Coronavirus emergency brought together these South Asian nations as they reposed trust in SAARC. Thus, the pandemic delivered a promising indication of revitalization, writes Harsh Mahaseth & Saumya Pandey for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan Demonstrates its Geopolitical Importance in the World Order
This night was not about grandstanding; it was about results. Pakistan leveraged decades of ties with the U.S., deep cultural and geographic connections to Iran, and strong Gulf partnerships to create a channel no one else could. In an era of multipolar tensions, where flashpoints can ignite global crises, Islamabad showed it can convene, de-escalate, and deliver where others could not.
When Law Bends to Power: Gulf War Exposes Regional Vulnerabilities and Absence of Alternative Order
The unfolding conflict is not just a regional crisis. It is also putting the current global order under strain. Legal structures, economic systems and strategic alignments are all feeling this pressure. What we are seeing is not a clear collapse, but something more uncertain. Law is still in place, though its application varies. Interdependence continues, but it is increasingly used as leverage.There is no clearly defined alternative order ready to take the place of what is weakening
A Ceasefire Without Peace: Breathing Space for Difficult Compromises or Interval Before Next Confrontation? (Part I)
The most urgent and vital issue is the future management of the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway supports a large part of the world’s energy supply. For many years, its security relied on Western naval dominance. That belief has now been challenged.Iran has demonstrated it can disrupt, threaten, and influence traffic through the Strait.
A Foreign Push to Reshape Bangladesh Politics? Critical Reassessment of Yunus' Role Needed
However, concerns persist that efforts to reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape have not ceased. There are allegations that Yunus has mobilized aligned groups, including student activists, to push for constitutional reforms that critics argue could weaken the current government and create conditions for renewed political upheaval.
More on Spotlight
Kashmir's local polls only half a step forward towards normality
This is the BJP’s first success in the valley where it has always been regarded as untouchable. However, since local elections generally reflect the popularity of candidates belonging to the area, an outcome that ignores the wider political divisions is not unusual, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Forging farmer-student solidarity: Joining hands to strengthen participatory democracy
The return of active engagement with agrarian issues in university spaces is central to forging student-farmer solidarity, contends Arsh Ajmera for South Asia Monitor
Is China orchestrating Afghanistan's future through its proxies?
Afghanistan wants Beijing to formally apologize for China’s spy-cum-terror module caught operating in Kabul violating international norms before the Chinese detainees are released. However, China will consider this demand an affront, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asia: Structural transformation, trade openness and self-sufficiency
The region’s dependence on imports for production, as well as the contributions of its exports through value chains place some of its economies in an influential position within the global production and trading network, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Terrorists may not seize power in Pakistan, but enabling environment for extremism remains
The legacy of the Pakistani state’s sponsorship of some terror groups - mainly those used to help pursue its objectives in Afghanistan and India - means that the infrastructure of terror will prove difficult to dismantle (though Islamabad has made progress in curbing terror financing networks, amid strong international pressure), writes Michael Kugelman for South Asia Monitor
Was Nepal’s parliament dissolved at Beijing’s behest?
Dissent within Nepal’s Communist Party was brewing for a long time but dissolving parliament without a provision in the Constitution is unprecedented. China has invested too much in Nepal to let go of control of Nepalese politics, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India's swelling farm protests: Battle of attrition amid trust deficit
If contract farming is an idea whose time has come, it is necessary to ask why did it take off from 2002-03 and then sharply decline by 2011-12 in this vanguard agrarian state, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Sustainable consumption in South Asia: Making use of sustainable opportunities from the pandemic
More importantly, the South Asia region needs to realise that workers and farmers have a key role to play in promoting sustainable consumption as they are both the end consumers as well as the producers at the start of the supply chain, writes George Cheriyan & Simi T.B. for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh war of 1971: Pakistan's blinkered vision
But it is interesting to note that 49 years hence, there seems to be no change in how the nation views the civil war and a bloody separation of its eastern province, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan should be compelled to apologise to Bangladesh for 1971 genocide
The ‘uncultured’ state of Pakistan has not apologized yet for the 1971 genocide. It should be compelled, writes Farabi Bin Zahir for South Asia Monitor
Biden's Asia policy: Will India be able to cultivate its proximity with Washington?
New Delhi also needs to recognize that the rules of diplomacy are changing and that country, especially the US under Biden, would not hesitate to make remarks about human rights violations or on communal tensions and certainly, the changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir. None of these would qualify, for Biden’s Administration, as being ‘internal matters,’ writes Amb Amit Dasgupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Afghanistan, Bangladesh or undocumented Indians in US: Plight of displaced people needs attention
On this International Migrants Day, it is worth noting that not every migrant succeeds in an adopted land. For evidence, one need not go beyond the Indian American community. While the community’s many successes and accomplishments have been well-documented, a less-publicized fact is the plight of hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals in the United States, writes Frank Islam for South Asia Monitor
BJP’s fixation with polls made it ignore India's farmers
What the BJP may have realized, therefore, from these sporadic eruptions of protests is that electoral success is not the be-all and end-all of politics, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh's self-defeating 'sculpture politics': Who gains?
Many people want to know why the ruling Awami League is perpetuating this "sculpture politics". Why is this issue being given so much importance so as to forget the numerous other challenges Bangladesh is facing? writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor
