Bangladesh’s centrality to South Asia is grounded as much in material realities as in symbolic politics. As one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and a strategic gateway to the Bay of Bengal, Dhaka plays a pivotal role in initiatives such as BBIN and BIMSTEC. Its ports and transport corridors provide critical access for landlocked neighbors, while its manufacturing sector integrates regional supply chains. Cross‑border electricity trade with India and Nepal, along with prospective hydropower cooperation with Bhutan, highlights Bangladesh’s emerging role as an energy and connectivity hub.
Child sexual abuse within homes must be recognised as a central internal security and public health concern rather than a private family matter. Legal provisions such as the POCSO Act provide a strong framework, but enforcement gaps and social stigma continue to undermine protection. A coordinated response is required: universal child safety education, consistent training for frontline workers, faster court processes, and expanded counselling services across regions.
The most immediate and delicate challenge for the new government lies in its relationship with India. Following the events of August 2024 and the subsequent transitional period, the bilateral bond has faced unprecedented strain. The presence of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India remains a friction point, yet the early signs of 2026 suggest a pragmatic "reset." Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory call to Tarique Rahman on February 13, 2026 signals New Delhi's recognition of the changed political reality. However, the path forward requires addressing deep-seated issues that have long simmered.
Sri Lanka has a wide range of monetizable opportunities based on its strategic location and also existing domestic business landscape. The ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup is one example. No other country in South Asia, other than Sri Lanka, will find it possible to host a match between India and Pakistan. It is time Sri Lanka works towards leveraging its geographical location to weather global trade reset, while effectively leveraging its cultural foundation to boost its global soft power.
The Hindus entered cricket due to their long-standing social and business rivalry with the Parsis. The first Hindu club, the Bombay Union, was formed in 1866. Muslim cricket began with the Luxmani and Tyebjee families, who helped establish a Muslim cricket club in 1883.
Wife battering is universal in Bangladesh in almost all homes. However, this increases manifold during and after cyclones. There is a breakdown of social and familial infrastructure and livelihood patterns and violence increases with economic stress and anxiety.
Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) need to have policy responses to ensure checks and balances against generative AIs. The top-down policy approach may focus on banning the use of generative AIs. But participatory and adaptive approaches focus on developing policies that could accept the use of generative AIs in varying degrees, with the realisation that generative AIs are here to stay.
What is painful is the inability of civil society groups in the state to intervene during this critical time since the contending groups are not ready to negotiate with each other. However, one must not lose faith in the civil society which is based in Manipur's immediate neighbouring states like Nagaland, Mizoram, and Assam.
The Muslim Personal Law Board is committing the same mistake by opposing the UCC as it did during the discourse on the abhorrent Muslim practice of instantaneous triple talaq without realising its far-reaching consequences.
Macron and Modi should shun transactional diplomacy that engages in multi-billion dollar agreements for military fighter jets and machinery, nuclear reactors and pharmaceutical products. Instead, they should embrace some transformational diplomacy to make the planet sustainable again.
Russia’s proposal to establish Sri Lanka’s first nuclear power plant comes on the heels of the completion of a similar nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, which has paved the path for Russia to play a larger role in South Asian geopolitics.
In recent years India has been prioritising regional integration among South Asian countries, excepting Pakistan. As per the joint vision statement between Nepal and India in April last year, the two countries agreed to expand sub-regional cooperation in the power sector among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN)
Climate crisis is a lesser word to describe the transformative shifts that are taking place in weather conditions across the Global South affecting mostly countries like Pakistan in South Asia. Attitudes of society need to change towards women. Societal attitudes, traditional norms and cultural practices create entrenched gender disparities that hinder women’s participation in development plans and in survival strategies devised to save them in the post-disaster period.
From Modi's standpoint, the visit unfolded precisely as he desired. The exceptional reception he received from the leader of the free world, less than a year before facing the billion-strong Indian electorate, serves as a significant boost for him.
It is high time the Nepalese government strengthens its diplomatic muscle and stands up strongly for the legal rights of its citizens working overseas.
Manipur is burning and the government knows not what to do next. This is a sensitive state in a sensitive region with not very friendly neighbours. The collapse of State machinery here should be a cause for alarm.
The June 10 deployment of two carriers by IN has received favourable notice internationally and this has added salience on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the USA (June 21) in relation to India’s naval capabilities.
The centerpiece of Modi’s state visit to the US is expected to be a jet engine agreement that can propel Indo-US relations to a new sphere altogether. The application by General Electric to co-produce GE-F414 jet engines in India, along with technology transfer, has already received approval of the Biden administration.
Such is the disparity that at a time when Aida Girma-Melaku, Unicef's representative, reported that Pakistan confronts a triple burden of malnutrition affecting young children, adolescents, and pregnant and lactating women, with 40 per cent of children under the age of five being stunted, Pakistan spent $1.2 billion on imports of luxury cars and electric vehicles for its rich and powerful in the last half of 2022.
