Editor’s Note: Riyadh’s new partnership with Islamabad may unsettle Delhi, but it could also mark the start of a more pragmatic era in South Asian and Gulf politics. Saudi Arabia’s transformation from exporter of ideology to promoter of moderation gives India room to engage — not retreat. When Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed their Strategic
In 1892, India’s first Nobel laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, wrote the timeless short story Kabuliwala — The Person from Kabul. Through its tender portrayal of an Afghan trader’s bond with a young Bengali girl, Tagore embedded a romantic image of Afghans in India’s cultural consciousness. Over the past century, Kabuliwala has come to symbolise the
Editor’s Note: As international media recently reported, regional powers have signalled firm opposition to any U.S. attempt to reclaim Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base. Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan view such a move as a direct threat to regional security and stability — reflecting a broader consensus that Washington’s return to the heart of Central Asia
It is a privilege to speak in Geneva, among those who share a commitment to human rights, truth, and justice. It is in that spirit that I must speak about Bangladesh — a country whose people rose in 2024 wanting change, but whose present is now marked by violence, denial, and a dangerous attempt to
The cloisters of Jesus College in Cambridge are used to weighty debates. For centuries, scholars have gathered in its panelled halls to wrestle with questions of politics, philosophy, and power. Yet on 19–20 September 2025, the air seemed heavier than usual. It was not only the crisp, but bright autumn weather that lent solemnity to
Introduction: A Nation in Crisis In Bangladesh, fear and uncertainty grip the nation. The Monsoon Uprising, a wave of protests that toppled the Awami League government in August 2024, has spiralled into chaos, marked by mob violence, revenge killings, and a surge in extremist influence. Jamaat-e-Islami, a radical Islamist political movement long accused of fostering
The Anglosphere has always been a family of nations bound by law, language, and shared history. But in the twenty-first century, its deepest ties are no longer trade or treaties. They are cultural and political — transmitted not by diplomats or parliaments, but by mass media. Newspapers, television networks, and now digital platforms have fused
Aggression and insults in politics are poisoning public debate and corroding society. From historical slander to the viral amplification of social media, the reckless use of language undermines trust in institutions and democracy itself. In today’s political landscape, words have shifted from instruments of debate to weapons of destruction. Insults are no longer an exception
Introduction from Narrativa360 Afghanistan’s governance challenges remain among the most complex in the world. This essay, authored by Professor Sayed Hussain Eshraq and Zalmai Nishat, outlines the intellectual foundation and practical design of the Composite Comprehensive Roadmap (CCR), a product of the Cambridge Massoud Conference. The CCR seeks to fuse Afghanistan’s historical, cultural, and civilisational
More than four centuries ago, Gujarati merchants set sail from India to Oman, carrying textiles, rice, and spices across the Arabian Sea. What began as commerce grew into trust—and that trust, quietly nurtured over generations, now underpins India’s maritime strategy in a region where ports are as powerful as armies. A Constant in a Shifting