Courtesy: X / @MEAIndia
As 25 years of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) culminate in Bishkek, India waits intently, assessing the SCO's development. With PM Modi representing India from August 31–September 1, 2026, having previously chaired the SCO Council of Heads of Government in 2020, the forthcoming summit should provide an opportunity for the Indian delegation to take stock of the current status of previous initiatives and their advancements.
Courtesy: Japan Ministry of Defense
Japan’s recently-released defence white paper marks a significant turn in intent and policy. The country’s long focus on economic security is now blended with its defence capacity, bringing together foreign policy, intelligence, and economic, technological and industrial capacities into a “comprehensive architecture for national defence.” This is a new conception of national security in Japan.
Courtesy: Jazyl Homavazir
The popular Japanese art of manga has a vibrant subculture in India. India’s is no longer just an emerging demographic for this art. With an estimated 118 million active viewers across platforms, it is now the second-largest anime viewership market globally, trailing only behind China. What it lacks is original production frameworks to become a genuine and lucrative IP generator.
Courtesy: IndiaSpend
The northeast state of Mizoram is home to 40,000 Chin refugees from Myanmar. It’s a natural refuge because of the close ethnic and family ties that bind them to the indigenous Mizo. But it is putting a strain on a poor state with a population of just 12 lakhs. Civil society organisations and the state government provide humanitarian aid. Despite the bonhomie between the host Mizo and the Chin, some issues persist.
Courtesy: Körber-Stiftung
The third Emerging Middle Powers Report reveals interesting trends. In every recent year, the five countries surveyed – India, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia – have been tested by events to prove they can prevail over the contested terrain of global politics. A pattern has emerged linking them together: non-alignment is their preferred response to a fragmenting order.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Pakistan and Afghanistan have long shared one of the world's most volatile borders. Pakistan's 2025 airstrikes inside Afghanistan marked a dramatic rupture in a relationship Islamabad had once carefully cultivated. Regional expert Raghav Sharma examines the evolving military balance, China’s mediation efforts, the role of the Gulf states, and how the Iran conflict is reshaping Pakistan’s economy and internal fault lines. The result is a region facing multiple crises, where traditional strategic assumptions no longer offer clear answers.
Courtesy: Gateway House
After eight years of its nomenclature, on 16th June the U.S. Pacific Command dropped the 'Indo' from its military command title. It reflects clearly that the U.S. does not consider the Indo-Pacific region to be the most consequential theatre of geopolitics today. Yet its significance as the platform on which great-power contestation in political, military, technological, and economic domains will play out cannot be overstated.
Courtesy: Sifra Lentin
The holy relics of Buddha Shakyamuni, part of the relics originally excavated in 1898 from the Piprahwa Stupa in the Terai region of northern Uttar Pradesh, were repatriated to India in 2025 after 127 years. Marg magazine’s volume 77 (2) is a deep dive into the history, Buddhist cultural landscape, colonial archaeology and museology, and Buddhism’s veneration of these relics.
Courtesy: x/@MEAIndia
The recent visit of Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing to India has re-engaged the two neighbours politically after a six-year gap. Critics and pragmatists had much to say, but the outcome spoke for itself: constructive border management, defence agreements and economic cooperation. And a reminder that India has not forgotten about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy icon.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Nepal’s ruling party leader, Rabi Lamichhane, visited India from June 1-5, 2026, highlighting Nepal’s evolving political priorities under the leadership of new Prime Minister Balendra Shah. A conversation with Nayanima Basu examines how India is faring under its Neighbourhood First and Act East policies and how New Delhi should navigate an increasingly volatile and sensitive region.