Sahir's birth centenary, on March 8, 2021, is an occasion for all to revisit his lifetime work and legacy that has tremendous relevance even in our own troubled, testing times, writes Venkat Parsa for South Asia Monitor 

This is an ironic and familiar pattern wherein  every March 8, the collective global attention briefly dwells on the status of women and while well-meaning statements are repeated – the substantive improvement in the welfare and safety of women  remains a work in slow  progress and an  area of grave concern, writes Cmde C Uday Bhaskar (retd) for South Asia Monitor

The Indian Foreign Service has come a long way in changing gender stereotypes. In the early years, women diplomats were forced to resign if they got married, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Sahir Ludhianvi’s relevance becomes greater and urgent in the present times for promoting an inclusive society and religious harmony, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

Modi’s address on the floor of the lower house on February 10 went much further in stating that the days are long gone when only the government was responsible for national development, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

Unlike Pakistan, India is an emerging regional power both from a political and economic point of view, and India, since the last two decades, has built a friendly image in the minds of many Afghans – many consider India as the second home for the Afghans, write Hamayun Khan & S. Nasrat for South Asia Monitor

The Indian government’s explanation for the crackdown on these presentations is comprehensive enough to nip all literary, cinematic, and journalistic ventures in the bud, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

Biden is having to deal with the geopolitical realities of the rising threat from China and has to have India as a strategic asset for meeting the challenge, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor 

In the last six years of being in office, this government has taken numerous initiatives to harness the potential of the maritime sector and improve India’s global standing, writes Cmdre Anil Jai Singh (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Global recession has amplified domestic economic challenges and caused output contraction in 2020, with economies that rely heavily on tourism and travel particularly hard hit are Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor

India too would appear to be finally moving towards a more ‘aligned’ foreign policy in response to a militaristic and aggressive China and its puppet ally Pakistan, both implacably opposed to her rise, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor

A quarter of a century later, it is clear that the BJP has said farewell to such leniency and the spirit of accommodation which enabled Vajpayee to come to power at the centre in 1998, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

Both the governments of Bangladesh and India can come out with policies that promote renewable energy sources, which will help to improve air quality and human health, writes Safen Roy for South Asia Monitor

Attracting Japanese companies shifting out of China thus is consistent with Bangladesh’s Look East policy. To facilitate this a Special Economic Zone is being built, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

The US-Taliban peace deal also needs to be rejected, as it is a disaster in the making for Afghanistan, the region as well as for America since it would turn Af-Pak into a terror cauldron and a springboard to launch terror attacks on the US and its allies, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor