From a realistic perspective, the prospect of a Pakistan-Bangladesh axis does not herald a serious economic or strategic bloc. Instead, it signals the re-emergence of revisionist politics in South Asia. In seeking to rewrite history and align against India, both countries risk ignoring their own domestic crises.
Bangladesh now stands at a perilous crossroads. Either the nation allows this unelected regime to continue dismantling democratic institutions, silencing dissent, and rewriting history—or its citizens rise to reclaim their rights. Democracy cannot endure without inclusivity
Championing a rules-based maritime order in the Indian Ocean, which Sri Lanka has long called for since its 1971 ‘Indian Ocean Peace Zone’ (IOPZ) proposal and ensuring strict adherence to the provisions of the ‘UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’ (UNCLOS), will reinforce Sri Lanka’s credibility and also encourage cooperative stability in the Indian Ocean.
For Modi, the political cost of appearing to bow to American pressure may be almost as high as the economic cost of resisting it. In the end, the tariffs are not just about commerce. They are a test of whether India can still straddle the fault lines of great-power rivalry—whether the world’s most populous democracy is being forced into the uncomfortable role of choosing sides.
Gandhi was an engineer at heart. He improvised and built equipment like better snake-catching tools, small cotton-spinning wheel (takli) and chappals (sandals) from used tires. In 1929, he even instituted an INR one lakh prize (INR 20 crores in today’s value; 2.6 times bigger than the Nobel Prize) for the design of a modern charkha (spinning wheel), writes Anil K Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Trump realized that the draft deal, if signed, would be labeled a surrender to the Taliban, which would be politically damaging for him. Another reason could be that he never really wanted to meet the Taliban, but wanted to showcase the peace efforts made, and place indirect pressure on them through the subterfuge writes Lt Gen PC Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
With India's growing political and strategic interest in the continent, and inclination to leverage its diaspora as an instrument of soft power, it’s natural for New Delhi to establish a beachhead in Somalia, that straddles the Horn of Africa, the source of the Nile and a gate to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, through which tens of thousands of vessels pass through Somali waters every year in what is one of the world’s busiest sea-trading lanes, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
Delhi has not yet made an official statement, but legitimizing the Taliban at a Camp David ceremony would have had an adverse impact on India’s strategic interests in the region, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
For an outsider, the NRC process has come to be perceived as anti-Muslim. This is drawing the line along religious identity—a factor to which the indigenous Assamese Muslim community does not agree, but whose voice has been largely ignored in this massive debate, writes Azera Parveen Rahman for South Asia Monitor
Trump ordering withdrawal of some troops is very much on the cards. The situation in Afghanistan over the next few months is unpredictable, with the internal turmoil and economic situation in Pakistan also deteriorating, writes Lt Gen Prakash Chand Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Sri Lanka, being an Indian Ocean island nation strategically located at the international maritime crossroads, has significant diplomatic influence in the West due its Christian community, write Srimal Fernando and Mizly Nizar for South Asia Monitor
The creation of a CDS cannot (and must not) be an isolated action because it carries with it a whole new ecosystem that can transform India’s national security paradigm. writes Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Why can’t India begin by addressing the Balochistan problem at international forums, especially the heavy-handed suppression and continuing human rights abuses the people of that province face?, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan's only real option is to provoke large scale communal conflict simultaneously in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Kashmir, which can spread to other regions. That can be blamed on the ruling dispensation's 'anti-Muslim' policies, against which many voices have been raised in India, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor
Showing political will at the highest level is of little help unless it works at ground level. The government must take Kashmiri people, particularly the youth, into confidence to instill buoyancy into every faith-filled Kashmiri's heart, writes Debasish Bhattacharyya for South Asia Monitor
Hundreds of dengue-affected patients are receiving treatment in different public and private hospitals in Dhaka, but hospitals are full to the brim and facing challenges to handle the crisis due to lack of sufficient equipment and manpower, writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor
There is a clear sense that something is missing in the present relationship between the Indian and Nepali governments. Both should work to develop harmony and trust and mitigate the trust deficit, writes Gaurab Shumsher Thapa for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan will try to enhance terrorist activities not only in J&K but in all of India. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence may activate and instruct its sleeper cells to carry out terrorist activities in communally sensitive places so that communal riots erupt in the country, writes J K Verma for South Asia Monitor
The Kashmir issue may have been handled deftly at the global politico-diplomatic level, but the abiding challenge for India remains domestic, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor
