South Asian Digests
Pakistan, Bangladesh agree to bolster ties in...
December 4, 2020
Indian Muslim student arrested under new ‘lov...
December 4, 2020
Alluding to India, China says its relationshi...
December 4, 2020
Pakistani project wins international award fo...
December 4, 2020
Myanmar EC rejects military moves to seize vo...
December 4, 2020
Maldives classifies mutiny within police as a...
December 4, 2020
Sri Lanka: Tens of thousands evacuated as Cyc...
December 3, 2020
Gov’t exploring to give a tablet phone each t...
December 2, 2020
Top News
India and China compete over Indian Ocean debt-relief diplomacy
December 4, 2020
| By: Marwaan Macan-Markar
Sri Lanka's navy scours the island nation's northern waters in search of Indian smugglers hauling boatloads of turmeric, a staple spice used widely in South Asian cooking. The ultranationalist government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this year added the yellow seasoning to a list of banned imports in a desperate bid to prevent an outflow of precious U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, the Maldives, to Sri Lanka's southwest, has imposed limits on the use of dollars by locals...
Morning Brief
CHAI BREAK: 04 DECEMBER
Wake up and smell the coffee! Or the chai, if you prefer. Start the day with this virtual visit to the delightful cafes, bistros and restaurants of the South Asian neighbourhood. SAM treats you to a new eatery every day. Today it’s...
Reports
Kashmiris expect Biden to pressure India on huma...
December 4, 2020
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By: Bilal Hussain
Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election a month ago has instilled hope in politicians and citizens in India-administered Kashmir who expect President Donald Trump's replacement to raise the issue of human rights abuses in the region.
The campaign's website has a lengthy page,...
BIMSTEC Convention ratification sparks debate in...
December 4, 2020
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By: Younten Tshedup
The BIMSTEC Convention on combating international terrorism, transnational organised crimes and illicit drug trafficking, needs extra scrutiny before it is ratified for enforcement.
The concern was raised by an eminent member of the National Council, Ugyen Tshering when the convention was introduced by Home Minister...
Indian govt finally approves crucial Army post r...
December 4, 2020
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By: Rajat Pandit
The government has finally approved the creation of a crucial new Army post, the acute operational need for which was felt during the 73-day troop face-off at Doklam with China in 2017, amidst the ongoing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh.
The government sanction letter (GSL)...
Rights groups urge Bangladesh to halt Rohingya r...
December 4, 2020
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By: SAM Staff
Human rights groups urged Bangladesh on Thursday to stop its plan to ship thousands of Rohingya refugees to a remote island as officials said the first group of 400 could leave later in on Thursday.
Police escorted the refugees in 10 buses from Ukhiya in...
SAM Special
Suu Kyi's Myanmar election victory not enough to budge military
December 2, 2020
| By: Toru Takahashi
Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy won a landslide in the general election on Nov. 8, securing 396 parliamentary seats, 83% of those contested. It was a larger victory than the NLD's electoral romp in 2015, when State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi's party secured 79% of the contested seats.
But was it a big win for democracy?
The number of seats needed for the NLD to form the next government was 333, 70% of...
Issues
India’s angry farmers have reason to worry
December 4, 2020
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By: Mihir Sharma
The third rail of Indian politics has always been agriculture. While the economy has been partly liberalized since opening up to the world in 1991, the process has largely bypassed the three-fifths of Indians who depend for their livelihoods, directly or indirectly, on farming. In...
Pak-US relations and the Afghan factor
December 4, 2020
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By: Durdana Najam
With the falling of the twin towers, followed by a war in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda and consequently its host, the Taliban, Pakistan was forced to reverse its Afghan policy by distancing itself from the Taliban. Apparently Pakistan did step back but it never stopped...
Nepal-India ties remain under cloud of agenda se...
December 4, 2020
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By: Kamal Dev Bhattarai
The recent series of visits by Indian representatives to Nepal and the Nepal foreign minister’s planned visit to New Delhi clearly shows that both sides are keen to improve their strained ties. However, the two sides are still clashing when it comes to which issues...
Inadequate warships, delayed procurement: How ma...
December 4, 2020
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By: Rahul Bedi
In their quest for atmanirbharta or self-sufficiency in indigenising the country’s materiel requirements, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the services appear willing to compromise on the operational efficiency of major locally designed and licence-built platforms.
It seems this proclivity by both entities to commission...
Opinion
Afghans embrace China’s humanitarian cartoon,...
December 3, 2020
| By: Mansoor Faizy
Defence
Indian Navy could take minesweeper, helicopter...
December 4, 2020
| By: SAM Staff
Is Argentina going to purchase JF-17 Thunder a...
December 4, 2020
| By: SAM Staff
Editor`s Choice
Israel gets boxed in as Iran issue surges
“Iran’s scientific and defense policies won’t change because of the assassination of one scientist or general,” the spokesman of the Iranian government Ali Rabiei wrote...
Joe Biden’s world order
By: Shlomo Ben-Ami
In less than four years, outgoing US President Donald Trump has achieved what, historically, only devastating wars had done: recast the global order. With his...
Slow death of liberal democracy in India
By: P Chidambaram
The Constitution of India has a Preamble. Not many people read the Preamble or understand its significance. Even those familiar with select provisions like ‘Fundamental...
Vista Of Views
The Iranian nuclear scientist’s assassination: danger ahead
December 3, 2020
| By: SAM Staff
Focus
India
The India of my dreams
December 4, 2020
| By: Tommy Koh
My political awakening happened when I was in secondary school in the 1950s. I became aware that there was a worldwide movement of people living under colonial rule and these people were rising up against their colonial masters. They wanted self-determination and independence.
The struggle by India against the British rule caught my imagination and support. There were two heroic figures in that struggle. They were Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Gandhi's rejection of...
They’re doing everything they can now for peace, but which may require them to be firm and, sometimes, to show a willingness to fight
George Yeo, Former Singapore Foreign Minister, on China.
Video
South Asian Monitor news headlines 05 November 2020 November 5, 2020
This week’s guest Major General (Retd.) ANM Muniruzzaman fro... October 16, 2020
F2F with Afsan Chowdhury. This week’s guest Yubaraj Ghimire... October 4, 2020
Audio
Bihar elections: BJP uses the corona vaccine bait October 28, 2020
Goel’s visit indicates RAW’s bid to revive past links with O... October 26, 2020
Why Abdullah Abdullah visited Pakistan and India? November 4, 2020
Barack Obama was decidedly a man of action as...
November 30, 2020
Maradona flew and fell. It is why we loved hi...
November 27, 2020
Rediscovering Sri Lanka through a travel memo...
November 25, 2020
‘I knew my father would be hanged’: Rememberi...
November 24, 2020
Return of Pakistani antiquities sheds light o...
November 24, 2020
The army of women saving India’s storks
November 16, 2020
Pakistan highlights Bollywood links with Raj...
November 7, 2020
‘Madman’ digs for decades to bring water to d...
October 31, 2020