Indocentric view

India’s Foreign Policy:

Paradigm Shift in the Post-Cold War Era

Prof. R.S. Yadav

Developments in both domestic and external determinants of India’s Foreign Policy during the last two decades have under gone significant transformations.  As a result, it has led to reorientation and readjustments in India’s world view and its relations with other states. These changes are of so huge magnitude that its foreign policy can be termed as paradigm shift as compared to its foreign policy outlook during the cold war years.

Basic Parameters of India’s Foreign Policy and Its Resilience

Prof.  Mohammed Badrul Alam

With India achieving independence in 1947 from the erstwhile British colonial rule, the onerous task of formulating its foreign policy fell upon its first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of the Indian National Congress party. Nehru followed the policy of anti-colonialism and anti-racialism and it reflected in India’s support for the Indonesian struggle for independence from the Dutch and for abolition of the racial apartheid regime in South Africa.  India also voiced support for Communist China’s inclusion in the United Nations. Due to reasons, ideological and also for self-preservation and in trying to maintain a distinct identity on the part of a newly independent state, Nehru embraced the policy of neutrality. As the world after World War II was a bipolar one divided between two competing and rival blocs, India served as a facilitator in a number of international crisis situations including its active participation  in  UN  Peace  Keeping  Operations  and  in  acting  as  interlocutor  for exchange of prisoners between the US and China at the end of the Korean War. On a wider canvas, India termed its policy as one of non-alignment by staying away from rival military blocs of N.A.T.O and Warsaw Pact and at the same time forming a third force in commensurate with its national interests.

India’s Economic Diplomacy in South Asia

Dr. Arunoday Bajpai

India’s engagement with South Asia is multifarious- with historical, cultural and ethnic niceties. The importance of South Asia in India’s foreign policy needs no emphasis. The major objectives of Indian foreign policy in South Asia are: ensuring peace, stability and development in South Asia; promoting regional economic integration; and securing her strategic and economic interests. The strategic interests become important due to the involvement of other players particularly US and China in the region. South Asia has huge potential to address India’s energy security needs. These objectives are pursued through variety of bilateral and multilateral means. Economic diplomacy has assumed centre stage in global affairs. Unlike other parts of the world, India’s economic diplomacy has not received the desired success in South Asia. India’s economic diplomacy in South Asia is significant for more than one reason.

India takes lead to cope with challenges in neighbourhood

Anjan Roy & Amit Kuma

The seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. With the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; Bhutan, the People’s Republic of China and Nepal to the northeast; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Indian Nuclear Diplomacy

Obja Borah Hazarika

The advent of the atomic age had widespread reverberations in the world. It heralded a revolution both in physics and politics. The atom bomb was coveted as a new-age prestige symbol while at the same time it ushered in fierce debate on the security implications that its presence implied. The world was soon to be divided into nuclear haves and have-nots and a nuclear nonproliferation regime was implemented to restrict the spread of the bomb and endeavor towards its eventual elimination.

South Asia Energy Cooperation for Enhancing Cross Border Power Trading

Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Singh

The rise of South Asia in general, and India in particular as a force on the economic scene is widely acknowledged. Growing population and expanding economies has led to increase in energy intensity which has resulted in to unprecedented hike in demand for energy sources. Thus, for South Asia energy security emanates from the growing imbalance between the demand for energy and its supply from indigenous sources resulting in increased import dependence

Assistance from Abroad in ensuring India’s Health Security

 Shantesh Kumar Singh

Human security encompasses more than protecting the state in which the individual resides. Moreover an individual’s personal preservation and protection is derived also from ensuring sufficient access to welfare and quality of life. The purpose of human security is to guard the vital core of all human lives from grave and invasive threats in a way that is steady with long term human fulfillment. Health security is an integral and important aspect of human security. Health issues form the core values that need to be protected in order to adopt a more comprehensive approach to security, using the human security paradigm. To emphasize, health is a security issue, not just a medical one.

Indo-Bangladesh Relations:

Time to Grow Up

Prof.  Samir Kumar Das

For far too long, India’s South Asia policy had a single-minded focus on Pakistan. While such focus is indeed important, it has also taken away much of our attention from fostering healthy ties with our other neighbours. Nurturing mutually beneficial relations with all countries in our immediate neighbourhood would not only create a virtual model of regional interdependency but also eventually facilitate normalization of India-Pakistan ties in the near future. In this respect, Bangladesh can be a crucial partner in bringing about a paradigm shift in regional relations. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Bangladesh could have gone a long way in this direction – had it not been mired in the controversy over the sharing of Teesta waters between the two countries and its fallout on wider Indo-Bangla relations

India’s Afghanistan Policy:

Beyond Bilateralism

Rajen Singh Laishram

With the signing of a first-ever agreement on Strategic Partnership1 in New Delhi on October 4, 2011, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Republic of India entered a ‘scaling up’ in their relationship. The agreement was signed by the Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during their third meeting within this year. Paradoxically, such a ‘strong and broad based partnership’ has come at a juncture where the United States of America began its symbolic troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and amidst  increasing diatribes between Pakistan and US on issues with concerns on Afghanistan.

Buddhism in Burmese politics

Dr. Shivanee Chatterjee

Buddhism occupies an important role in the lives of mainland Southeast Asians, the majority of whom are Buddhists. Other religions, such as Islam and Christianity, fail to exert their extensive influence in mainland Southeast Asia today, although they play more significant social and political roles in maritime Southeast Asia. The presence of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism in Southeast Asia suggests that as a region, Southeast Asia is one of the most religiously diverse regions in the world. Religion in Southeast Asia has also been a crucial part of the political, social and economic lives of Southeast Asians. Beyond the stereotypical notion that all religions promote socio-political docility through a doctrine of peace, these major religions in Southeast Asia often motivate civil and civic movements to work for or against the state. Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia, Buddhism in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand as well as Catholicism in the Philippines have demonstrated the potent role that religion and religious personalities can play by mobilizing the people toward either support or antagonism to the state. From peaceful protests to violent agitations, these major co-religionists have been contending forces for modern states to face, central to which is the legitimacy and political longevity of the government in power. In the case of Burma, Buddhist monks have been playing an influential role in shaping public policies and governing principles since the dynastical eras, through colonial rule up to the present military government in Burma in their institutionalized and socially acknowledged role as the socio-political vanguard of the Burmese people.

Dimensions of India”Sri Lanka Relations

Girish C. Mallik

India has long been the country with the greatest influence over Sri Lanka because of the position of being the closest neighbor. In the nuance of the specific geo-strategic location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, India finds it reasonably substantial to have a good neighborhood policy with Sri Lanka. The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is more than 2,500 years old. It is based on a profound and enduring companionship with shared historical experiences, and civilizational commonalities. The interrelation between the two countries have been developed and diversified in the due course of time because of the geographical proximity and ethnic proclivity. Both countries have been nurturing a legacy of social, cultural, spiritual and intellectual intercourse. The bilateral relations complemented by comprehending all the area of contemporary significance. The collective civilizational heritage of the two nations and the extensive interaction among their citizens deliver the substance to establish a durable partnership. It has been matured by the cooperation in the fields of investment, development, diplomacy and defense. Both countries almost have mutual and broad understanding on major issues of their international interests. The remarkable feature of the bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka is both countries have developed adequate strength to withstand in stresses and strains. The era of 1980s were noticed by an intensifying level of tension between India and Sri Lanka. There are certain decisions taken by the Sri Lankan government were not well approved by New Delhi. Interestingly, in the last one decade there has been a comprehensive conversion in this relationship, which seems to be conclusively cordial one. The free trade agreement has been a crucial factor in this regard. Perhaps, this is also a consequence of alteration in attitude of both countries toward one another. Even so, it is essential to have an extensive analysis to understand the reasons for this momentous change.

India-Pakistan Relations:From Trust Deficit to Trust Building

Mohor Chakraborty

If one evaluates India’s overall South Asia policy under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments, it will be easily identified that the ambit of UPA Phase I (May 2004- April 2009) lacked South Asia focus compared to the UPA Phase II (May 2009 onwards). It is very difficult to differentiate India’s holistic South Asia policy regardless of whichever government may be in power at the Centre.  But, it can aptly be said, that in spite of an overall coordinated approach towards its neighbours, the UPA-I policy was exclusively overshadowed by India’s Nuclear Deal with US, the interplay of domestic political equations between the Left and Right Parties in Parliament and the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist incident, which made New Delhi quite lacklustre, not benevolent and adopt an extremely skeptical attitude towards its neighbours. This period of strains further complicated bilateral relations between India and Pakistan under the UPA-I government. However, the low ebb situation appeared reversed under the successive UPA-II administration, during which, the existing government has definitely accorded a high priority to its regional neighbours, with the Thimphu SAARC Summit of April 2010 acting as the starting point. In fact, the Thimphu SAARC platform transformed the hitherto stiffened ties between India and Pakistan from an initiative of “trust deficit” to “trust building” on the one hand and stimulated India’s emphatic endeavour to reactivate the space it had lost vis-à-vis Bangladesh, on the other. New Delhi’s pro-Bangladesh diplomacy exhibited a sign of better understanding with the small neighbours as well, ranging from Nepal to Afghanistan. It deserves mention at this juncture that, the portrait of current Indo-Pakistan relations (in 2011) should be perceived as a saga of continuity of the process of bilateral bonhomie that was initiated by the Thimphu spirit (April 2010) and incidents in its immediate aftermath. Therefore, in light of this consideration, the present article will purport to trace the UPA-II Government’s Pakistan policy, in juxtaposition with its outlook towards Islamabad in the preceding year (2010) as a comparative, but continuous strain.

India’s Policy towards Afghanistan

Dr. Mahesh Ranjan Debata

The peace and reconstruction process in Afghanistan is now in shambles after the US-led International Coalition Forces have decided to leave Afghanistan in the year 2014. The Taliban have split, regrouped and coalesced into a dreaded terrorist network operating in Afghanistan, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the war torn country. It has a favourable ally in the Haqqani network run by Sirajuddin Haqqani from Waziristan in Pakistan that has established its strongholds in Khost, Paktika, Paktia and Jalalabad provinces. US-Pakistan and Afghanistan-Pakistan ties are at the lowest ebb1 following the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abottabad city of Pakistan in May 2011 and the Head of High Peace Council and former Afghan President, Burhanuddin Rabbani in October 2011. This sorry state of affairs in Afghanistan has given a fatal crack to the citadel of peace in the region. At this critical juncture, the strategic cooperation agreement between India and Afghanistan signed on 4 October 2011 assumes greater importance. India is poised to play an important role in Afghanistan as asserted by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. While hailing the Indo-Afghan Strategic Cooperation Pact, Dr. Singh said, “India will stand by the people of Afghanistan as they prepare to assume the responsibility for their governance and security after the withdrawal of international forces in 2014.”

India and Bhutan:The Chinese Intercession and its fall out

Amrita Banerjee

Bhutan, a landlocked country between India and China, is the smallest Himalayan state, which comprised an area of about 18,000 sq miles, but now has been reduced to 14,824 sq miles only, after the boundary redemarcation by the Chinese government in the North. This tiny Himalayan state, also known as the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’ is home to a prominent variety of climates and ecosystems. Essentially, the country is divided into three major land regions: plains and river valleys in the south; a mid Himalayan (5,000 to 14,000 ft. high) area north of the valleys; and the mountainous lands in the Himalayas, which range from 14,000 to 24,000 ft. above sea level. From three sides- South, West and East - Bhutan forms border with India. In the north, Bhutan shares border with China. Bhutan has always been in the security map of India and has been a conventional buffer state against any external threat from the north. The two regional powers, India and China have been contenders, not associates in the region, thus creating a complicated ambience for its small neighbours like Bhutan. Historically, apart from its occasional skirmishes with British India and Tibet, Bhutan’s political and economic environment has remained largely unaffected by World Wars and other major events such as discoveries and inventions in the world. Unlike Nepal, Bhutan is like ‘a yam between two boulders’ and this geo-strategic location makes it so important in big neighbour’s perception of security. For India, a fragile Bhutan means a weak buffer state with China, and so India puts all her endeavor in bringing an end to Bhutan’s isolation policy, has started socio-economic development and promoted Bhutan’s international height through UN membership and other multilateral organizations.

The Changing Us-Pakistan Relations and Its Effect on India

Colonel G G Pamidi

In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing by the US Navy Seals in Abbottabad on 01 May 2011, serious questions are being asked by the lawmakers in the US over the legitimacy of Pakistan’s fight against terror. The pleading of ignorance by the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment has not found any takers in the international community. The US especially feels let down by their “strategic” partner to whom it has been doling out billions of dollars in US foreign aid for several years.

Adding growing discomfiture to the US- Pakistan relationship are the latest revelations in the recently concluded  trial in Chicago of one of the 26/11 accused, Tahawwur Rana. The star prosecution witness, David Coleman Headley, has revealed several facts that India has been reiterating for years. Headley has testified that the operation was planned and executed not by the Lashkar-e-Taeba alone but was actively assisted by serving officers of the Pakistani intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).  The fact that six American lives were lost in that terrorist incident has made the US extremely sensitive and there appears to be a genuine resolve to punish the guilty. These revelations in a court of law cannot now be brushed under the carpet and have further soured the already frail relationship.

India- Bangladesh Relations

Dr. Santosh Singh

India has longest land border with Bangladesh. The latter shares land border with India on three sides. Both countries are part of the Indian Subcontinent and have had a long  common cultural, economic and political history. People of both countries endure feelings of both fraternal and familial ties. This commonality is reflected at several levels of interaction. High-level political exchanges, visits and meetings take place regularly along with people-to-people interaction

India, Central Asia and the Changing Contours of War on Terrorism

Prof.  Kuldip Singh

   Afghanistan and the newly emerged countries of Central Asia acquired added importance in global politics after the US waged its much hyped war on terrorism. The war in Afghanistan followed from its unilateral declaration that Osama-bin-Laden, the brain behind the infamous 9/11, was hiding there. Earlier accused of engineering bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania he was declared to be the main culprit for 11 September 2001attacks on New York and Washington. The US, being desperate to defeat the forces of terrorism, did not strictly adhere to the established UN principles for making a case for the war to be waged, that could be made only if credible evidence was shared with the world community (Singh, 2005:187). The friendly countries like Great Britain accepted US act of by-passing the UN system, though under the prevailing circumstances getting UN sanction for the war was not a problem. As it chose to wage war without UN approval the critics attributed the US act of by-passing Security Council to larger American design of not legitimizing the need to approach the Council and thus reserving the right to act unilaterally (The Tribune, 2002). However, the panic created by 9/11 incidents was weighing heavily on the minds of US leadership that made them undertake urgent remedial measures. The US managed to secure unprecedented diplomatic and physical support whereby all the leading countries of the world offered it logistic support for the operations to be launched. NATO stood with it firmly and invoked Article Five of its Charter for the first time which read “any attack on a member country would be considered an attack on all NATO members”

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