Amid the thorny political and diplomatic issues, sports can act as the much-needed balm to remove distrust and promote understanding between India and Pakistan, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
Belgium and India: Building a Strategic Partnership Beyond Economics and Trade
Belgium views India as an opportunity to reduce its economic dependence on China and limit vulnerability to developments in the United States. India offers scale, growth, industrial capacity and ambition, while Belgium offers technology, specialised expertise, logistics and access to the European market.
Guardians of Harmony: Acknowledging Role of Mothers as Peacebuilders
India has its own legacy of maternal peacebuilding, from Jijabai to the Meira Paibi. What we lack is the language to celebrate and institutionalize these contributions. Recognizing mothers as peacebuilders is not just a cultural insight; it is a practical necessity for societies striving for harmony.
The Race for the Moon: How the Artemis-ILRS Cold War Impacts Global South Nations
The numerical divide between the two camps is widening significantly, in favour of the West. The Artemis Accords added 19 nations in 2024, and 7 in 2025; and has already added 12 signatories in 2026 so far. By contrast, the ILRS has expanded at a much slower, tightly controlled pace. It counts 13 sovereign nations as members.
India-China: From Border Management to Boundary Settlement?
The timing of the present diplomatic initiative is also noteworthy. Ajit Doval’s visit to Beijing comes ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi and could create space for political direction at the highest level, including a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
US ends a 20-year-war in Afghanistan in confused retreat: Is Taliban now an enemy turned partner?
A Taliban-run Afghanistan that eschews support for international terrorism and global Islam and follows a Sharia regime like that of US ally Riyadh – in effect an oil-less Saudi Arabia – and, as it happened this week, both cooperating to fight common enemies may be Biden's dream scenario, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Afghan refugees crisis: Collective international action need of the hour
The Afghan conflict has already turned shelterless a massive number of people, and it will not end until a morally inclined humanitarian intervention takes place, write Azeemah Saleem and MD. Imtiyaz for South Asia Monitor
Lessons from the Taliban: Only a secular democracy can keep India integrated
Implications for India are more worrisome since the Taliban now has overt support of China and Russia apart from its patron Pakistan, writes Brig Deepak Sethi (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Strong policies, asset management skills can raise mutual funds’ popularity in South Asia
Among many commonalities, South Asian nations have a large hi tech-savvy young population, and the asset management companies should tap this section to deepen mutual fund penetration significantly, writes Ram Krishna Sinha for South Asia Monitor
Transparency, institutional checks and balances must for success of India’s ambitious asset monetization plan
If asset monetization is undertaken with strict oversight, it can be the most effective remedy to dispel the pervading gloom of an ailing economy, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Will Afghanistan provide the strategic depth that Pakistan has long been seeking against India?
Beijing will quickly establish a ruthlessly transactional and pragmatic relationship to exploit Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources as well expand its much-cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Pakistan, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
The blind men of Capitol Hill: Kabul bombings are America’s self-inflicted wound
Finally, the US has given the biggest boost to global terrorism - and will eventually have to face the consequences. A coupling between the ISIS and Taliban should not be considered an impossibility, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Biden risks further Afghan entanglement in a who-is-fighting-who in Afghanistan
Biden's speech had an eerie echo of former President George Bush's September 20, 2001, address to Congress when he set the course for what became the 20-year war, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Growing Bangladesh-Sri Lanka trade and investment ties have positive implications for the region
If a free trade agreement is signed, then only the sky would be the limit for Bangladesh-Sri Lanka business relations, writes MD Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Equitable vaccine distribution a must for South Asia's economic recovery
The Asian Development Bank has stated that in South Asia the new wave of Covid-19 between March and June 2021 has somewhat dampened the economic outlook of the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra, for South Asia Monitor
The Taliban’s return in Afghanistan will reinforce the Al Qaeda threat
Al Qaeda is leading a scattered existence along the Afghan-Pakistan border and its leadership is undergoing a constant shift, writes Anuttama Banerji for South Asia Monitor
Afghanistan's grim future and its huge regional implications
India won’t let the developments in Afghanistan affect its interests, more so because Pakistan and China are rubbing their hands in glee, waiting to move in to fill the vacuum in Afghanistan left by the United States, writes Mehraj udin Bhat for South Asia Monitor
The American debacle in Afghanistan: Did US negotiators know early in 2020 that the Taliban could take over easily?
It is hardly surprising that in a mockery of the so-called US intelligence projection that Kabul could fall in 30 to 60 days, the capital caved in within 48 hours, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
India needs labor-intensive manufacturing employment to stall reverse migration
Indian industry must have a conducive environment to invest and employ more workers from farms, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
