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The Brahmaputra River — Why Asia's Most Dangerous River Is Also India's Most Important Strategic Asset The Brahmaputra River — Why Asia's Most Dangerous River Is Also India's Most Important Strategic Asset By BUGLE  |  June 2026  |  Last updated: June 2026  |  13 min read Breaking development — July 2025: China formally began construction of the world's largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo — the Brahmaputra's Tibetan name — on July 19, 2025. The dam, located at the Great Bend in Medog County, Tibet, will have a capacity of 60,000 megawatts — three times the output of China's own Three Gorges Dam. A confidential Indian government report, corroborated by Reuters in August 2025, warned that the dam could reduce Brahmaputra flows by up to 85% during the dry season. China has not shared hydrological data with India since 2022. India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised the issue with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Aug...

What Is Jhum Cultivation? — Why Northeast India's Shifting Agriculture Persists, and What the Debate Is Really About What Is Jhum Cultivation? — Why Northeast India's Shifting Agriculture Persists, and What the Debate Is Really About By BUGLE  |  June 2026  |  Last updated: June 2026  |  11 min read The short answer: Jhum cultivation — also called shifting cultivation or slash-and-burn agriculture — is a traditional farming method practised by tribal communities across Northeast India's hill regions. A plot of forest is cleared by cutting and burning vegetation, crops are grown for one to three seasons, and then the plot is left to regenerate while the farmer moves to a new plot. When practised with adequate fallow periods of 10–20 years, it is a sustainable and ecologically intelligent system. When fallow periods collapse to 2–3 years under population pressure — as is increasingly happening — it causes serious deforestation and soil de...