Nepal's greatest shortage is not simply money or infrastructure; it is leaders who can use them well. Without the right leadership, resources remain locked in inefficiency, corruption, and bureaucratic gridlock.
India's Strongarm Government Faces its Toughest Challenge From the Street
Protests on the street are continuing, even as the government continues to forcefully suppress them. What happens next is evolving and remains to be seen. However, it is certain that we live in “interesting times” where the word from the streets will perhaps echo louder and louder in the corridors of power.
When the Vote is in Question, Indian Democracy is on Trial
The spirit of democracy cannot be sustained merely because elections are held regularly. Restoring public faith in the institutions and systems that sustain elections is of paramount importance. The true measure of democracy is not whether power can be exercised, but whether it can be challenged peacefully
Southern Storms in Asia and Europe: What Youth Protests Reveal About Governance
Southern Europe shows that mobilisation can reshape political agendas while leaving difficult economic questions unresolved. South Asia shows that a narrow grievance can become a challenge to the legitimacy of a governing system when trust has already been eroded. The real test of governance is whether institutions learn between storms—before the next generation concludes that the street is the only place where its voice can be heard.
Ballot Over Barracks: Why Pakistan's Future Depends on Civilian Power
At independence, Pakistan's economy was competitive with India's. Today India's is more than ten times larger, and Pakistan is on roughly its 25th IMF program. Investors rarely abandon a country simply because it is poor. They leave when they cannot tell who actually decides.
More on Governance, Public Policy, Politics and Law
Proxy Village Governance: The Pradhan Pati Problem in India's Democracy
It has been formally recognised in the Report of the Advisory Committee on Women Pradhans, Transforming Women’s Representation and Role in Panchayati Raj Institutions: Efforts to Eliminate Proxy Participation, which recorded that elected women representatives are often “represented by their husbands or male relatives” and recommended the imposition of stringent and exemplary penalties to curb such practices.
India's Student Revolt: South Asia Has Seen This Before
When economic transformation outpaces institutional renewal anywhere in South Asia, the gap between aspiration and opportunity becomes fertile ground for frustration, alienation, and political discontent. The leaked papers in India were only the trigger
India's Youth Eruption and Ham-Handed Governmental Response: Demeaning Student Power Can Prove Costly
The youth eruption is a consequence of pent-up anger and frustration of the government's indifference to the repeated leaks of exam question papers for which millions of doctor, engineer, police and civil service aspirants prepare for years. Over 20 students have reportedly committed suicide after the NEET exam paper leak for which they had toiled for over a year
The Cockroach Party and India's Democratic Reckoning: A Test of Governance for the BJP
The rise of the Cockroach Janta Party is not only the rise of yet another protest group. It is testing how India's democratic system is secure enough to accommodate and to be questioned by the very same generation who will take over from it.
Jantar Mantar and the Crisis of Policing: Why India Needs a Citizens’ Police
The Republic does not need a police force that teaches citizens to fear the State. It needs a citizens' police that gives them reason to trust the Constitution. Because the young person standing behind the barricade is not an enemy of the Republic. Sometimes, he has travelled more than a thousand kilometres simply because he still believes enough in Indian democracy to show up.
Will the “Tax Shock” Kill the Sri Lankan Economy?
As Sri Lanka relies heavily on indirect taxes, even government (short term) efforts to stimulate economic activities will automatically reduce the living standards of low and middle income households. This is because any increase in economic activity results in a disproportionate increase in taxes.
Can India's Student Protests Spur Reform in its Broken Education System? A View From Afar
The sheer visual impact of the brutality of July 20 Jantar Mantar police action revealed yet again a society in profound ferment. It is not clear whether the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi realizes the lasting damage such unbridled brutality does to India’s image. Irrespective of the merit of the cause of the protest—and it is obvious that this one is grounded in a legitimate cause—government at every level in India desperately needs to completely transform policing.
A Cry of Anguish; a Sad Day for Democracy, but a Glimmer of Hope
Democracy is not just about voting every five years. Democracy is about the ability to look your government in the eye and say “you are wrong” — without fear of being beaten for it.And yes, July 20 was a sad day for democracy. It was sad to see brutal force used against young citizens. It was sad to see the Delhi Police behave in a manner that shames the uniform.
Right to Walk: India's Civic Agencies Now Liable to Deliver Primary Dignity to Pedestrians, but Policy Implementation a Question Mark
Data from India's ministry of road transport and highways show that road crashes claim around 175,000 lives each year, with pedestrians bearing a disproportionate share of the toll. In 2024, as many as 36,526 pedestrians were killed, representing 20.6 per cent of all road fatalities.
Calling out India’s Dirty Harrys: Crying Need for Bureaucratic Reform
India must also deglamorise its bureaucracy. Bureaucrats occupy oversized office spaces, are allotted luxury housing, use oversized vehicles, get large numbers of support staff and personal assistants who work like personal valets and concierges. Political leaders across the globe carry their own bags. Here bureaucrats get servants to have their boots polished. This must clearly stop forthwith.
How Ladakh Is Taking Democracy to Its Remotest Areas: India Pioneering New Model of Governance in Strategic Region
Few regions in India have such an extensive and layered system of representation. Ladakh is therefore not merely creating new councils. It is building a new model of governance based on geography, identity, participation and national interest. It is taking democracy beyond the main towns
Enforcing 'Ethnic Unity' in China: New 'National Identity' Law has Implications for Dalai Lama Succession and Tibetan Diaspora
From the Indian perspective, the extraterritorial jurisdiction clause directly implicates the Tibetan exile community residing in India, potentially exposing CTA officials, Dharamsala based researchers and Tibetan advocacy networks to a Chinese claim of jurisdiction.
The Ahmedabad Terror Verdict: A Strategic Milestone in the Evolution of the Indian State
The Ahmedabad verdict should not be viewed merely as the culmination of one terrorism trial. It represents the maturation of India's institutional capacity to confront terrorism through both security and law. Over the past two decades, India has steadily strengthened its counter-terrorism architecture
From Muziris to Modern Shipbuilding, a Reassertion of India's Maritime Identity
The revival of shipbuilding has become a central pillar of national policy, extending across defence, commerce and industrial development. Indian shipyards today construct aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, offshore patrol vessels and a wide range of commercial vessels.
