China and India agreed to military disengagement in eastern Ladakh, leading to speculation that the India-Pakistan ceasefire declaration and China-India disengagement plans aren't unrelated incidents, write Harsh Mahaseth and Ananya Shukla for South Asia Monitor
Perhaps even more than the BJP, the RSS must be deeply concerned about the present calamity since it can delay the implementation of its Hindutva project yet again, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
The Parliamentary Committee on Health and Welfare, in its recent report, had suggested that the public expenditure on health needs to be enhanced to at least 2.5 percent of GDP in the next 3 years, much of which should be invested in creating and modernising the strained infrastructure, reports V K Varadarajan for South Asia Monitor
The underlying reason for Bhutan to keep China at an arm’s length is not India’s strategic influence; rather it emanates from a firm belief that opening diplomatic ties with China is against its national interest, writes Thinley for South Asia Monitor
It is likely that under the Biden administration US-India relations will grow stronger and will have more routes to work on a range of issues -- free and open Indo-Pacific, restoring peace in Afghanistan, arms control, countering aggressive behavior of China and climate crisis with stress on multilateralism, writes Indu Saxena for South Asia Monitor
There have also been reports that other areas of Western Bhutan have been gradually encroached by China to secure access to the border with India, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The region, overall, has gone through a major strategic realignment with the increasing influence of China, and its ties with Pakistan. Also, unlike the 90s, there exists multi-dimensional international cooperation on the issue of Afghanistan today, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
