The notion of India often evokes images of an ancient civilization, defined by sprawling palaces and gardens, spirituality and a system of beliefs and culture that dates back several millennia. Over time, the growth of Indian civilization has been symbiotic with nature, with the intimate relationship shared with the land, an integral aspect of Hindu mythology and Indian beliefs. With this in mind, rivers and water bodies across the country have historically been revered for their life-sustaining abilities, perhaps more so in India given that it is, and always has been, primarily an agrarian society. 

Every morning the paper I receive in my home in Mumbai carries a story on the worsening water situation in the city and how thousands of us are left without water. The stories talk about water theft by the private companies, illegal tapping of wells, poor transportation systems, pollution in the reservoirs and related problems. The media blames the government, the government blames the climate, the bureaucracy blames the rising population and the migrants, and we the people blame everyone. 

Bangladesh shares around 4,095km of its border with India. Over the years cross border migration from Bangladesh to India has taken place owing to a combination of economic and political factors. Currently, an estimated 20 million Bangladeshis illegally stay in India. In recent years, an increased and sustained movement of people from Bangladesh to India has taken place as a result of factors other than economic, social or political. The main driver of cross border migration has been the environment, which includes the absence of adequate freshwater resources. 

Pakistan has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. For a country which is currently facing the brunt of several internal and external problems, Pakistan indeed has always been the most tumultuous part of the South Asian region. But these problems, which are very public in nature, have actually managed to cover perhaps the biggest threat the country is facing. Pakistan is sitting on a major water bomb and despite the warnings the country�€™s administration has easily neglected this problem, a problem which actually threatens the very existence of the country.

From the outside, looking in, Nepal has seemingly abundant water resources. Authors and poets have written eloquently about the bounty of the country���s ���true natural resource���: its water. The small mountainous country has well over 6000 rivers. All of the major rivers originate in the Himalayas and are snow-fed. The country���s overall water availability is pegged at well over 230 BCM. From the outside, the really definitive statistic is that of the per capita water availability, which in 2003 was estimated to be 9122 m3 per capita and in 2025 is projected to be 5500 m3 per capita. When compared with other countries in the region, India, China and Pakistan, Nepal���s water statistics lead people to believe that the country���s water security is healthy and will remain so for the next several years. 

Sundeep Waslekar comments on the future of various forms of property - physical, intellectual, private and public.

At the beginning of every new decade there are predictions of what the world-to-come is going to be like. However with the approach of the new decade this time around, the focus is not so much on 2010, as on 2012. This is mostly because of the recently released film 2012, based loosely on the end of the world prediction of the Mayan Calendar. The 5,125-year-long Mayan Long Count calendar predicts a series of cataclysmic events on 21 December 2012. It is highly unlikely that any such event will take place, but what is certain is that 2012 is going to be a defining year for the coming decade. 

President Obama�€™s decision to deploy an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan has, for the most part, been welcomed by the Afghan government and the regional stakeholders India and Pakistan. The Taliban, whose presence several analysts believe will be required at the negotiating table for a long-term peaceful solution to the Afghan crisis, have rebuffed the new strategy �€“ bluntly stating that there will be an increase in American casualties and more opportunities to attack US assets. On the surface, Obama�€™s decision, coupled with the pledge to strengthen governance and provide non-military aid/development is being widely held as a prerequisite towards regional stability. Despite objections by the Afghani people, more boots on the ground will ultimately increase the physical possibility of securing vast areas of the country, which have otherwise seen a spread of the Taliban�€™s influence.