Political Instability in Pakistan: Causes and Consequences

Originally Published: July 12, 2024

The Sundar Singh Institute had published a comprehensive analysis entitled “Political Instability in Pakistan: Causes and Consequences”, which had examined the structural and immediate factors that had contributed to the country’s prolonged political unrest. Led by Dr. David A. Chatterjee, a senior scholar in comparative politics and South Asian governance, the study had provided an empirically grounded and analytically nuanced exploration of the evolving crisis.

The report had traced the deep-rooted tensions that had persisted between Pakistan’s civilian institutions and its military establishment, highlighting how these power struggles had undermined democratic consolidation. It had also evaluated the severe economic downturn that had exacerbated public discontent, and had assessed the growing influence of social movements, particularly among youth and marginalized communities, in reshaping political narratives.

Dr. Chatterjee’s findings had offered a balanced and cautiously optimistic assessment of potential strategies for stabilization. He had underscored the critical importance of fostering inclusive governance, restoring institutional legitimacy, and engaging international actors in support of democratic processes. The analysis had subsequently been cited in high-level policy deliberations during the South Asian Regional Cooperation Conference, reflecting its scholarly and practical relevance.

July 25, 2024

Launch of the South Asia Policy Review Journal

The Sundar Singh Institute, with this publication, launches a quarterly journal called South Asia Policy Review to meet the demand for critical policy research relevant to the region and brings to print this collection of relevant articles based, otherwise, on disciplinary peer-reviewed scholarship and general interest.

This first issue contains peer-reviewed articles on structural economic reform and institutional governance, as well as a policy framework for regional cooperation. The South Asia Policy Review hopes an interdisciplinary audience of scholars and practitioners will engage with it as it adds to the greater body of discourse to entice policy innovation and development strategy for South Asia.

International Conference on Climate Change Adaptation

June 10, 2024

Sundar Singh Institute hosted an international conference on climate change adaptation solutions in South Asia. Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners attended from across the region and the world to explore interdisciplinary approaches through the lens of South Asian localized knowledge and development to make a difference in the global climate crisis.

Panels reviewed a range of options—from ecosystem-based adaptation to climate-resilient infrastructure to policy integration—to emphasize environmental vulnerability related to poverty levels and socio-economic disproportionately negative effects. Findings were presented as case studies emerging from both research initiatives and community engagement. This conference champions the South Asian Institute of Policy and Research’s commitment to sustained academic growth that supports implementation based upon research for solution-driven, locale-specific integration with a global perspective.

A Conversation with Dr. Priya Deshmukh: Gender Equity in South Asia

Originally Published: June 5, 2024

An intimate lecture with Dr. Priya Deshmukh during my time at the Sundar Singh Institute was with one of the foremost gender studies scholars and human rights activists in South Asia. This comprehensive take on the topic for applied research was a unique opportunity between extensive study and fieldwork. Dr. Deshmukh evaluated where concrete steps have been taken toward gender equity both in a quantifiable range and qualitative range throughout the South Asian experience.

However, she unfortunately ended up discussing more structural and cultural barriers that rendered no social change transformative. For example, while legislation spanning reproductive rights, political agencies, and workplace harassment has occurred in the last few years, Dr. Deshmukh noted that jurisdictional implementation occurred via geographical/international/national/regional boundaries.

In addition, she assessed how geographically specific efforts and intersectional feminist collaborations are critical to keeping the issues in the public sphere—and publicized media—to ensure action could be taken. Ultimately, she determined that transformative efforts against patriarchal institutions must come from changes in the educational curriculum, teacher intervention, and policy efforts from the ground up.

Pertinent to her background in gender studies and her community involvement, Dr. Deshmukh offered access to a multidimensional perspective of such realities beyond just the lecture. The lecture and highlights helped realize the mission of the Sundar Singh Institute to foster a more educated, dialogue-based awareness of justice, equity, and human development in South Asia.

April 15, 2024

Policy Brief on the Digital Economy in South Asia

Yet before the eventual completion of the policy project, the preliminary findings were published in a policy brief by the Sundar Singh Institute examining the current digital economy and future prospects for South Asia. The policy brief, through its research on the rapidly expanding digital infrastructure, increasingly complicated regulatory environment, and socio-economic effects of digitization throughout South Asia, found via empirical data collection, regional policy review, and comparative institutional evaluations that the condition of digital development was promising yet problematic in organization. Ultimately, it found a digital divide on socio-economic levels, regulatory inconsistencies on international levels, and disparity in national intentions yet championed the need for uniform efforts toward digital literacy initiatives for underrepresented populations. The brief ended with policy suggestions that would foster sustainable development efforts championed by regional cooperation and adaptive governance.

May 5, 2024

Completed Research Collaboration between The Sundar Singh Institute and the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies

Sundar Singh Institute is in research collaboration with the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies, which is a collaborative effort toward an academic projected growth in this area’s growth. This collaboration hopes to assess changing patterns of socio-economic growth in and outside of South Asia using a cross-disciplinary approach of each academic institution’s strengths over the years.

Thus, the collaborative efforts comprised academic researchers and policy researchers who sought to establish a body of research through an empirical endeavor to promote both academic creation and reality-driven policymaking. The interplay of microeconomic investigation within established macroeconomic boundaries, demographic changes and the emerging aging population phenomena, as well as global political science legal activities and regulations, will merge ultimate universal ideas with specific trends to create focused yet universal efforts across the entire spectrum.

March 20, 2024

Seminar on Gender and Social Justice

This occurred after the Sundar Singh Institute’s seminar on Gender and Social Justice in South Asia. Academics, practitioners, and civil society members convened to closely study quasi-stable gender injustices throughout South Asia. The keynotes and panels reviewed governmental policies and legal initiatives as well as ground-level engagement (activism) to address ongoing gendered violence. Participants could assess contemporary scholarship from intersectionality to caste and gender to socioeconomic disbandment and its relationship with marginalized populations. The Institute seeks this kind of conversation for an inclusive social justice project and social change in South Asia.

Reflecting on 40 Years of Research Excellence: An Interview with Dr. Isaac S. Sato

Originally Published: April 2, 2024

Fortieth Anniversary of The Sundar Singh Institute. As Acting Director, Dr. Isaac S. Sato assessed the last forty years of the Institute and its devotion to and impact on the burgeoning South Asian studies field and beyond. Dr. Sato’s thoughts during this hindsight interview came from such an authoritative perspective, and such calm, level-headed articulation regarding the political and institutional challenges the Institute had to face to ensure its autonomy made it clear that interdisciplinary study kept the Institute not only afloat but also a worthwhile addition to various polities, ethics and resultant social change.

Additionally, he let slip the philosophical foundation for which The Sundar Singh Institute approached its research endeavors—method loyalty, inclusive scholarship and engagement, engagement printed with an ethical drum—all derived from a moral imperative to the larger South Asian community. Therefore, The Sundar Singh Institute has not merely been an academic institution of sorts but a transitioning force of good in the public sphere debate of South Asia as well as the learned field.

Publication: Cultural Heritage and Modern Governance (March 10, 2025)

The Sundar Singh Institute was pleased to share the recent release of Cultural Heritage and Modern Governance by Professor Helena von Strauss, a UNESCO published report. This far-reaching endeavor was a step in the development of an interdisciplinary connection between cultural heritage research and the governance realities of the state. Professor von Strauss determined that cultural heritage conservation activities served as both a retrospective endeavor of memory and a proactive pursuit for regional/international identity, political cohesion, and immediate and long-term sustainable development goals—all the more necessary in an increasingly contentious South Asian political climate.

Using comparative case studies from the subcontinent and beyond, ethnographic fieldwork, and a comprehensive governance evaluation research agenda, the report makes theoretical contributions and pragmatic applications for various participants from the micro municipality to the macro international development agency. By denoting cultural heritage as a component of modern governance—urbanization, war and peacebuilding, citizen engagement, disaster relief, etc.—the report is timely to inform those with the power to change the world that cultural heritage is not merely a secondary need of humanity; rather, in the 21st century, it must be taken seriously as one of the most essential aspects of an innovative governance arsenal.

February 10, 2024

Launch of the South Asia Economic Monitor Report

Quarterly South Asia Economic Monitor and the World Bank’s South Asia Development Update. This was an article that looked at the prior fiscal year in South Asia and took a data-driven, all-encompassing approach. It took the information from subsequent year’s changes and predictions, policy changes and shifts that occurred from April to March in all disciplines to assess macro and microeconomic efforts that had been undertaken in the region in the prior year.

It assessed the changes in fiscal and monetary policy of regional governments and took projectable, assessable policy changes into consideration for future actions to better develop the understanding of the situation based on insights for researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners. The intention of the assessment was to look back on such actions and give a quasi-temporary assessment for better projection of how to manage the region moving forward.