South Asia Program - Related Publication

South Asia Monitor: Pakistan: Avoiding Economic Disaster - November 1, 2009

udukkipati — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Pakistan is at an economic crossroads. The global financial crisis and the terrorist insurgency, coupled with long-term underfunding of the social sectors, reduced Pakistan's economic growth to 2 percent in 2008-2009. Rising food prices and electricity shortages have made economic problems a major focus for popular discontent. U.S.

South Asia Monitor: India-Japan Relations: A Partnership for Peace and Prosperity - October 1, 2009

udukkipati — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

In 1949, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru donated an Indian elephant named Indira to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. He hoped that Indira would bring joy into the lives of Japanese children, still suffering from the aftermath of World War II. That gesture is typical of the exchanges between these two Asian nations.

South Asia Monitor: Permanently on the Brink?: Nepal Strives for Stability - September 1, 2009

ian — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

In the nearly two decades since the end of absolute monarchy, Nepal has stumbled forward as a nominal democracy. Ethnic divisions, a Maoist insurgency, a royal massacre, and perennially unstable governments have continually dampened optimism about future progress. In the last year, the country has taken several promising, yet tenuous, steps forward.

South Asia Monitor: India's Energy Options: Coal and Beyond - August 24, 2009

sherry — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Over the coming decades, two of India’s greatest challenges will be (1) how to grow while concurrently joining a worldwide push toward mitigating climate change and (2) how to secure diversified sources of energy. The discourse on India’s energy security has centered on the country’s thirst for imported oil.

South Asia Monitor: "A Calculated Risk": India's New Budget - August 03, 2009

udukkipati — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

On Monday, July 6, India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled a $210 billion budget that emphasized rural spending, took a cautious approach to reform, and included some useful changes in tax policy. The rise in government spending should stimulate domestic demand, but it will also widen the fiscal deficit to its largest gap in 18 years.

Hillary Clinton's Visit to India

ian — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: What did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accomplish during her trip to India?

South Asia Monitor: Triumphalism and Uncertainty in Post-Prabhakaran Sri Lanka - July 01, 2009

udukkipati — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The decision of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lay down their arms and the May 19 death of their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at the hands of the Sri Lankan army marked the end of 25 years of intermittent bloody conflict that had convulsed the island.

India and the United States in the 21st Century

jdunton — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

"There are few more knowledgeable observers of US-India relations than Teresita Schaffer, a former senior US diplomat, who has served in virtually every south Asian capital and is now a doyenne of Washington’s still surprisingly small coterie of India watchers. . . .

South Asia Monitor: The Congress Comeback: Unexpected Results of the Indian Election - June 01, 2009

sherry — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Manmohan Singh has returned to the prime ministership at the head of a new government with a robust coalition. His party, the Indian National Congress, improved its showing in many parts of the country; their opponents in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), internally divided and unimpressively led, lost seats nearly everywhere they contested.

South Asia Monitor: Pakistan: Struggling Through the Perfect Storm

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The attack on the authority of the Pakistani state that is being played out on the front pages of today's newspapers has been building up for the better part of a decade. Reestablishing a stronger political and state structure is possible, but becomes more difficult each time the state appears to cede control to the insurgents. The U.S.