FPRC Journal: India-Bangladesh Relations Challenges and Opportunities
New Special Issue Release: FPRC Journal (Issue No. 62).
Focus: India-Bangladesh Relations – Challenges and Opportunities
New Special Issue Release: FPRC Journal (Issue No. 62).
Focus: India-Bangladesh Relations – Challenges and Opportunities
In mid-June 2025, ‘Pro-Khalistan’ group Sikhs for Justice supporters packed Calgary’s City Hall square, waving Khalistan flags and chanting “Kill Modi politics” while demanding that India be “Balkanised” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 summit nearby (Global News, Canada, June 16).
Bangladesh’s political and religious landscape has witnessed a sharp sectarian turn since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her flight to India in August 2024. What began as protests over job quota reforms soon escalated into a broader civil uprising. Exploiting the ensuing power vacuum, factions that include Islamist groups have expanded their influence, propagating anti-Hindu sentiment nationwide.
The May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict offered a sobering demonstration of how modern wars are no longer confined to physical battlefields alone. Alongside precision strikes and conventional military operations, both countries engaged in a fierce struggle for control over public perception, media narratives, and psychological advantage. The widespread use of misinformation and disinformation across platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube transformed the conflict into a full-spectrum hybrid war.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks during a live news interview, that his country has been doing “dirty work” for the West for the last three decades, was a stunning admission on Islamabad’s long history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations. A decade ago, former army chief and president General Pervez Musharraf made a similar confession on public television, bragging about Pakistan’s role in supporting and training militant groups in Kashmir’s freedom struggle.
It has been one month since the brutal Islamist terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir (April 22, 2025), where civilians were deliberately targeted and killed after being asked their religion — a cold-blooded and calculated act of violence. The incident stands as yet another grim reminder of the enduring and well-orchestrated threat posed by Pakistan-based Islamist terror networks.
Today, India is universally recognised as an emerging global superpower. It is the fifth-largest economy and will become the third-largest by 2027. India plays a key role in international diplomacy through its prominence in platforms like the G20, BRICS, Quad, and the United Nations. The country has secured its rightful place in the comity of nations and is considered a strategic stabiliser in the new world order. The developed world now turns to India for advice and guidance.
The successful execution of 'Operation Sindoor' during the 90-hour military confrontation between India and Pakistan from May 7 to 9 (2025) has demonstrated the Indian government's strategic resolve and leadership in the region. This operation was launched in response to the tragic terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, in which 25 Hindus and a lone Christian tourist lost their lives, alongside a local Muslim pony operator.
The end of the 20th century witnessed a significant boom in global computerization, with India emerging as a primary beneficiary and a global leader in IT services. This technological revolution created job opportunities for a large segment of the youth and now contributes to approximately 10% of India's GDP. Over the past 25 years, Indians have come to occupy top leadership roles in numerous global IT and technology-driven companies.
On April 1, 2025, Finland’s Prime Minister announced the country’s intention to withdraw from the international treaty banning anti-personnel land mines. Contrary to the date’s association with pranks, this declaration is no April Fool’s joke. Historically, wars have compelled states to suspend, derogate from, or even terminate treaty obligations. In many cases, the erosion of treaty commitments becomes visible first on the battlefield before formal withdrawals are announced.
Paxton ported to drupal by DropThemes.in