Publication Summary

The Role of Religion in South Asian Politics: A Contemporary Analysis

Dr. Rajiv K. Menon
Date of Publication: June 10, 2025

Abstract

Dr. Rajiv K. Menon’s The Role of Religion in South Asian Politics: A Contemporary Analysis is one of the most nuanced and extensive works to date on the subject relative to religion and a developing political atmosphere in South Asia. Blending field research, comparative political theory, and election data, his work contradicts the foundations of pluralistic secular democracy by exploring how politicians from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka weaponized—and specifically embraced—religious identity.

Main Findings

Menon discovers that politicians as entrepreneurs have rendered religion as something more than devotional or ideational expressive culture but as politicized rhetorical performative acts of faith with larger ideological intentions. This is especially true for politically motivated acts of engagement surrounding elections and the nation-building goals of hegemonic political parties. Therefore, Menon’s findings reflect that such rhetorical construction is responsible for the diminishing institutional secularism in contemporary South Asia.

These findings are derived from a postcolonial historical and geopolitical assessment of modernity. Therefore, relevant to this perspective, Menon underscores an increasingly empowering disempowerment of religious minorities across South Asia with a consistent focus on the needs of dominant religious majorities.

Policy Implications

Where many academic assessments stop to leave the populace without critical next steps, Menon continues to offer a theory-to-practice policy implication. He suggests a myriad of prescriptions to create a sense of interreligious esteem and preservation of pluralistic democratic institutions. His recommendations imply that religion does not have to be a private matter when understood through the political assessment of responsible citizenship.

Additional Notes

Since publication, Menon’s book has become a launchpad for academic dialogue among interfaith scholars, politicians, and civil society practitioners, reinvigorating debate about ethical democracies in South Asia and what it means for the future of religious pluralism.

Launch of the South Asian Peace and Conflict Resolution Journal Successfully Completed
Date: June 30, 2025

By June 30, 2025, the Institute was prepared to publish an international peer-reviewed South Asian Peace and Conflict Resolution Journal. The concept of the journal arose from an interdisciplinary means through which peace operations and conflict resolutions could be better understood and articulated from the South Asian perspective.

Volume 1 contained articles connected to the theme, written by reputable scholars and practitioners, empirically driven to articulate a better understanding of the structural, geopolitical, and historical foundations of conflict in the region. Among these was a lens into why Kashmir is a never-ending site of conflict, the India-China border as a territorial conflict and a cross-border conflict, and the Afghanistan-Pakistan corridor through a geostrategic lens.

It also assessed findings in attempted transitional justice and reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka and an evaluation of federal reconstruction and peace agreement implementation in Nepal, for while these cases represent micro examples of conflict-induced paths, the findings were transferable to greater South Asian lessons learned.

Rather than take a standoffish approach between academia and practice, this journal fostered the active dialogue between the two, open-access and inclusively relative to educated discourse regarding ethics, approaches, and possibilities for peace-rendering efforts. While print copies would be distributed, an open-access version online would allow for international ears for professional and practical endeavors.

International Workshop on Sustainable Urbanization in South Asia (June 15, 2025)

On June 15, 2025, the Institute successfully held the International Workshop on Sustainable Urbanization in South Asia in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This transdisciplinary workshop allowed researchers, urban policymakers, development practitioners, and multilateral agency representatives to evaluate the current and future trends of urbanization across South Asia. Particular focus was placed on the necessity of urbanization that is sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient given the pressures anticipated demographically and environmentally from within the region.

The workshop sought to evaluate population growth and infrastructure development as attributes of urbanization. For example, mega-cities such as Delhi, Dhaka, Karachi, and Kathmandu are increasing, revealing certain paths for economic development, yet at the same time, exposing vulnerabilities in climate change, energy waste, and informal settlements. Interdisciplinary panels sought to address potential solutions for sustainable means of infrastructure development, accountability of governance, and inclusive arenas of policymaking.

The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Anjali R. Kapoor, a leading expert on the political ecology of urban agglomerations. Her esteemed background lent the workshop a data-rich context from which cities undergoing hyper-urbanization operate and what policy trade-offs may be assessed. For example, development driven by property acquisition tends to yield economic gains, yet Dr. Kapoor suggests that cities that undergo such rapidity of change often forfeit decision-making on issues related to environmental law that have contentious implications for the ability to retain quality of life.

Furthermore, in addition to Dr. Kapoor’s findings, members of local government, civil society, and urban planning practitioners provided lessons learned and recommendations from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. For example, those from Dhaka, Kolkata, and Lahore provided insights into air and water pollution, stresses on sustainability in infrastructure, and uneven realities of spatial equity. While some offered successful examples of localized engagement through decentralized governance, others lamented successful socio-environmental stressors that irrefutably impact decision-making.

By the close of the workshop, it was agreed upon by all that a working group in conjunction with UNEP and the Institute would be positioned to undertake longitudinal region-based comparative studies and policy experiments. Therefore, this workshop helped set the tone for future international cross-talk based on empirically supported findings gleaned from ecologies of South Asian urban centers.

Seminar on Water Security and Cross-Border Cooperation in South Asia (May 20, 2025)

The Sundar Singh Institute held a high-powered academic seminar on Water Security and Cross Border Cooperation in South Asia on May 20, 2025. The seminar was a response to climate change, population pressures, and uneven developmental resources putting added stress on transboundary waterways across the region. The seminar was co-chaired by Prof. Helena von Strauss, a leading expert in the field of hydropolitics, and Dr. Ravi Iyer, a prominent scholar of environmental governance in South Asia.

The seminar sought to explore the intersection of legal constructs, hydropolitical conflict, and ecological responsibility within South Asia. Issues related to relative and future agreements for water sharing, downstream challenges when upstream problems are addressed without negotiation, and transcendental jurisdictional control over water resources based on scientific evidence and equitable treatment were explored.

In-person and remote participants from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan included both academic and field practitioners who championed topical discourse with case study evidence and theoretical justification for continued approaches to cooperation. The Asian Development Bank and the World Water Council sent representatives to provide keynote addresses emphasizing that trust between institutions/factions remains ever critical, as does appropriate watershed-based management and policy negotiations with all stakeholders.

Thus, this seminar was a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder effort that increased awareness of the need for water diplomacy as a mechanism for regional peace and sustainability.

Launch of the South Asia Digital Transformation Forum (May 5, 2025)

The South Asia Digital Transformation Forum, spearheaded by the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies, has successfully convened on May 5, 2025, under the direction of Dr. Sunita Rao and Prof. Andrew Hyunwoo Kim. This effort has been put together to not only provide an interdisciplinary collaborative forum of South Asian policymakers, academics, and specialists in technology but also to critically assess the trajectory and speed of digital transformation across South Asia and what it means for governance, equity in education, and socioeconomic progress with sustainability efforts in mind.

The outcomes of this unprecedented event promoted a collaborative atmosphere for give-and-take between empirical and research-based findings and policy suggestions regarding how potential new digital infrastructures could, for example, reduce deep-rooted inequities. Equity of access was a primary agenda discussion; virtual classrooms could offer access to educational resources otherwise unavailable, while telehealth could provide access to medical services, otherwise remote or stigmatized, and through financial technologies, access to previously marginalized populations could be cut off from appropriate banking procedures. Simultaneously, however, many reminders of the digitally inequitable divide were assessed in relationship to digital competencies and gaps in infrastructure. Likewise, a good portion of the discussions revolved around the ethics of surveillance and bureaucratic algorithmic authority with a cautionary note that any type of digital transformation in South Asia should also uphold democratic standards and human rights.

Personnel Announcement (Effective April 1, 2025)

The Sundar Singh Institute had announced that Dr. Isaac Shunsuke Sato had been appointed as the Director of the newly established Centre for the Study of Religion, Politics and International Relations, an advanced interdisciplinary research centre that had been launched with strategic funding from the Ministry of Home Affairs. As part of this transition, Dr. Sato had concluded his tenure as Acting Director, a role in which he had overseen the Institute’s research agenda with distinction and intellectual leadership during a pivotal period of institutional consolidation.

He had been succeeded by Dr. Rajiv K. Menon, who had previously served as Assistant Director and had been promoted in recognition of his substantial contributions to the Centre’s policy research initiatives and his leadership in developing its international academic partnerships.

Publication: Climate Change and South Asian Agriculture: New Strategies for Resilience
(April 15, 2025)

On April 15, 2025, a fundamental new release came from the Sundar Singh Institute:
Climate Change and South Asian Agriculture: New Strategies for Resilience.

Anjali R. Kapoor, one of the leading scholars in this discipline and more known for her work in environmental studies and sustainable development, is one of the contributors to this article, which assesses the impact of climate change on agricultural efforts across South Asia.

The findings note how average increased temperature, more unpredictable monsoon seasons, and excessive soil erosion all impact agricultural yield in this region populated by millions of smallholder farm families.

Using grounded fieldwork data collection, regionally comparative case studies, and climate predictions, this work offers new, community-oriented, adaptive efforts as strategies for increased resiliency of food systems—especially for smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities undergoing ecological stressing—for potential sustainable solutions.

By the time of publication, the work changed the conversation for policy at national and sub-national scales. This work was recognized as a working paper by Indian and Bangladeshi government institutions for their ongoing agricultural policy developments, while United Nations reports indicated a re-invigorated partnership for climate-related agriculture endeavors across the greater South Asian region.

Launch of the South Asian Policy Innovation Forum (February 25, 2025)

On February 25, 2025, the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies officially launched the South Asian Policy Innovation Forum (SAPIF)—a first-of-its-kind project intended to generate interdisciplinary dialogue and collaborative research between academics, policymakers, public institutions, and civil society actors across South Asia. The SAPIF acted as a dialogue-driven forum to address critical governance concerns where social justice, sustainable development, and equitable economic transformation intersect.

Led by Dr. Rajiv K. Menon, scholar in South Asian political economy, and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Isaac S. Sato, engaged interfaith dialoguer and ethics-driven governance advocate, SAPIF attempted to reconcile the historical breach between academia’s contribution to theoretical policy generation divorced from implementation and governance realities. Their vision sealed SAPIF as a practically driven platform for both policy generation and theoretically driven policy imperatives.

The first session addressed an age-old, structurally embedded problem: economic inequality that has stalled the momentum of addressing equitable development far too long. Economists, sociologists, development practitioners, and experts in economic policy engaged in discourse not only to address the causes of inequality but also to expose new fiscal policies—many advocating for progressive taxation, redistributive justice via deliberate social investment, and fiscal decentralization with inclusive opportunities for all.

Dr. Menon’s keynote posited that South Asia must move away from conventional fiscal policies that prioritize market efficiency over redistributive equity. Drawing from his extensive research regarding taxation ideology, welfare economics, and macro-fiscal policy, Dr. Menon evaluated national budgets to expose options for change and suggested that the most effective long-term social stabilization and economic sustainability utilize universal public services—as most effective in education, health care, and rural/farm infrastructure—as guiding principles.

In agreement, Dr. Sato presented a bulwark against socio-economic sin—an ethical and theological perspective on inadequacies—rooting his analysis in human dignity and social ethical responsibility concerning equitable redistributive efforts. He implied that these efforts must be linked inextricably to transformational human efforts; without claiming inequality through the lenses of dehumanization—feminine issues, transnational identities, indigenous peoples, rural citizens—as they relate to determinable national public policy guidelines, the funds appropriated for redistribution mean nothing.

Throughout the day, small working groups and expert panels allowed attendees to assess pre-existing redistributive measures—direct benefit transfers, microfinance initiatives, conditional cash transfers—not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. The role of international policy covenants was challenged as attendees assessed the World Bank-IMF intersectionality and how foreign relationships advocated for measures that at times fettered fiscal sovereignty in South Asia.

SAPIF then concluded with long-term research opportunities as the forum officially partnered with universities and policy think tanks across the region to gain a regionally based empirical experience of social impact from progressive fiscal action to supplement the discourse.

The Forum also considered elements of the future. A holistic, evidence-based research agenda to be followed for the year with a central committee of researchers on structural inequality. A lobbying effort surrounding tax measures that cater to the socio-economic realities of South Asia. A greater public education effort stemming from future engagement. It was to be an annual SAPIF, and there would be a focus on the policy sector—policy for the environment, digital equity, human rights, and social safety nets.

Creating SAPIF was another giant leap for the Sundar Singh Institute. The ability to create a forum that combined epistemologies, disciplines, and representatives assured the Institute’s presence as a thought leader in ethically driven, research-based, and socially relevant policy for good governance innovations in South Asia.

Annual Conference on Health Systems Resilience in South Asia (January 20, 2025)

The Annual Conference on Health Systems Resilience was held by the Sundar Singh Institute on January 20, 2025, which brought together many eminent scholars and practitioners of the region to assess the region’s ability to sustain and dynamically address public health challenges. Dr. Ravi Iyer, for example, presented his groundbreaking research on access to health care in crisis—from COVID shutdowns to the current nation-wide avian influenza vaccine effort—and recommended new paths for rural health expansion. His efforts stemmed from a community and regionally assessed qualitative field study in conjunction with a quantitative analysis based on cross-national findings to advocate for micro-level, community-based resilience efforts.

Additionally, there were active roundtable discussions from participants, led by Dr. Anjali R. Kapoor, who assessed the relationship between environmental violence and public health challenges, and Dr. Lars M. Schneider, who focused on a growing legal and regulatory framework as a form of public health governance for South Asia. Their contributions bolstered the necessity for a complex, interdisciplinary approach to any future health efforts.

Seminar on Gender Equity and Policy Innovation (December 8, 2024)

On December 8, 2024, the Sundar Singh Institute will hold a seminar, Gender Equity in Policy-Making: Lessons for South Asia. Dr. Priya Deshmukh, a gender policy and development studies specialist at the Institute, will bring together a cross-sector group hailing from across the South Asian region as well as India to evaluate and celebrate past successes and failures of gender-equity policies in this geographically and ethnically diverse region. Female grassroots advocates intersect with high-level policymakers to join the academic research community for retrospective analyses of empirically backed success stories of equity policy change, but acknowledged failures in female voice, access to resources, and institutional accountability by country.

The seminar leveraged comparative participation to discuss relative gendered failures in the South Asian region and assessed the role of cultural determinants and policy creation, suggesting that the best legislative developments come from intersectional and localized approaches.

At the end of the seminar, a policy brief will be created to complement ongoing governmental and civil society efforts for sustainable, data-driven policy development in the region that allows empowerment from within with all voices heard.