Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan visit to Sri Lanka

Trincomalee Energy Hub Development Will be a Strategic Milestone in India-Sri Lanka Ties

If one location matters most to India in Sri Lanka, it is Trincomalee. With one of the finest natural harbours in the world, Trincomalee has immense commercial, naval, and energy value. For decades, strategists in New Delhi have viewed it as critical to the security architecture of the Bay of Bengal.

SAARC vs BIMSTEC: Why Regional Integration is Failing in South Asia

South Asia cannot remain an archipelago of isolated economies connected only by shared history and mutual suspicion. Changing acronyms does not change reality. Summit declarations will not achieve true economic integration. True integration requires the political courage to dismantle physical and bureaucratic walls. Only then will the region stop holding its immense potential captive.
 

Body Blows to Indian Democracy: The Deeper Story of a Parliamentary Bill That Failed

The resultant reduced trust signals a declining democratic discourse that should be the biggest worry for the nation at this stage. The bill that failed thus tells the deeper story of all that is going wrong in the Indian democracy, bit by bit, in areas that are clearly visible and sometimes in many invisible ways.

Manipur’s Unfinished War: When Suppressed Conflict Returns with Firepower

Manipur today is not merely a regional crisis. It is a test of India’s democratic resilience. It highlights the limits of governance models that prioritize control over consensus. Without a shift toward genuine political engagement that addresses the fears, rights, and representation of all communities, the conflict will persist and resurface with greater intensity.
 

More on Spotlight

India must help curb rising Islamic extremism in the Maldives

Increasing Islamic radicalisation and the influence of Pakistan and China in the island nation may be troublesome and India must adopt necessary measures to counter their influence at the earliest, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor

Can India fulfil its commitment on Iran's Chabahar port?

The enhanced allocation of resources serves as a signal to both Iran and Afghanistan that India is ready to walk the talk and hasten the completion of the project, especially at a time when the almost complete Gwadar port in Pakistan received its first container shipment, in mid-January, writes  Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor

Will the Trump visit heal fissures in the Indo-US strategic relationship?

The US-India relationship has a number of contentious issues, trade being the most important of them, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor

Can Nepal’s domestic laws prevail over an IPR Compact with US corporation MCC?

The MCC, which has approved 37 compacts for 29 countries since its inception in 2004, could extend a claim on products originating or produced from Nepal, which would unfortunately lose its sovereign rights over certain products which have their origin in Nepal, write Jivesh Jha and Nil Prasad Paneru for South Asia Monitor

Is India’s populist surge a threat to liberal democracy?

The success of Modi’s populist campaigns in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, followed by the majoritarian mobilizations and lurking use of repression, pose a serious threat to liberal democracy in India, writes L T Om Prakash for South Asia Monitor

A battle for India's soul

With Delhi assembly elections set for February 8, the battle lines are sharply drawn between two pitting ideologies that have polarised national discourse like at no time before, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor

Soleimani’s killing has only helped Islamic State, will threaten South Asian security

The re-emergence of IS would have a definite impact on the Af-Pak region, with its consequential fallout for India and regional peace and stability in South Asia, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Shaheen Bagh protests: A unique civil society movement led by women

What makes the Shaheen Bagh rare in the history of Indian civil society movements is that this is the first-time Muslim women are leading a protest against a law passed by the state, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor

CAA will deepen perception of an India unfriendly to Muslims

It is widely believed that India’s decision on CAA would ‘question the principle of equality before the law’ and emotionally impact the Muslim community of both India and its neighbouring countries, writes Sukanya Bali for South Asia Monitor

Challenging times for Indian foreign policy as new foreign secretary takes charge

Shringla, who came in from Washington where he served as India’s ambassador, will have his work cut out, writes  Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor 

Will China’s strategic embrace of Myanmar spell more trouble for Rohingyas?

The strategic gameplan of support to the Rohingya militancy is clearly visible. One, for China, making them into militants can be used to destabilize many countries, including India in South Asia, thus weakening its economic competitors, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor

South Asian countries must formulate legal frameworks to control marine litter

In South Asia, the issue of marine litter management is not taken as a priority by any of the nations, write Harsh Mahaseth and Shubham Sharma for South Asia Monitor 

Religious extremism taking hold in Afghanistan as Taliban influence spreads

Salafist movements, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Jamiat-E Eslah, while opposing Taliban methods, are generally the same, and these movements, consciously or unconsciously, pave the way for Taliban recruitment in Afghanistan, Writes Saleem Payenda for South Asia Monitor

Vulnerable communities in Bangladesh to be worst hit by climate crisis

Bangladesh and Maldives, amongst others, are the most afflicted and vulnerable victims of environmental pollution and climate change, Write Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

Anti-CAA protests in India mask Assam’s lonely struggle

The nature of protests and participation of people in anti-CAA rallies in Assam indicates that Assam rejects the communal agenda of the current BJP-led government and diversionary tactics of the mainstream media, write Minakshi Bujarbaruah & Rituparna Kaushik Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor