BSF intercepts 286 drones in 2024, curbing illicit trafficking activities of heroin, arms, and explosives along India-Pakistan border.
![BSF intercepts 286 drones in 2024, curbing illicit trafficking activities of heroin, arms, and explosives along India-Pakistan border. [Image via Hindustan Times]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-increasing-use-of-drones-for-trafficking-heroi_1735670566966-320x179.webp)
![Punjab declares smog emergency as Muslims pray for rain; schools close, and strict restrictions imposed across province. [Image via Reuters]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/REDAMT7CCVOYJJAIZ6GKBNU7XA-320x179.webp)
Punjab Muslims Pray for Rain Amid Smog Emergency
Punjab declares smog emergency as Muslims pray for rain; schools close, and strict restrictions imposed across province.
![Hazardous smog in Punjab affects 70,000 daily, as mobile clinics reach those in need and schools close to protect children. [Image via AP News]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dims.apnews5-320x179.webp)
70,000 Daily Cases Due to Hazardous Smog in Punjab
Hazardous smog in Punjab affects 70,000 daily, as mobile clinics reach those in need and schools close to protect children.
India: The Increasing Violence Against Sikhs
The concentrated Sikh minority in Punjab, particularly its WPD adherents and other Sikhs who have faced severe persecution over the years, is more vulnerable to state violence. Recent actions have sparked outrage in the community, both in India and abroad.
India: The Fault Lines of Separatism
The ongoing search for Amritpal Singh and recent communal violence against Muslims provoke a broader discussion about the role of religion in contemporary Indian politics and the extent to which it has fueled separatism in the country.
Indus: The Troubled Waters
Despite numerous violent conflicts between India and Pakistan since the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was ratified in 1960, the two neighbors have not yet engaged in any water wars. The treaty has, however, come under fresh scrutiny in recent days.
Terrorism in Pakistan: The Indian Footprint
Without unanimity among the Pak-Afghan-India trio on what should account for a peaceful vision for the future, the region would continue to suffer, with its people repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of long-standing geopolitical rivalries.
The Indian Route: Harmony or Hegemony?
From secularism to systemic persecution of religious minorities, from proscribing international condemnation to unilaterally and forcefully imposing decisions over bilateral territorial disputes; India is essentially paradoxical in dodging global indicators as well as in its very fabric.
