Pakistan’s “Three Ds” of Foreign Engagement (Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf on Substack)
An external confrontation can serve an internal purpose: keeping those in power beyond scrutiny.
Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf examines this connection through Pakistan’s “Three Ds” of foreign engagement: Delay India’s international advance, Distract from domestic governance failures and Discredit New Delhi abroad. His analysis links disputes over Kashmir and the...
Indus Water Treaty – Countering Pakistan’s War of Narratives (Siegfried O. Wolf on Substack)
Putting a water treaty on hold is not the same as stopping a river.
The dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty reveals how water, security and political narratives intersect in a changing South Asia. Understanding it requires looking beyond diplomatic accusations to the infrastructure that controls water—and the institutions that...
Truncation of Academic Freedom in Today’s Bangladesh (Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf on Substack)
Truncation of Academic Freedom in Today’s Bangladesh
Can universities sustain democracy when disagreement becomes dangerous?
In “Truncation of Academic Freedom in Today’s Bangladesh”, Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf argues that the post-2024 political transition has failed to secure independent campus governance. He describes forced resignations, political labelling and competing student organisations asserting...
Did Rabindranath Tagore Oppose the Establishment of Dhaka University? – C282
Separating Historical Evidence from Political Myth
ABSTRACT
Did Rabindranath Tagore oppose the establishment of the University of Dhaka? This article examines a persistent allegation that the Bengali poet resisted the proposed university and even presided over a protest meeting in Kolkata in March 1912. Reviewing the institutional history of Dhaka...
FREE SHAHRIAR KABIR An Open Letter
An Open Letter in Defense of Historical Memory, Freedom of Expression, and Shahriar Kabir
This open letter is jointly endorsed by eleven international human rights, democracy, genocide prevention, and justice organizations: Genocide Watch, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, European Bangladesh Forum (EBF), International Crimes Strategy Forum (ICSF), South Asia...
Youth Protest, Political Economy and EU–India Relations After the “Cockroach” Summer – WP 37
What began as a judge’s insult about “cockroaches” became a youth movement capable of forcing a minister’s resignation, testing India’s democratic institutions, and potentially complicating the EU’s most ambitious new partnership in South Asia.
Abstract
In May 2026, a dismissive remark by India's Chief Justice comparing unemployed youth to "cockroaches" triggered...
Bangladesh’s FY2026–27 Budget: Navigating Macroeconomic Rebalancing, Fiscal Consolidation, and Financial Sector Reforms — A...
Bangladesh’s FY2026–27 national budget is being formulated at a pivotal juncture, marked by heightened macroeconomic imbalances, constrained fiscal space, external sector pressures, and structural weaknesses across revenue administration and financial intermediation. In this context, the upcoming budget is expected to function not merely as an expenditure framework but as...
War, Captivity and Return in Sri Lanka – An “emic view” into the life...
Source: Forum Yarl Ajith Boyagoda in Killinocchi in 2005
“A Long Watch” is the memoir of Commodore Ajith Boyagoda, who spent eight years in captivity by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the war-ravaged northern region of Sri Lanka from 1994 until his release in 2002. The book,...
Public Review of the EU Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 2026 Parliamentary...
Public Review of the EU Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 2026 Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh
South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF)
Background
On 28 April 2026, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) published its Final Report on the 12 February 2026 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh (1), describing the elections...