MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#68: 20 JULY 2023 Pakistan’s deepening woes in Balochistan SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Pakistan is facing an uphill task in Balochistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is expanding its influence into the restive province and trying to make common cause with the Baloch insurgents against the Pakistani state and China. Islamabad’s […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#67: 04 JULY 2023 Myanmar’s Surging Narco-trade: Military and the Opiate Economy BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Opium production in Afghanistan has significantly declined. But it has surged in Myanmar. The military, which is in power following the coup in February 2021, is neither willing nor capable of launching a war on opium cultivation and […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#47: 19 JUNE 2023 Simmering and Burning Manipur: Need for a Policy Change BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Unprecedented violence between the majority Meiteis and the minority Kuki tribals has turned Manipur into a theatre of instability. The violence which started around the demand for ST status for the Meiteis has widened the schism […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#66: 23 MAY 2023 The Question of Myanmarese Migrants in Manipur: Ethnic Violence, Drugs, & Conflict Spillover BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Among the many factors behind the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur is the alleged presence of Myanmarese in the five hill districts of the state. Whereas the Kuki […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#46: 06 MAY 2023 Terror attack in Poonch: Chinks in the Armour BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY They planned, infiltrated, attacked, and melted into thin air. The manhunt involving scores of soldiers, drones, and sniffer dogs for the perpetrators of the 20 April ambush on the army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#65: 7 APRIL 2023 Dissolution of the National League for Democracy: What Next for the Prospect to restore democracy in Myanmar? BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Introduction On 28 March 2023, Myanmar’s election commission announced the dissolution of 40 political parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD) for failing to re-register under a new military-drafted […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#64: 10 MARCH 2023 Taliban Incapacity and the growing threat of Islamic State-Khorasan Province SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT In the past two years, the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province in Afghanistan has increased its cadre strength from 3000 to 6000. Taking advantage of the ungoverned spaces and the Taliban’s inability to […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#63: 14 FEBRUARY 2023 Preparing for a Fraudulent Election: Myanmar Military attempts to Legitimize the Coup BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT Myanmar’s military junta is preparing for holding an election in 2023 in order to provide the much-needed legitimacy to its rule. It is most likely to be a sham exercise, the UN has speculated. […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#21: 23 JANUARY 2023 Sunken Dreams: Rohingya Refugee Crisis BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT Hopelessly stuck in the wretched camps in Bangladesh for over five years, Rohingya refugees are undertaking perilous sea journeys to Malaysia, across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. While thousands have reached their destination in search of better […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#62: 05 JANUARY 2023 The TTP and the Pakistani State: How Not to Fight an Insurgency BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT After calling off its months-long ceasefire with the Pakistani state in November 2022, the TTP has launched an unprecedented wave of country-wide violence. The bulk of the violence, however, is concentrated in the settled […]