As the World Bank notes, isolated national actions are insufficient when pollution itself ignores borders. India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan share the same airshed. Without cooperation, each country keeps breathing its neighbour’s mistakes. “As the government representing the largest population affected by air pollution, India should lead this effort. Instead, the region has drifted away from cooperation, and the cost has been catastrophic,” Dr Subedee said.
This is certainly not a call to romanticise sport or overstate its diplomatic capacity. Neither did cricket ever resolve South Asia’s conflicts. But it softened their edges. It reminded the public that despite borders and disputes there existed a cultural language. The erosion of that language should now concern the whole of South Asia. Because when even the simplest forms of cultural exchange become difficult, rebuilding trust happens to be infinitely harder.
Bangladesh, though Muslim‑majority, has historically significant Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Indigenous minorities. Removing secularism would create a profound democratic dilemma as it is the safeguard against majoritarian dominance and structural exclusion. The South Asian experience shows the risks of privileging religion in constitutions.
What India next needs to consider is opening a dialogue with Beijing, while remaining mindful of its security concerns. Years of hostility and China’s anti-India posturing, coupled with its hegemonic aspirations, have understandably created an atmosphere of deep distrust. However, the atmospherics are now right for a rethink as to whether current distancing serves mutual interest. The middle path approach justifies seeking out areas of collaboration, especially through enhanced trade and thereby dilute the overdependence on the US market, both for China and for India.
Yet no nuclear scientist has been targeted in Pakistan, not even Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb who indulged in blatant nuclear proliferation with obvious government support, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Rasool Bux Palijo has earned a place in the pantheon of leaders of South Asia who has earned lasting fame and created an ideological legacy in the struggle against martial law, feudalism, colonialism, and imperialism, writes Muhammad Abbas Khaskheli for South Asia Monitor
India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives agreed to expand the scope of intelligence sharing, including terrorism and cybersecurity, at the meeting to discuss common security threats, writes Sugeeswara Senadhira for South Asia Monitor
Pakistani audiences seem unwilling to discard the supposedly "vulgar" stuff they are addicted to, given the common socio-cultural ethos of the subcontinent, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The spread of COVID-19 infections in South Asia has not been uniform across countries; while some countries were successful in controlling the pandemic, others were not, writes Partho Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
The BJP governments in these states, in their quest to criminalize interfaith marriages, are going ahead with coming out with this law, despite not even a single case of ‘love jihad’ having been detected by the central investigative teams to date, writes Reeti Prakash for South Asia Monitor
Till the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are confident and sufficiently armed to stabilize the country, it would be prudent for the US to retain troop strength between 5000-8000 in Afghanistan, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The Malabar naval exercises could be seen as an obvious manifestation of the desire among members of the Quad to keep trade routes open, military confrontations in check and keep the Indo-Pacific Region open for legitimate rules-based economic activity, writes Raghbendra Jha for South Asia Monitor
COVID-19 has brought into focus supply chain issues and with it a fundamental change in the way food availability and access is viewed, one that goes beyond the conventional focus on weather, area, production, and yield (APY) paradigm of crops, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
These are challenging times with rising majoritarianism and nationalism and, with a large Muslim population, India must watch events in Europe closely, and ensure its secular fabric remains intact, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan troops from January till November along the J & K border has broken all records of the past 17 years, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The police in Bangladesh have taken the role of judge, jury, and executioner, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor
People in Umerkot live in communal harmony. While the Hindus arrange Iftari in the month of Ramazan and Niaz in the month of Muharram, the Muslims come forward to attend Hindu festivals, thus sending a message of love, peace, and harmony, writes Furqan Hyder Shaikh for South Asia Monitor
As the patron of the Taliban, Pakistan will wield more direct influence over Afghanistan as Washington winds down its involvement, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
India faces a grave challenge that has been accentuated by the pandemic. The crisis needs to be seen as a national imperative and addressed through a collective stakeholder approach with a sense of extreme urgency, writes Amit Dasgupta for South Asia Monitor
