The Himalayan thorn: Nepal’s border gambit tests ties with India
In the high passes of the Himalayas, geography has a way of dictating politics. Recently, Nepal lodged a formal objection to plans by India and China to route this summer’s…
Category: India & Neighbourhood
News, policy, and perspectives from India and its neighbourhood — tracking the pulse of South Asia
Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: Nepal stakes claim on Lipulekh, India calls it ‘untenable’
Nepal has objected to India and China routing this year’s Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Lipulekh Pass, claiming the strategic Himalayan route lies on its territory, a move India has…
Pakistan and China: small steps in a grand embrace
On May 1st, in the balmy southern Chinese city of Sanya, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan watched officials from both countries sign a joint-venture agreement and two memorandums of…
A costly mediation: How a Gulf war undid Pakistan’s modest economic repair
Pakistan has long grown used to external shocks derailing its best-laid economic plans. Few, however, have arrived with quite the speed or expense of the short, sharp war between America…
China’s surprising spring
On April 16th China’s National Bureau of Statistics released its first-quarter GDP figures for 2026. The economy expanded by 5.0% year on year, beating analysts’ forecasts of 4.8% and accelerating…
Nepal’s Rapper Prime Minister Faces First Tests: Arrests, Reforms and the Hard Reality of Power
Barely three weeks after being sworn in as Nepal’s youngest-ever prime minister on 27 March 2026, Balendra Shah – the 35-year-old former underground rapper known as Balen – is discovering…
From Rap Battles to the Prime Minister’s Office: Nepal’s Gen Z Revolution Delivers a 35-Year-Old Rapper as Leader
In the shadow of the Himalayas, a remarkable political earthquake has shaken Nepal. On March 27, 2026 Balendra Shah – better known as Balen, a former underground rapper and civil…
India and Bhutan restart work on troubled mega-dam, signalling renewed push in Himalayan energy partnership
After seven years of suspension caused by unstable Himalayan geology, concrete began pouring once more this week at Bhutan’s long-delayed Punatsangchhu-I hydropower project, a symbolic and practical milestone in one…
A Nobel Gesture in Lahore
In the grand chamber of Punjab’s provincial assembly, a resolution tabled on Thursday has a distinctly ambitious ring. Rana Arshad, A lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has…
Dhaka Tribunal Delivers Death Sentence to Exiled Hasina, Igniting Fears of South Asian Instability
Death Sentence for Hasina: Bangladesh’s Verdict Shakes India’s Eastern Flank and Risks New South Asian Flashpoint In a courtroom ringed by razor wire and patrolled by armoured vehicles, Bangladesh’s International…
From Sarabjeet to Noor: The Mysterious Disappearance of a Sikh Pilgrim in Pakistan Sparks Cross-Border Alarm
Sarabjeet Kaur Vanishes from Guru Nanak Jayanti Jatha, Converts to Islam, Marries Pakistani Man, and Goes Into Hiding In the shadow of the historic Wagah-Attari border, where pilgrims cross not…
From Srinagar’s Shadowy Walls to Delhi’s Fiery Heart: A Terror Web That Shook the Capital
In the misty dawn of October 19, 2025, a routine patrol in Srinagar’s Bunpora Nowgam neighborhood unearthed more than graffiti on weathered walls. Handwritten posters, scrawled in Urdu and signed…
Pakistan’s Sindh Province Grapples with 1.6 Million Child Laborers Amid Hazardous Work Crisis
More than 1.6 million children aged 5-17 are trapped in child labor in Pakistan’s Sindh province, with half a million enduring life-threatening conditions in farms and factories, a bombshell government…
Indian Refiners Freeze New Russian Oil Orders as Trump Claims ‘Zero’ Imports Deal, But Loopholes Persist Amid Trade Leverage
In a stark illustration of the tightrope India walks between energy pragmatism and U.S. geopolitical pressure, major Indian refiners have halted new orders for Russian crude oil following fresh American…
India-ASEAN Summit: Modi Pushes for FTA Review, Maritime Cooperation to Bolster Global Stability
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for an expedited review of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AITIGA) and proposed 2026 as the “ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation” to…
Modi Rejects Foreign Intervention in India’s Operation Sindoor pause, Rahul dares him to tell on record Trump is ‘lying’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday firmly denied any foreign intervention in India’s halting India’s military response to the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people, asserting…
BSF to operate along India-Bangladesh border with Body‑cams, Biometric Scanners
In a major push to modernize its border security and bolster evidence gathering, India’s Home Ministry has approved the deployment of more than 5,000 night‑vision body‑worn cameras (BWCs) and a…
PM Modi says Yoga helping Covid-19 patients, prescribes ‘Pranayams’ for a strong respiratory system
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted people to learn all forms of ‘Pranayam’ and practice them every day to defeat the coronavirus pandemic, saying they strengthen respiratory system. In…