It must be understood that welfare spending is essential to partly redress the widening inequality in Indian society
A Mature Democracy Must be Confident Enough to Hear Youth Anger: Domestic Unrest can Become Global Politics in Hours
Democracies need dissent. Young Indians have every right to demand credible examinations, transparent recruitment, accountable institutions and a responsive government. To delegitimise all youth anger as foreign manipulation would be intellectually lazy and politically dangerous. But it is equally naive to pretend that geopolitics ends at the border of domestic protest.
Making Workplaces Safer in South Asia: Prevention Less Costly than Catastrophe
Workplace accidents impose costs far beyond the immediate loss of life and injury. Families lose breadwinners, enterprises suffer productivity losses, projects face delays and governments incur healthcare and compensation costs. The social consequences can be particularly severe for migrant and informal workers
Is Delimitation Becoming a Penalty for Good Governance for India's Southern States?
For decades, these states invested heavily in women’s education, public health, industrialisation, literacy and population control. Fertility rates in many southern states have already fallen below replacement levels. In contrast, several northern states lagged behind for years on precisely these indicators. If parliamentary representation now shifts overwhelmingly toward states with higher population growth, the message becomes deeply perverse: governance discipline weakens political power.
Denial of Voting Rights to Undertrials: Blinds Spots in India's Democracy
At its heart, the challenge to Section 62(5) is a test of constitutional sincerity, of whether the Indian Republic truly believes that citizenship endures even behind bars. Enacted in the infancy of the republic, the provision has long outlived its moral logic. It collapses the distinction between confinement and culpability
More on Public Policy and Governance
Ameliorate plight of cross-border prisoners: Joint appeal by South Asian organizations
Release prisoners on completion of jail term, decriminalise inadvertent border crossings, especially for fisherfolk and minors
Misuse of Indian Army uniforms has dangerous consequences: Army’s distinctiveness must remain paramount
Uncontrolled proliferation of the existing combat uniform has led to many cases of breach of security of military establishments and personnel and, while it has been a cause of concern, not enough action has been initiated
Save the children: Millions of children victims of acute malnutrition, hunger and diseases in Afghanistan; girls shut out of education
The country is already one of the worst places in the world to be a child, And, in the past year, the situation has become grimmer because of crippling poverty, violence, and drought, according to UNICEF.
Militants, separatists better than opposition: Imran Khan's remark shows Pakistan's deteriorating democracy
His remarks came days after some media reports indicated that the Pakistan Army could try to facilitate a dialogue or deal between Khan and the ruling coalition to create a consensus on early elections, which remains Khan's primary demand, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan’s ruling coalition dealt yet another blow, its legitimacy in crisis
The decision to oust Imran Khan ultimately allowed him to hijack the anti-establishment tag in his favour. Khan’s repeated reference to the government as the “imported government” and to the military as “neutrals” further reinforced his perception as a popular civilian leader
India's 15th President Droupadi Murmu, hailing from the tribal community, says she embodies dreams of the country's poor
In that sense, her choice by the dispensation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, otherwise seen as an autocratic leader who has been accused of undermining many of India's democratic institutions, is seen as nothing sort of revolutionary, both by the standard of the country's conservative political and social norms
Why is India resilient to oil volatility despite overdependence on imports?
In India over 75 per cent of electricity is generated from coal-based thermal plants. Oil accounts for less than 2 percent of electric power, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
South Asia does not value its manhours: Change working hours
The simplest solution will be to change working hours by advancing it to 0700 hours and ending the workday at 1530 hours, so that the entire working hours are during daylight hours, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
China, India woo Nepal’s political parties ahead of general elections
Under no circumstances would New Delhi like to see a break in the recent momentum in bilateral relations generated through increased economic and developmental cooperation, even if there is a change of the government in Kathmandu later this year, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan gets breathing space with IMF deal, but will it bite the bullet of structural reforms?
For Pakistan's political elites, it has become a cycle of securing loans from allies to fund its ever-ballooning deficit and again approaching the IMF when funds dry up, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
With rising global food costs, first I2U2 projects to tackle food insecurity in South Asia and Middle East
The I2U2 will work in six areas – water, energy, transport, space, health, and food security – combining the expertise and the resources of the four nations, Modi said
Selfies in bedrooms, swimming in pool: Protestors in Sri Lanka explore besieged presidential palace
A short video, which went viral on social media, showed people searching for leftover food in the kitchen.
Perspective
Taliban summarily executed over a hundred suspected ISIS militants, says HRW; Taliban says ‘baseless’ as fears of internecine war intensify
The bodies recovered by the residents showed evidence of torture and brutal executions, including some with missing limbs and ropes around their necks. Others had their head beheaded or slit throats, according to the report
Nepal to form fresh citizenship rules after withdrawing controversial bill; could have damaged cross-border familial bonds
Nepal, which shares a long open border with India to its north, west and east, enjoys cultural, historical, and civilizational bonds with India for centuries. People across the border in both countries have been inter-marrying for ages, which led to the “Roti and Beti ka Rishta” (cultural and marital bond) tag to the relationship between the two neighbours.
