South Asia 2025: A Year of War, Democracy Backsliding, People’s Resistance, Seeking Accountability

As 2025 comes to a close, Unraveled takes a step back from daily headlines to examine what this turbulent year has meant for democracy, human rights, conflict, and geopolitics in South Asia. In this year-end special, journalist Marvi Sirmed unpacks how shrinking civic space, rising majoritarianism, terrorism, and great-power rivalry reshaped politics and everyday life across the region. This episode covers: 1. The tightening grip of security states and the erosion of civil liberties across South Asia 2. Pakistan’s internal political constraints — and its unexpected diplomatic repositioning after the May 2025 India-Pakistan crisis 3. The recalibration of Pakistan–U.S. relations and Pakistan’s renewed relevance in global and Middle Eastern diplomacy 4. How India–Pakistan relations hardened after May 2025 — not just diplomatically, but socially and culturally 5. Communal and caste-based violence in India, and the normalization of majoritarian aggression 6. Media crackdowns and the shrinking space for dissent in Indian-administered Kashmir 7. Protests and accountability demands in Pakistan-administered Kashmir 8. Bangladesh at a historic turning point after the death of Ms. Khaleda Zia, the legacy of the “Battle of the Begums,” and the denial of Bangladeshi political agency 9. Democratic turbulence in Sri Lanka and Nepal, including youth-led protests and demands for accountability 10. How U.S.–China rivalry continues to shape choices for South Asian governments — and the costs borne by ordinary people Rather than nationalist triumphalism or geopolitical chest-thumping, Unraveled focuses on people, power, and the future of democracy in a region that carries nearly a quarter of humanity. Subscribe to Unraveled for independent, critical journalism on South Asia and global affairs.