South Asian Digests
Malaysia sets aside death sentence of Banglad...
November 27, 2021
An Indian minister want his constituency's ro...
November 26, 2021
Myanmar junta arrests medics for treating 'te...
November 26, 2021
India wants Nepal not to allow foreigners to...
November 26, 2021
Pakistan sends more food aid for Afghan peopl...
November 26, 2021
Red Cross says Afghanistan sanctions behind '...
November 24, 2021
Sri Lanka begins trials connected to 2019 eas...
November 23, 2021
Bhutan delivers 230,000 doses of Covid-19 vac...
August 7, 2021
Top News
The politics of Biden’s democracy Summit
November 27, 2021
| By: P.K. Balachandran
Colombo: The “Democracy Summit” that US President Joe Biden is organizing on December 9 and 10 (in the virtual mode), is ostensibly meant to promote democracy and human rights across the world. Announcing the summit in August, the White House said the meeting would "galvanize commitments and initiatives across three principal themes: (1) defending against authoritarianism (2) fighting corruption, and (3) promoting respect for human rights".
Laudable goals indeed. But a deeper look at the...
SOUTH ASIAN BRIEF
India has lost its leverage in Afghanistan
Welcome to South Asia Brief.
The highlights this week: India struggles for influence in Taliban-led Afghanistan, a digital payment platform sets out to become India’s most valuable tech firm, and a U.N. official issues grave warnings about Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
India Hosts Security Conference on Afghanistan
On Wednesday, India hosted a regional security...
Reports
Lankan Tamil team seeks proactive US role in ali...
November 27, 2021
|
By: SAM Staff
Colombo: A joint delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), which met top American officials between November 15 and 22, sought a proactive US government role “in alignment with India” in promoting a holistic approach to ethnic reconciliation in...
Time for Japan to stop funding coal power in Ban...
November 27, 2021
|
By: Shibayan Raha & Sharif Jamil
Non-governmental organizations have filed a formal complaint against the Japan International Cooperation Agency – the first of its kind – to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The complaint addresses JICA’s false assertion that its bond issued on US markets was free from involvement in coal-fueled...
Chinese navy is planning ahead. India’s approach...
November 27, 2021
|
By: Snehesh Alex Philip
Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh commissioned the fourth of the Scorpene-class submarines — INS Vela — Thursday. A few days back, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the first of the Visakhapatnam class of destroyers. There is no denying that the commissioning of both these vessels...
Pakistan ‘welcomes’ second round of US-Taliban t...
November 27, 2021
|
By: SAM Staff
Pakistan has “welcomed” a second round of talks between the United States and the Taliban since the latter’s takeover of Afghanistan earlier this year, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson says.
Addressing a weekly press briefing in capital Islamabad on Thursday, MoFA spokesman Asim...
SAM Special
For India’s opposition to recover, the Gandhis should quit
November 27, 2021
| By: SAM Staff
The indian national congress is the grand old party of the world’s biggest democracy. Its president is Sonia Gandhi, the 74-year-old widow of Rajiv Gandhi, a former prime minister who was also the son and grandson of prime ministers. Its de facto leader is Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv’s and Sonia’s 51-year-old son. Priyanka Gandhi, their 49-year-old daughter, is a general secretary. Somebody named Gandhi has run the party for all but six of the past 43 years....
Issues
The democratic backsliding of India
November 27, 2021
|
By: Vasundhara Sirnate
What is the Global State of Democracy report which has recently categorised India as a ‘major decliner’?
The story so far: Between 2016 and 2020 the number of countries that have moved towards authoritarianism has been steadily increasing and outnumbering the number of countries that have...
Myanmar’s army is fighting a multi-front war
November 27, 2021
|
By: Robert Bociaga
Black clouds twisting from the fire soar far into the sky, obscuring the mountains. Below, the hills, planted with red-roofed houses, show no signs of life, except for one thing: a young soldier of the Myanmar army stands with his arms folded, leaning against the...
Afghan women speak up against new Taliban media...
November 27, 2021
|
By: SAM Staff
Afghan journalists and activists have expressed concern over a new “religious guideline” issued by Taliban rulers, saying the move is yet another form of control over women.
The Taliban, which took over Afghanistan roughly 100 days ago, on Sunday urged female journalists to follow a...
Ajit Doval was my batchmate, but his understandi...
November 27, 2021
|
By: M.G. Devasahayam
If my memory serves me right, the mighty Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor of the Union Cabinet Minister rank and I, took the oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India on the same day — 3/4 July 1968 — at the salubrious campus...
CONVERSATION
In conversation with Kerry Brown
November 26, 2021
| By: SAM Staff
Defence
China upgrades cold-resistant clothing for bor...
November 27, 2021
| By: Liu Xuanzun
Fourth Scorpene class submarine INS Vela joins...
November 27, 2021
| By: Dinakar Peri
Editor`s Choice
Living with Covid-19: Coming to grips with ou...
By: Warren Fernandez
They call it ennui.
You know, that lingering mix of feelings of listlessness and tedium, of being adrift, bereft of neither a sense of anticipation,...
How the U.S. hid an airstrike that killed doz...
In the last days of the battle against the Islamic State in Syria, when members of the once-fierce caliphate were cornered in a dirt field...
As Malaysia’s bumiputra policy turns 50, citi...
Firdaus Jesfrydi, 26, has a profile that makes him a perfect match for Malaysia’s majority affirmative action policy.
The ethnic Malay grew up in a home...
Focus
Central Asia hooking up to CPEC
November 24, 2021
| By: M. K. Bhadrakumar
The information war is so intense nowadays that unsung melodies are often more alluring that the sung ones. The lines from English poet Shelley’s famous ode To a Skylark come to mind — ‘In the broad day-light / Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight…’
Two events in the past fortnight indicated growing optimism about Afghanistan’s future. Both developments signify that the scaffolding for improved regional connectivity, economic development, and governance is coming up,...
Of the all the politicians I have met or worked with, Mamata Banerjee ranks with JP (Jayaprakash Narayan), Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, Chandrashekhar, and P V Narasimha Rao who meant what they said and said what they meant. In Indian politics that is a rare quality."
Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Video
Pakistan burns confiscated drugs worth 1.3 billion dollars November 26, 2021
India U-turns on controversial farm laws ahead of polls November 21, 2021
Afghan economy on verge of collapse November 9, 2021
Audio
JAISHANKAR AND BLINKEN DISCUSS MYANMAR SITUATION AND ISSUES... February 10, 2021
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
London theatre show aims to portray Rumi auth...
November 26, 2021
India starts to talk about child sexual abuse
November 11, 2021
What next? 22 emerging technologies to watch...
November 11, 2021
Bengali film ‘Dostojee’ is a moving portrait...
October 27, 2021
Shah Rukh Khan was India. And then India chan...
October 25, 2021
China halts new coal-fired power plants abroa...
September 24, 2021
By erasing traces of the Massacre, the Jallia...
September 9, 2021
Hunting for Nepal's stolen idols
September 4, 2021