The net result is that the valuable time of PM Modi, which should be spent on the governance of the country, has been sacrificed for winning an election in one state.
Price Tag of Deception: How Fast Fashion Exploits South Asia’s Supply Chain
It is high time South Asian countries not only pass stricter environmental regulations but also strictly enforce them, making sure that there is no factory releasing waste water without adequate treatment. Besides, upholding legally binding labour standards must also be a priority together with ensuring safety of the workplace environment.
How Korean Noodle Brands Captured the Indian Market
The Korean noodle story is not really about noodles. It is about what happens when cultural influence travels faster than commercial infrastructure and faster than regulatory awareness. India's Gen Z - and possibly that of other South Asian countries - did not wait for brands to tell them what to eat. They watched K-dramas, did spice challenges, and built market demand that brands, regulators, and consumer education campaigns have simply not kept up with.
Security for Whom? Needed a Human-Centred Approach to ‘National Security’
If “security” is to have real meaning, it must be grounded in the lived experiences of those it is intended to protect. This requires a shift from state‑centred metrics to civilian‑centred measures of stability; where continuity of daily life, equitable protection, and psychological well‑being are integral to how we define security.
Cinema Is Not Policy, But Films Like Dhurandhar Culturally Reflect India’s Place in the World
The progression from Purab Aur Pachhim to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Dangal is not a neat policy timeline. It is something subtler: a cultural echo of India’s journey from caution to engagement to assertion. The shift is not just in policy documents or diplomatic speeches; it is embedded in how stories are told, how characters behave, and how audiences respond.
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South Asian peace activists condemn Kashmir terror attack, support Pakistani foreign minister’s India visit
Sapan has long been advocating for bilateral engagements and liberalisation of visas for family members, students, pilgrims, exchange of artists, and cricket bilateral series. The petition #MilneDo (let people meet) coordinated by the group has garnered several thousand signatures.
Bangladesh's Digital Security Act needs amendment, not abolition
The Bangladesh government should quickly consider the amendment to safeguard dissident voices in a democracy. An amendment should find the middle ground between the activists and the government, considering the necessity of such a law.
Understanding the science of Patanjali Yoga Sutras
It seems a little strange that Sage Patanjali who was the first to enunciate the yoga principles of thought control and mind enhancement would not have included the important science of Kundalini Yoga in it. One can speculate that probably that section could have been extracted by some commentators from his sutras and made into a separate science of Tantric Yoga.
Salim Durrani, a cavalier batsman. a lethal bowler, a charismatic presence in the Indian team (1934-2023)
Had Salim Durrani been a cricketer in current times he would have been one of the most admired cricket stars flooded with lucrative endorsement deals. He came at a time when cricket was cricket and not a straight path to insane fame and fortune.
Misconceptions about trees: Power, pulp, fodder and fertilizer from subabul – a multipurpose tree
All three species provide good tree cover and much-needed green lung to cities like Delhi and it will be foolish to eradicate them.
South Asia activists urge governments to convene SAARC Summit
With ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ -- the world is one family -- as the motto for this year’s G20 Summit to be held in India, it is perhaps a good time to remind South Asian governments that they, too, are part of one region
How India can rightly become a 'Vishwaguru'
In the past, all great thoughts from India went abroad after they were practiced in India for quite some time. Thus, there is a need for our own population to be tolerant of different shades of opinion and use technology to light up the lives of the rural poor.
Protecting families from ruinous healthcare costs
With the very limited government money on offer and the need for protection being almost universal, the states would do well to use that money instead to offer an insurance plan that covers their entire population (the poor and the non-poor) for only a limited number of very expensive and very rare conditions.
Bangladesh has become a role model for other LDCs
Prime Minister Hasina has repeatedly said that infrastructure development has been happening at a massive rate in Bangladesh that will attract foreign investors.
Covid, Chinese lab 'leaks', and the risks of playing with nature
Traditional Indian wisdom teaches us that we are not separate from nature, that all forms of life are connected and inseparable from the rhythm of the planet – the air, the mountains, the forests, the seas and the sun. If this thinking is allowed to take root again, sustainability is already achieved.
Improved connectivity an imperative to realise intra-regional trade potential in the BBIN subregion: CUTS
CUTS report launch - "Multimodal Connectivity for Shared Prosperity - Towards Facilitating Trade in th BBIN Subregion"
IMF loans and the perils of post-truth politics in Bangladesh
An economic crisis should not become a matter of party polemics unless the problem lies in management. Bangladesh’s economic recession is largely attributed to the pandemic and the Ukraine war and has the least to do with economic management. As a result, it is a state matter, and requires a consensus among the political parties to deal with it effectively.
To overcome economic crisis, does Sri Lanka need a little less democracy?
If the postponement of local body polls means less democracy for some time, let it be so, and it is in the interest of Sri Lanka.
Despite high-profile anti-corruption drives, corruption is rampant across India
While campaigns for honesty in public and private life by various sources have been taking place for a long time in the country, this has not seen any reduction in the level of corruption in India. The repeated catching of corrupt persons by the vigilance department has also not yielded many benefits as they are only the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
