Almost in the blink of an eye, Afghanistan changed this week. The worst price is going to be paid by young Afghans who grew up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks: for all the corruption and inefficiency of the government, the decades since have seen historically-unprecedented gains in education, employment and incomes.

Women — often denied an education under the Taliban, and subjected to horrific human rights violations — were the biggest beneficiaries. Now, their hopes and dreams have disintegrated.

The people of Afghanistan, though, aren’t going to be the only ones to feel the impact. But how did this come about? And what does the rebirth of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate going to mean for India, the region, and the rest of the world?