On March 5, Nepal will head to the polls for the first election since Gen Z protests toppled the government of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sits down with BiswasBaral, editor of the Kathmandu Post and a columnist for The Diplomat, to discuss the Gen Z Revolution, the new crop of favorites – headed by Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah – and the fate of the old political forces.

Whoever wins, Baral says, “The new government cannot escape the underlying reasons why the Gen Z uprising happened in the first place: corruption, lack of jobs, unresponsive governance, poor service delivery.”

Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty is joined by Dr. Smruti Pattanaik and Dr. Mubashar Hasan to discuss Bangladesh’s February 12 election. 

They explore the competing electoral alliances and election manifestos, issues surrounding mob violence and its impact on electoral legitimacy, the long shadow of the Awami League and its future in Bangladesh, the challenges that the new government will face, and the future of the Bangladesh-India relationship.

Host Tushar Shetty sat down with Dr. Tobias Scholz, South Asia researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, to examine the rise of India-EU relations and the significance of their soon-to-be-signed FTA and Security & Defense partnership. 

They discuss how both U.S. partners, facing President Trump’s hostile and erratic foreign policy actions, accelerated their long-awaited FTA, the reexamination within Europe about its dependence on the United States and its role in the world, and how India and the EU handled tricky negotiations and overcame mutual disagreements to sign “the Mother of all Deals.”

To find out more about the upcoming ISA-SAWP Conference, you can reach out to [email protected] or go to https://www.isanet.org/Conferences/SAWP-Colombo-2026/Call

Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sits down with Michael Kugelman, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and South Asia analyst, to discuss his outlook for South Asia in 2026. 

We review the major developments in the region in 2025, the upcoming elections in Bangladesh and Nepal, the India-Pakistan conflict and the reinvigoration of Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy, the downturn in the India-U.S. relationship and how the shifting global security and economic landscape will impact South Asia in 2026. 

In this episode of Beyond the Indus, leading Pakistan security expert Dr. Christine Fair, a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, joins host Tushar Shetty to explore Pakistan's failing Afghanistan strategy and the escalating TTP crisis. 

We discuss the historical roots of Pakistan’s “strategic depth” doctrine and its decades-long support for the Taliban, the structure and origins of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its relationship with the Afghan Taliban, and Pakistan's broader reliance on militant proxies as a tool of foreign policy. Dr. Fair also examines India's role in Afghanistan, the Pashtun perspective on the conflict, and why Pakistan's current approach offers no viable path forward.

In this episode of Beyond the Indus, Meera Gopal, an international legal scholar and policy professional specializing in climate law and diplomacy, joins host Tushar Shetty to examine the outcomes of COP30 in Belém, Brazil and the implications for South Asia

We discuss the mixed results of COP30, the impact of U.S. absence on climate negotiations, the concept of the "Just Transition" mechanism and what it means for developing countries, South Asia's climate vulnerabilities, and the critical challenges of regional climate cooperation in South Asia amid fractured political relations.

In this episode of Beyond the Indus, Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad and John Calabrese from the Middle East Institute join host Tushar Shetty to examine India's evolving strategy in the Middle East.

We discuss the region's critical importance to India as a source of energy and trade, India's expanding security presence from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Afghanistan, and the country's ambitious infrastructure initiatives including the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC). 

The conversation also explores how India is responding to growing Chinese economic influence and the emerging Saudi Arabia-Pakistan alliance, and whether IMEC can realistically compete with China's Belt and Road Initiative as a transformative regional project.

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