Towards the Warm Waters (Part I) on October 16, 2021The history of the Silk Road networks and other trade connections is closely tied to the rise and fall of Eurasian empires including imperial China, the Mongol Empire of Changez Khan, the Persian Empire, the Mughals and the Ottomans. Well-established empires guaranteed that roads and bridges used for trade would be kept in a good […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia (Part VI) on October 9, 2021If Bangladesh’s problems were confined to over-population and natural disasters that retard economic growth, it would have been bad enough, but the problem is that Bangladesh also has the world’s only predator nation, India, at its doorstep. Other nations do try and impose hegemony but India occupies territory by force of arms. Instead of helping […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia (Part V) on October 8, 2021A look at the map would draw one’s attention to three main North-South connecting routes. The first comes 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 in place. In 2016, China […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia (Part IV) on October 7, 2021The idea of an economic zone is certainly what one could call a long shot. Mostly, it is dependent upon India. If India chooses to allow the construction of three or even four North-South Road and rail corridors, emanating from China, passing through the Himalayas and then through North-east India (Seven Sisters) to the Bangladeshi […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia (Part III) on October 6, 2021India’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 […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia (Part II) on October 5, 2021Shipping and maritime travel around the Bay of Bengal has a long history. While the Portuguese had first conquered parts of the western coast of the subcontinent in 1498, the capture of Melaka in 1511 essentially started Portuguese activity on the east of the Cape of Comorin. Clearly, Bengal was the initiative of Portuguese privateers […]
Association of Eastern States of South Asia – I on October 4, 2021The eastern fringe of South Asia, comprising of Bangladesh and north-eastern India, is known as the “seven sisters.” It is 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 […]