South Asia Chat

Episode 94: From Tourism to Terrorism

The recent bomb attack on former President Mohamed Nasheed clearly indicates the wave of radicalisation sweeping the Maldives. Some of the factors that have led to this development include socio-economic ills, societal tensions and political polarisations that have created social exclusions, especially among the youth. To discuss more on the impact of radicalistion, Amit Ranjan, Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to Dr Azim Zahir, Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Political Science and International Relations, the University of Western Australia.

Episode 93: How China and Pakistan Negotiate

Since its official launch in April 2015, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the "flagship project" under Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. While there has been much discussion on the geopolitical implications of this project, very little attention has been paid to how the two countries negotiate the terms of the CPEC deal. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace recently published a paper on this subject authored by Prof Katharine Adeney, Director of the University of Nottingham, Asia Research Institute and Non Resident Senior Fellow at ISAS along with Dr Filippo Boni, lecturer in Politics and International studies at The Open University in the UK and Research Fellow in the European Research Council–funded project REDEFINE. They are in conversation with Dr Diego Maiorano, Research Fellow at ISAS.

Episode 92: India's New Vaccine Policy

Recently the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new vaccine policy wherein the central government would procure 75 per cent of the vaccines leaving 25 per cent for the private sector at a higher price. This is a departure from an earlier announcement where the Centre had allowed the States to procure vaccines independently. To share more insights into this policy and how India is ramping up vaccine supply, we spoke to Mr Vinod Rai, Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at ISAS.

Episode 91: China's Stake in the Afghan Peace Process

With the United States preparing to leave Afghanistan this September after two decades, China's interest in the Afghan peace process has been growing. Apart from hosting multilateral talks with some key players, it is also one of the largest investors in the country. Dr Li Li, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at ISAS shares more insights into China's views on American withdrawal, how it could leverage its relationship with Pakistan to bolster its economic interests in Afghanistan and its concerns on security and radicalisation, especially with the Taliban set to come to power. Dr Li Li is currently a Senior Research Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute for International Relations, Tsinghua University, serves as Deputy Secretary-General of the World Peace Forum and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese version of the Quarterly Journal of International Politics.

Episode 90: Sri Lanka and the UNHRC Resolution

In March 2021, the United Nations Humans Rights Council (UNHRC) passed Resolution 40/1 promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. The resolution gives the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate and collect evidence of human rights violations in the country. The Sri Lankan government has, however, unequivocally rejected the mandate. To discuss the rationale behind the rejection as well as the impact of the resolution on Sri Lanka and its foreign policy, Dr Chulanee Attanayake, Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to HE Dr Palitha Kohona, Sri Lankan ambassador to China and former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

Episode 89: India's Climate Change Policy

Climate change has come under the spotlight ever since the United States (US) Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, visited India in early April. This was particularly noteworthy as the Leaders' Summit on Climate hosted by US President Joe Biden took place soon after, on 22 and 23 April 2021. To discuss Kerry's visit, net-zero debates, India's progress on the Paris Agreement since 2015, and the international politics around climate change, Dr Karthik Nachiappan, Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to Dr Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow at Council on Environment, Energy and Water (CEEW), New Delhi. Dr Chaturvedi is an economist who leads CEEW's work on Low-Carbon Pathways, and his research focuses on energy and climate change mitigation policy issues.

Episode 88: Assembly Elections Special - DMK Sun Rises Again in Tamil Nadu; BJP's Lotus Blooms in Puducherry

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has returned to power in Tamil Nadu after remaining in the opposition for 10 years. While it won comfortably, the party did not sweep the polls as expected. As its leader M K Stalin is set to become the new chief minister, there are many challenges ahead of him including managing the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bharatiya Janata Party has meanwhile won Puducherry giving it another small opening in South India. To discuss more on these two outcomes, we spoke to Dr Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor of The Hindu newspaper.

Episode 87: Assembly Elections Special – West Bengal Welcomes Mamata Banerjee; BJP wins Assam

Of the four states and one union territory that went to election over March and April, West Bengal, rightly or wrongly, was the centre of attention. On election day, it was West Bengal once again that invited the most discussion. This was partly due to the overwhelming verdict in favour of Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal despite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi having focused considerable energies and resources on the state. The result also upended most exit polls which had predicted a close contest with some surveys having forecast a BJP sweep. The Bengal verdict put into shade somewhat the results in Assam where the incumbent BJP government returned comfortably to office. To discuss the West Bengal and Assam election results, Dr Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS, spoke to Dr Neelanjan Sircar, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and Assistant Professor at Ashoka University. Sircar followed both state elections closely and was present in both states during the campaign.

Episode 86: Assembly Elections Special – Left is Right in Kerala

The recent Legislative Assembly elections in Kerala has been a historic one with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) returning to power for the second time in a row. The return of an incumbent party has not happened in the last 40 years and is a reaffirmation of the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. What led to this victory and why did neither the Congress nor the Bharatiya Janata Party make a visible dent? We spoke to Mr Vinod Rai, Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at ISAS to share his views on the election results.

Episode 85: Pakistan In Focus

Recent anti-France protests by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan turned violent leading to the government banning it. Alongside Pakistan is expected to play a key role in the Afghan peace process, following the withdrawal of American troops. With the Taliban almost certain to come into power, would this embolden such religious groups? To discuss more on these developments, we spoke to Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, Non-resident Fellow at ISAS and Associate Professor of Political Economy at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University.