In South Asia, India has, on the directives of its Supreme Court, constituted High Powered Committees in each state to define criteria for release of both sentenced and unsentenced prisoners, writes Madhurima Dhanuka for the South Asia Monitor
Prolonged West Asia Conflict: US Loss of Credibility, Enormous Cost to the World
Here is something that is perhaps not widely reported. According to this account, Iranian forces were able to destroy a significant part of the logistics infrastructure supporting these large carrier operations. They struck the central logistics hub in Bahrain very early in the conflict.
Dhaka's Delhi Test: Firmness Without Rigidity
Bangladesh's Prime Minister need not visit India simply to keep relations cordial, but when engagement can advance its interests, refusing engagement becomes a cost of its own. The objective should be to preserve leverage through engagement, not to mistake rigidity for leverage.
Every Pakistani General’s Familiar Survival Playbook: Will Shifting Geopolitical Currents Presage Repeat of History for Munir?
However, the political situation has gradually begun to show currents that may move against Munir. The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s order to shift former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Munir’s arch-rival, to a private hospital and the statement by the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor affirming that J&K is "an important part of India", reinforces the impression of classic temporariness and limited strategic relevance of Pakistan in US-Pak relations.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement: What It Means for South Asia
New Delhi’s official response has been measured, almost pointedly so, a statement that India is “looking into the implications” rather than any dramatic condemnation. That restraint is wise, and should be read as strength rather than uncertainty. India’s ties with Saudi Arabia are too economically consequential, too carefully cultivated over the past decade, for Riyadh to jeopardize them by handing Pakistan a blank check.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
India could be staring at a human security catastrophe
India has about 450 million workers in the informal sector and about a third of them are in the migrant cluster. Even if it is estimated that half of this workforce is grappling with hunger, the numbers are mind-boggling, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan's fate in FATF once again hangs in balance
In order to save itself from being put under a blacklist, Pakistan has to work at least on papers with respect to various terror organisations to address ‘strategic deficiencies', writes Dr. Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
Kashmiri youth being misled: Myth about 'demographic changes'
Who will benefit from the new rule? It would be the wards of West Pakistan refugees, Balmikis, Gorkhas, Punjabis and migrant labour in the newly created union territory, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asian countries cannot make the same choices as developed nations
The biggest challenge for governments in South Asia is to fight this pandemic like a first-world country but with the limited resources of a third-world country, writes Dr. Jitender Bhandari for the South Asia Monitor
Post-COVID 19: Needed a brave new world, not chasing shadows
The world community reacted tardily and instead of shoring up the defenses, it is now dousing the fires. The world in the future would warrant systems that are more alert to impending pandemics and crises, better prepared and strong leadership writes R Adm Vineet Bakhshi (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Unorganised workers in India: The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted their utter neglect
The legislation enacted way back in 2008, known as The Unorganised Workers'Social Security Act (mentioned as the Act hereafter) which entered the statute book on December 31, 2008, if implemented seriously, could have come to the rescue of the unorganised workers, which stand to lose enormously both in terms of livelihood opportunities and social security at the present juncture due to the health pandemic, writes Partha Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Leaving Afghanistan's fate to the Taliban
It would not be surprising if American troops are also attacked after part withdrawal has taken place, with blame, apportioned to Islamic State, as was done in the case of the recent attack on Kabul gurdwara, while China and Pakistan laughed all the way home, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India needs to be fair to its own migrants, the city builders and sustainers
The census data of 2011 reflects that the four states - Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh -account for 50 percent of India's total inter-state migrants, write Suresh Kumar Patel, Abhishek Kumar & Noorul Quamer for South Asia Monitor
The Wuhan virus and China's biological warfare: Warnings the world ignored
Launch of China Virus/COVID-19 - which only India had guts to name biological weapon - had decades of preparation to deny/mitigate global response, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
COVID 19: South Asian nations must take care of refugees, or we all are vulnerable
The Rohingya refugees staying inside and outside camps in Bangladesh and India are worth mentioning in the South Asian context. Their already slum-like dwellings, lack of fresh water and sanitation, densely-crowded living conditions and hunger puts them in a more perilous situation, writes Sariful Islam for South Asia Monitor
The final frontier: Women in combat roles must become the new normal
In the Indian context, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy have granted a permanent commission to women officers even as both have opened up some combat roles for women, write Subhranil Ghosh & Sayantan Bandyopadhyay for South Asia Monitor
Why Modi broke ranks from his nationalist 'friends' abroad
While Trump and Bolsonaro are worried about the virus' impact on their nation's markets, economies and, by extension, their political future, Modi was open enough to admit that the pandemic would have economic costs, but saving lives was more important for him and his government, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
Rajapaksa’s Redux: Jingoism 1, Justice 0
The return of a Rajapaksa to the island’s highest office coincides with a potent form of majoritarianism in Sri Lanka, driven simultaneously by jingoism and fear among the electorate, writes Arman Sidhu for South Asia Monitor
The lockdown is India’s only hope
After independence, this is perhaps the first time India is being put to such a test, with every part of the country affected. Not confined to India alone, but the entire neighbourhood of South Asia is being engulfed by this pandemic, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
