Geopolitics

Bangladesh After the Verdict: Normalisation, Borders and Strategic Patience

Bangladesh’s verdict brought clarity, not closure. Stability now hinges on inclusive politics, secure borders, minority protection and patient India engagement.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

February 14, 2026 at 10:13 AM IST

BNP

Geopolitics

Bangladesh’s Verdict Opens Door to Reset with India

BNP’s sweeping win weakens Jamaat-e-Islami and offers Delhi a cautious chance to rebuild ties after a strained interim phase.

Saibal Dasgupta

February 13, 2026 at 8:06 AM IST

Bangladesh Nationalist Party

Geopolitics

Bangladesh at Risk: Elections, Radicalism, and India’s Strategic Nerve

How political flux next door tests India’s discipline, deterrence, and diplomacy

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

February 9, 2026 at 5:11 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

Pakistan’s Baluchistan Moment: Military Power Without Political Imagination

A long-ignored insurgency resurfaces in Balochistan, exposing the limits of military force without political vision—and the urgent need for reconciliation over repression.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

February 6, 2026 at 3:11 AM IST

iStock.com

The Morning Edge

Risk-Off Mood Grips Asia Amid US Tech Sell-Off and Iran Tensions

Here’s your quick read to start the day: a chatty, no-fuss look at overnight moves, the big story, what’s on the docket, and the tickers you need to watch.

Richard Fargose

February 4, 2026 at 1:49 AM IST

iStock.com

Budget 2026

Budget Must Treat Critical Minerals as Economic and Security Assets

India’s growth and security now depend on critical minerals. This Budget must move past intent and set out how the country plans to secure supply.

G. Chandrashekhar

January 23, 2026 at 5:01 AM IST

istock.com

Budget 2026

India’s External Strength Masks a Growing Vulnerability Problem

Strong reserves give India comfort today, but frequent geopolitical and tech shocks risk steadily eroding its external resilience.

Abheek Barua

January 20, 2026 at 6:31 AM IST

Screengrab from "RBI Unlocked: Beyond the Rupee" series (JioHotstar)

Geopolitics

Why MBZ’s Two-Hour Dash to New Delhi Matters

When the President of the United Arab Emirates lands in New Delhi for barely two hours, it is not a courtesy call or a routine stopover. It is a signal.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

January 19, 2026 at 5:42 PM IST

PIB

Geopolitics

Why the ‘Islamic Nato’ Will Remain a Strategic Mirage

Turkey–Pakistan–Saudi Arabia and the Limits of Sunni Convergence

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

January 16, 2026 at 6:58 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

Iran’s Internal Turbulence and the Myth of Imminent Regime Change

Recurring protests in Iran revive predictions of collapse, but history, institutions, and security cohesion suggest a system under strain, not one on the brink.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

January 7, 2026 at 8:19 AM IST

iStock.com

Rupee Depreciation: How Much More?

India’s recent rupee depreciation is not a typical bout of capital flight but reflects deeper unease among global investors despite strong headline growth. Questions around earnings visibility, data credibility, and the limits of India’s exchange-rate management are now converging on the currency.

Abheek Barua

January 6, 2026 at 7:30 AM IST

Geopolitics

Venezuela, Power, and Precedent in the Western Hemisphere

India is expected to stick to cautious neutrality, wary of interventionist precedents but invested in stability, international law and predictable energy markets.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

January 4, 2026 at 5:04 AM IST

Geopolitics

Bangladesh Polls: BNP Gets a Foothold, Jamaat a Toehold; Fingers Crossed in Delhi

As Bangladesh heads into elections, the BNP strengthens its position, Jamaat tests the waters, and Delhi watches anxiously—hoping the outcome doesn’t tilt the region’s fragile balance.

Saibal Dasgupta

December 31, 2025 at 12:09 PM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Pakistan, Gaza, and the Strategic Burden of Unmandated Peacekeeping

In 2003, following the US-led invasion of Iraq, New Delhi was approached to deploy an Indian Army brigade for stabilisation duties. One of the brigades under consideration was based in Ranchi. However, the proposal was withdrawn when it became clear that this was not an UN-mandated operation.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

December 23, 2025 at 7:28 AM IST

Jaber Jehad Badwan/Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Preah Vihear and the Politics of Memory in the Thailand–Cambodia Conflict

The Thailand–Cambodia conflict is less about borders than memory, pride and politics—revealing how identity disputes endure, escalate, and defeat regional diplomacy.

Rami Niranjan Desai

December 18, 2025 at 6:54 AM IST

Istock.com

Geopolitics

The Middle East After Gaza: Strategic Stalemates and Uncertain Futures

As 2025 ends, the Middle East remains in flux—Gaza quiet but unresolved, Iran under strain, Gulf cautious, and global powers navigating a region where pauses don’t mean peace.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

December 16, 2025 at 3:57 AM IST

Jaber Jehad Badwan/Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

America Will Pay for Pushing India Away

The US calls India indispensable, but treats its interests as peripheral. It wants India to serve as a pillar of America’s Indo-Pacific strategy, but adopts policies that directly undercut India’s economic strength, regional security, and strategic autonomy.

Brahma Chellaney

December 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Power Without Certainty: America at a Strategic Crossroads

A first view commentary on the new American National Security Strategy

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

December 8, 2025 at 6:59 AM IST

White House/Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Why Rare Earths Now Sit at the Fault Line of US–China Power Politics

China’s hold over rare earths has become a strategic pressure point. The United States is now pushing outward in search of partners to soften that dependence.

Rami Niranjan Desai

December 4, 2025 at 6:55 AM IST

Wikipedia.org

Geopolitics

Ukraine, NATO and the Limits of Power: Is the West Facing a Strategic Climbdown?

For India, the strength lies in remaining strategically balanced — neither celebrating Russia’s endurance nor mourning Western recalibration.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

December 4, 2025 at 5:05 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

Pakistan’s 27th Amendment: Constitutionalising the Deep State

The future of deterrence and crisis escalation is shifting as Pakistan’s 27th Amendment cements the army’s dominance, tightening nuclear control and altering the risks India must navigate.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

November 26, 2025 at 6:44 AM IST

iStock.com/Pavliha

Geopolitics

Turkey and India: A Relationship Drifting into the Crosswinds

Is Ankara’s current posture towards New Delhi driven by ideological projection or geopolitical calculation—or both?

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

November 18, 2025 at 6:18 AM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Why This Isn’t a G2 Moment

With power diffused and key regional players asserting autonomy, a US–China duopoly remains far from materialising.

Ashok K. Kantha

November 14, 2025 at 1:03 PM IST

White House

Geopolitics

Is Takaichi Sanae Japan's Margaret Thatcher?

A protégé of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, who was assassinated in 2022, Takaichi has promised to revive his economic-policy approach – so-called Abenomics.

Koichi Hamada

November 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

The Three Technologies Disrupting the Global Order

Drones, smartphones, and solar tech are tilting global power dynamics—can cheap innovation outmaneuver the deep pockets of dominant nations?

Mark Blyth and Daniel Driscoll

November 7, 2025 at 10:33 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

China's Rare-Earth Own Goal

Whereas the conventional wisdom holds that the US depends on Chinese rare earths, it is actually China that depends on the US (and others) for higher value-added processed minerals.

Daniel Gros

November 6, 2025 at 4:29 AM IST

Geopolitics

Signals From the City

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York marks more than a political upset—it hints at a generational shift in leadership, strategy, and civic values.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

November 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Ukraine and Russia: Is There Still a Road to Peace?

With Gaza calming and Europe tiring, the world’s attention may turn again to Ukraine, where fatigue, not force, could open a window for peace.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 23, 2025 at 9:55 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

The Invisible Frontline: Cyber Wars And India’s Digital Destiny

With cyberattacks now striking our financial, military, and governance networks at record levels, the new frontier of national security is no longer just on land, sea, or air—it’s as much in cyberspace.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 17, 2025 at 10:53 AM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

Afghanistan Standoff: The Shifting Sands Of Pakistan’s Strategic Depth

Pakistan’s long-cherished notion of strategic depth in Afghanistan has collapsed. India, through quiet resilience and measured engagement with the Taliban, has reclaimed moral and strategic space.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 16, 2025 at 7:18 AM IST

@DrSJaishankar

Geopolitics

Japan’s First Woman PM Faces Big Tests, And India Has a Stake in the Outcome

As Japan elects its first woman Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, India watches closely as her conservative nationalism and China stance could reshape Tokyo’s Asia strategy.

Saibal Dasgupta

October 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM IST

Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

PoJK On The Boil: Why India Must Replace Populism With Strategy

Islamabad underestimates how chronic misgovernance corrodes legitimacy. By treating civic protests as security nuisances, and by maintaining an ethnic superiority complex, the Army is creating conditions for prolonged instability.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 6, 2025 at 11:13 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

Ceasefire Dreams, Strategic Reality: Peace In Gaza Is Still A Pipedream

India’s foreign policy hallmark in West Asia has been balance — principled on Palestinian rights, pragmatic with Israel, and cooperative with the US and Gulf. That maturity must continue.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 1, 2025 at 3:37 AM IST

Jaber Jehad Badwan/Via WikiCommons

Geopolitics

India’s Message to the World in the SCO that Everyone Missed

At the SCO summit, India balanced ties with Myanmar’s junta and China’s growing sway, while signalling its role as a trusted regional partner.

Rami Niranjan Desai

September 30, 2025 at 6:48 AM IST

PIB

The Bureau

India’s Rebased CPI Signals Softer Core, Says I-Sec PD

Government Addresses Borrowing Concerns with Fresh Bilateral Switches

India’s January Inflation 2.75% Under New Series Versus 1.33% in December Under Old Series

RBI Issues Draft Norms to Curb Mis-selling, Ban Dark Patterns, Forced Bundling by Regulated Entities

Gold, Silver ETFs Dominate January MF Flows as Equity Inflows Ease

Auto Retail Sales Rise 18% in January, Rural Demand Takes the Lead

RBI Seen Managing Frictional Liquidity via VRR, VRRR: I-Sec PD

Moody’s Sees Strong Growth Backdrop Supporting Indian Banks’ Stable Outlook

Duvvuri Subbarao on India’s Growth, Inflation Targeting and Centre–State Faultlines

Learning to Shoot: I Tried to Fly Before I Could Walk