Despite fulfilling all criteria required to be the closest of neighbours, India – Nepal relations have always been going through ups and downs. The long-lasting cause of acrimony has been the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which apparently portrays Nepal as a junior partner. The Treaty has lost its usefulness as its provisions are violated frequently. However, neither side has exercised their rights to abrogate it for last 72 years. Apparently the Treaty has remained as an invisible thread connecting both countries politically. Apparently, Nepal stands to gain more from the Treaty, being landlocked. A deep study points out that it caters to National Interest of both countries. The prime factor affecting National Security of Nepal is economy and for India it is geopolitics. Such a situation creates a balance of mutual dependence, which helped the Treaty’s relevance to remain for 72 years.

The Cultural homogenisation policy introduced by the Royal Government of Bhutan is known as Bhutanisation. As part of Bhutanisation, many new policies – mostly controversial - were initiated in the second half of the twentieth century, particularly during 1960s-80s, by the RGoB. Almost all studies conducted so far on the process Bhutanisation focuses on Lhotshampas, the Bhutanese people of Nepali ethnic origin. Whereas this article analyses the policy Bhutanisation from a different perspective as it focuses on the internal and external developments related to Bhutan -Tibet/China relations. By analysing the developments related to Tibetan refugees in Bhutan, the article re-examines the causes and factors that influenced the adaptation of Bhutanisation policies in the tiny Himalayan Kingdom. This is important as the Tibet factor has not yet been seriously addressed by those scholars who have done studies on cultural homogenisation in Bhutan. In the existing studies, the focus was given to the issues related to the Lhotshampas, the ethnic Nepali population, to explain Bhutanisation process. This article argues that the Tibetan factor was also vital in cultural homogenisation by shaping the domestic politics of Bhutan rooted in cultural nationalism during 1960s and ’70s which eventually led to Bhutanisation. Keywords: Bhutanisation, Tibetan Refugees, Lhotshampas, Homogenisation, Nationalism

The issues and controversies revolving around Muslim Personal Laws, rights of Muslim women on marriage and divorce drew public attention and became an important field of study for the policy and law makers most probably after the Shah Bano case (relating to Triple Talaq practice) of 1985. Study shows that since Shah Bano case of 1985 there has occurred numbers of illegal and un-Islamic triple talaq (divorce) cases in India but the number of cases gradually declined since the Government enacted new Triple Talaq Law in 2019 for regulating divorce practices among the Muslims in India. In this context, this research paper endeavours to study the background and the judicial interpretations of ‘Triple Talaq’ (‘Triple Divorces’) practice and cases among Indian Muslims and the issues, controversies and debates revolving around newly enacted Triple Talaq Law or the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. Keywords: Triple Talaq, Supreme Court, Muslim Personal Law, Islam, Muslim Women Rights.

The advent of the Taliban Regime 2.0 is likely to aggravate an already fragile drug situation in Afghanistan. In addition, the exiled Afghan economy from the world markets due to the non-recognition of the Taliban regime is likely to make Afghanistan a full-fledged narco-state. Further, the drug challenge has become entrenched in the Afghan economy as the Afghans do not have any other economic options as the Afghan economy has come to a standstill. Particularly, the rural populace has felt disgruntled by the absence of sectoral funding and the lack of governmental support. In such a background, this article seeks to examine the structural causes like the lack of concerted policy decisions behind the emergence of the illicit drug economy in Afghanistan. This study remains exploratory in nature and aims at possible remedial actions. Key words: Drugs, Taliban, Recognition, Afghanistan