The historical Silk Road was a network of land trade routes connecting Asia and Europe; from the 2nd century BC to 18th century AD. It was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions. Other than the crusades, this is an early example of peaceful globalization. Thereafter it fell into disuse…
Dear Readers, Pakistan’s leading atomic scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan (popularly known as AQ Khan) passed away in Islamabad at age 85, on Sunday October 10 after a protracted illness. Widely regarded as the founder of gas-centrifuge enrichment technology for Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent program, he is hailed as an icon, a national hero for transforming…
The history of the Silk Road networks and other trade connections is closely tied to the rise and fall of Eurasian empires, among them imperial China, the Mongol Empire of Changez Khan, Persian, the Mughal Empire and Ottoman Empires. Well established empires guaranteed that roads and bridges used for trade were kept in a good…
If Bangladesh’s problems were confined to over-population and natural disasters that retard economic growth, it would be bad enough, but the problem is that Bangladesh has the world’s only predator nation, India, at its doorstep. Other nations do try and impose hegemony, India occupies territory by force of arms. Instead of helping to alleviate the miseries…
Dear Readers, The Taliban victory in Afghanistan unleashed anger at U.S. President Joe Biden, his critics accusing his administration of, among other things, leaving a regional vacuum in Central Asia that China and Russia will rush to fill. The U.S. along Western nations, and of course, India (His Master’s Voice) shut down their Embassies in Kabul after the…
When looking at the map there are mainly three North-South connecting routes that would come to mind. The first is the route coming from China/Tibet through Nepal and India reaching down to the western ports of Bangladesh at the Bay of Bengal, Mongla or the forthcoming port of Payra. Parts of this connection are already…
The idea of an economic zone is certainly what one could call a long shot. Mostly it is dependent upon India. If India choses to allow the construction of three or even four North-South Road and rail corridors emanating from China and passing through the Himalayas and then through North-east India (Seven Sisters), to the…
India’s North Eastern Region (NER) includes the states of Assam, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pradesh, Sikkim and Tripura. Together, they represent a distinct geographic, cultural, political, and administrative entity. Ethnically and culturally, this part is more connected to Tibet and South-East Asia. Part of the Eastern Himalayas, the area is also of geo-strategic significance…
Shipping and maritime travel has a long history around the Bay of Bengal. While the Portuguese conquered of the western coast of the subcontinent in 1498, the capture of Melaka in 1511 started Portuguese activity on the east of Cape of Comorin and Bengal was clearly the initiative of Portuguese privateers for numerous reasons, viz…
The eastern fringe of South Asia comprising of Bangladesh and north-eastern India known as the “seven sisters” are a region that has been suffering over the decades from multiple problems including poverty, underdevelopment, overpopulation and others. While one hardly ever learns much about the seven sisters, Bangladesh is much more often in the news but…
