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Vol 6, No. 1          Jan - Mar 2011

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DEBATE

 

Latin America and the Caribbean: Next Step for India

 

For nearly fifty years after independence, India’s relations with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries remained cordial but limited. The two subcontinents had divergent foreign policy perceptions; and their inwardlooking development strategies also gave little incentive for any meaningful economic exchanges. This changed in the 1990s. A liberalizing Indian economy initiated the export-promoting “Focus LAC” strategy in 1996. On its part, the LAC region also reached out to India and other dynamic economies of Asia with a view to boost regional economic growth momentum. The interests converged on global trade and political issues too; and political dialogue increased in frequency. 

 

VIVEK KATJU: Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi

Growing Awareness between India and Latin America

India and Latin America have historically not occupied large spaces in each other’s consciousness. The enormous distance between India and Latin America was not only physical but mental and intellectual. Happily, that bleak picture has been transformed. There is in India a far greater awareness of Latin America than before.… Within Latin America also there is a growing and direct awareness of the great transformation that is underway in India. ...

 

R. VISWANATHAN: Presently the Ambassador of India to Argentina. He was formerly Ambassador to Venezuela. Views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of India.

The New Latin America and the Next Steps for India

Latin America has undergone a paradigm shift in the last two decades. The region has come out of the past curses of political and economic instability and cycles of booms and busts. A stable and prosperous New Latin America is emerging. The New Latin Americans are looking forward to the future with confidence and optimism. India needs to recognize this new scenario and take strategic steps to engage this region, enhance cooperation and promote trade and investment....

 

JORGE HEINE: Till recently the Ambassador of Chile to India; presently holds the CIGI Chair in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Much to Gain by Working Together in the Emerging International Order

At the beginning of the second decade of this new century, the appeal that India is starting to exercise in Latin America is considerable. Its vigorous parliamentary democracy, its growing economy, its high-tech achievements, in combination with its millenarian spiritual traditions, make for a heady mix. To make the most of this appeal, however, requires a much more proactive policy towards the region, one that realizes that in this new international order that is emerging, by working together, India and Latin America have much to gain....

 

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SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION

 

The Challenges to Indian Diplomacy in the Twenty-first Century

Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari

 

 

Text of the Address at the “Annual Lecture 2011” of the Association of Indian Diplomats, held at New Delhi on 11 March 2011, with the co-operation of the Indian Council of World Affairs.

(Text also available at: http://vicepresidentofindia.nic.in/contents.asp?id=327)

 

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ARTICLES

 

SATINDER KUMAR LAMBAH: Former Ambassador of India, presently the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Afghanistan. (Edited text of the Fifth R.N. Kao Memorial Lecture delivered, on 21 January 2011, New Delhi)

Securing India’s Future through its Neighbourhood

Our future security and prosperity depend as much on what we do within India as what we do beyond our borders. Thus, India’s own position on the global stage and its capacity to influence the direction of the world at large will depend both on our own evolution and how we manage the neighbourhood. ... What happens to one-sixth of humanity will be of great consequence to the world in the twenty-first century. In turn, our own future, our destiny, our prosperity and our security are linked to our neighbourhood. This reality must be a constant guide to our national development and national security policies. .

 

PRASANTA KUMAR PRADHAN: Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

GCC - Iran Rivalry and Strategic Challenges for India in the Gulf

The conflict between Iran and the GCC countries has severe regional implications for India. Issues like energy security, dealing with the USA in the Gulf, Chinese influence in the region, developments in Iraq, are all pressing issues which demand immediate engagement. The growing Indian interests and influence in the region should be complemented with a sound policy of dealing with the major players, which remains a huge political and diplomatic challenge. Dealing with the USA in the Gulf is a political and strategic challenge while China primarily remains an economic rival. .... A peaceful and stable Gulf region is in India’ interest and India needs to carefully nurture its policies in the region.  ...

 

AMITAVA TRIPATHI: Former Ambassador of India to Brazil, Switzerland and the Vatican.

Prospects of India becoming a Global Power

For a country whose very survival as a modern nation state was doubted by many in the years before and after our independence, India has come a long way in establishing itself as a key player on the international scene. At the same time, despite numerous flaws in the manner of its governance India has largely succeeded in forging a nation from the diverse elements within its physical borders. India has never been and most likely will never be a nation state after the Western model. It is quintessentially a civilizational state and consequently its moral and cultural boundaries extend far beyond its physical frontiers. ...

 

BHASKAR BALAKRISHNAN: Former Ambassador of India to Cuba and to Greece.

Role of Technology in India’s Foreign Relations

Given the pace of technological development, India will need to remain vigilant and react with an agile foreign policy response to safeguard its interests in a world where technology is a key determinant of global competitiveness and power. In this effort, much closer collaboration between India’s scientific and technical establishments and India’s foreign policy establishment will be needed to generate wide awareness and sensitivity to key issues and effectively respond to future challenges. Technology issues will need to be carefully factored into foreign policy strategy and policy discussions, formulation, and practice. ...

 

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ORAL HISTORY

 

Last Days of the Soviet Troops in Afghanistan

 

I. P. Khosla

Former Ambassador of India to Afghanistan

 

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, in 1979, their withdrawal 8 years later and subsequent developments have drastically changed the strategic environment in the region. By 1986, the Soviet Union had taken the decision to pull out. The final troop withdrawal started on May 15, 1988, and ended on February 15, 1989. Ambassador I. P. Khosla was the Indian envoy in Kabul from 1985 and saw the last of the Soviet tanks pull out. He speaks to Indian Foreign Affairs Journal on his impressions and experiences during those three and a half years. ...

 

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BOOK REVIEWS

 

ADITI BHADURI, CIPOD, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Ginu Zacharia Oommen, Ethnicity, Marginality and Identity: The Jews of Cochin in Israel (New Delhi: Manak, 2011) (New Delhi: Manak, 2011), Pages: 337, Price: Rs. 495.00.

 

AVINASH GODBOLE Research Assistant, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

Jagannath P. Panda, China’s Path to Power: Party, Military and the Politics of State Transition (New Delhi: IDSA, Pentagon Security International, 2010) ), Pages: 234, Price: Rs. 695.00.

 

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Vol 6, No. 2          Apr - Jun 2011

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DEBATE

 

India and the Turmoil in the Arab World

 

The “turmoil”, popularly termed as the “Arab Spring”, which started in Tunisia and led to a quick exit of the country’s unpopular leader, gave rise to hope amongst others in the Arab world. The dramatic events were further fuelled by on-line activism through social network sites. Egypt was the next to be set aflame. Encouraged by these events, in a few other places – like Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, Libya, etc. – activists initiated demonstrations, hoping for similar reforms. The Egyptian President was brought down but the expected domino effect stalled there for some time.

 

K. P. Fabian: Former Ambassador to Qatar, Finland and Italy

Arab March Towards Democracy will be Slow and Asymptotic

While the dawn of democracy in the Arab world might still be far away, the regimes under threat are unlikely to recover their legitimacy in full. ... What is in store for the Arab world? A slow, asymptotic march towards democracy? It is easier to mobilize people to get rid of an autocrat. It is less easy to mobilize them for establishing democracy. The unity of purpose vanishes as soon the autocrat goes. ...

 

P.R. Kumaraswamy: Chairperson / Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

A Painful Path to Democratization

While not being a party to the unfolding drama, India is not a disinterested party. Whatever happens in the Middle East will have far-reaching implications for India and influence its economic growth.… But one thing is for sure: For the Arab rulers and the masses alike status quo is no longer an option. ...

 

Rumel Dahiya: Advisor, Military Affairs Cluster, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

India Should Help in Restoring Peace

There will be major changes in politics and governance across the region. India should be prepared to do business with existing or incoming regimes and assist them in ways that help restore peace and stability in the region, which is of vital importance to it. ...

 

Sameena Hameed: Assistant Professor. India - Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

India Needs to Move from ‘Mild’ to the ‘Middle’

Post-Arab spring, India’s trajectory in the Arab world will not suffer any reverses due to its current positions but may lose the potential momentum, as these nations will look for reliable partners for their reconstruction and political consolidation, when other powers may readily move in. A middle path is consistent with India’s interest and image than a mild one. ...

 

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ARTICLES

 

R. K. Bhatia: Former High Commissioner / Ambassador Of India To South Africa, Lesotho, Mexico, Kenya And Myanmar.

South Asia’s Destiny: Conflict or Cooperation

The key challenge facing not just governments but societies in South Asia is to manage negative tendencies and strengthen positive trends. The degree of success will determine whether we can reduce tensions and conflict and enlarge cooperation … A key step towards addressing the conflict or cooperation dilemma is to recognize that … South Asia need(s) to work on both fronts, namely to remove the causes of conflict and to build on new models of cooperation, especially economic cooperation, given that poverty remains the central, shared challenge. ...

 

Savita Pande: Professor, Centre For South, Central, Southeast Asian And Southwest Pacific Studies, School Of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Pakistan after Abbotabad

Confusion about Pakistan’s exact role in the operation remains, the clarification by the ISI chief at the joint session of Parliament notwithstanding. The credibility of both the military and intelligence suffered a serious blow, as also of the civilian government. Preponderance of the former in Pakistan’s political scenario has of course led to a greater part of all discussions being focused on it. The CIA chief was clear that Pakistan could not be told about the ultimate plan for fear of it being leaked. Others in the US acknowledged Pakistan’s help for cooperating to lead to the ultimate US operation. ..

 

MOHAMMED BADRUL ALAM and AMIT KUMAR GUPTA: (a) Professor,  and (b) Doctoral Research Scholar respectively at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi .

Destination Africa: China, India and Japan:

The three Asian giants are unique in their own ways when one analyses the nature of their engagement with Africa. China does not … shy away from assisting or making contacts with authoritarian governments, and has particularly involved itself in extensive infrastructure building and in having huge investment. India, which possesses the tag of being the largest democracy in the world has emerged as one of the dominant capacity builders in the region. India is viewed “more as an inspiration than a way to fill coffers”; Japan on the other hand is viewed as the land of entrepreneurs and high tech know how that can be counted upon to advance and accelerate the industrial growth rate and economic pace across the African region.

 

Rajaram Panda and Ch. Viyyanna Sastry: (a) Senior Fellow and (b) Research Fellow respectively, at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi

India and Japan: Prospects for Civil Nuclear Cooperation:

India-Japan bilateral ties have expanded in recent years in security and strategic domains and economic ties. This paper, however, particularly explores cooperation in the exchange of nuclear technology. This area has high potential for growth. India is looking for various sources of energy to meet the increasing demand to sustain its economic growth. Japan in turn has developed high-technology expertise in the nuclear field. These factors could be combined to take the India-Japan relationship forward. ... This paper discusses the current debate in Japan and the dilemma about forging civil nuclear cooperation with India. The possible impact of the Fukushima incident on Japan’s nuclear future is also evaluated. The paper concludes that Fukushima is a reminder to countries around the world to move towards putting stringent safety mechanisms in place to make nuclear energy a reliable and clean source of energy, but neither Japan nor India can do away with nuclear energy as an option for its energy security policy. ..

 

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ORAL HISTORY

 

Climate Change Negotiations -

Guarding the ‘Overriding Priorities’

 

Chandrasekhar Dasgupta

Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change; and Distinguished Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI )

 

Ambassador Chandrasekhar Dasgupta,  has been intimately connected with the entire debate on the subject since the beginning. He narrates the evolution of the climate change debate, the concerns and the nitty-gritty of the negotiations, the “confusing signals” sent out by India during the Copenhagen Conference (2009) and before the Cancun Summit (2010), the present state of play and what the future may hold. ...

 

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BOOK REVIEWS

 

A.S. Bhasin: Former Director, Historical Division, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

Lakhan Mehrotra, My Days in Sri Lanka (New Delhi: Har-Anand, 2011), Pages: 254, Price: Rs.595.00.

 

SITAKANTA MISRA: Research Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi

Robert S. Anderson, Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010), Pages: xxvi+683, Price: $60.00.

 

ALOK BANSAL:  Senior Fellow, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi

B.M. Kutty, Sixty Years in Self Exile: No Regrets – A Political Autobiography (Karachi: Pakistan Studies Centre & Pakistan Labour Trust, 2011), Pages: 562, Price: Pk Rs 600.00.

 

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Vol 6, No. 3           Jul - Sep 2011

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DEBATE

 

Afghanistan - Post US 'draw-down'  and  India

 

SATISH CHANDRA: Former Deputy National Security Advisor, Former High Commissioner to Pakistan and currently Distinguished Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi,

Pursue an Activist Policy, Reaching out to All Players

US withdrawal is not something India should be overly concerned about. Indeed, it may work to India’s advantage. In this context India needs to consider that it is the US presence in Afghanistan that has allowed Pakistan to milk it for billions of dollars of military and economic assistance, to India’s disadvantage, without doing anything to reduce Pakistan’s export of terrorism to India. Withdrawal from Afghanistan will free the US of such Pakistani blackmail and deprive the Pakistani military and economy of a major source of sustenance. …

   … An activist and constructive approach by India will help enhance its role and secure its interests in Afghanistan and is certainly better than the reactive manner in which it tends to conduct its foreign policy.

 

ARVIND GUPTA and ASHOK K. BEHURIA: Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair in Strategic and Defence Studies and Research Fellow respectively at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

Limited Options for India amidst Growing Uncertainty

India’s choices are limited. India should refrain from getting bogged down in Afghanistan but should pursue quiet diplomacy involving all sections of the people. Building on the good work it has done during the last few years in Afghanistan, India should leverage its soft power in building capacities in Afghanistan. One important element of Indian policies should be to establish and maintain contacts with the youth of Afghanistan and facilitate their coming to India for education and skill building. For the moment, India should watch the situation and await opportunities where it can be more useful.

VIDYA SHANKAR AIYAR: Senior journalist and Strategic Analyst

The Hype about India’s Strategic Role

Indian policy so far has been on a safe track of winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan, while seeking to remain engaged in strategic terms in any dialogue of interested parties on its future. However, there is precious little that is in India’s control strategically. Nor should it seek to change that position in any hurry, if at all. There is no reason for India to feel either disappointed or elated at the prospect of a US drawdown. There are several reasons for remaining concerned, though not obsessed, with Afghanistan.

 

H.E. Mr. HAMID KARZAI: President of Afghanistan

Afghanistan will Benefit from the Strength of India*

India fortunately has the strength to help us. This is for Afghanistan to use the possibilities that India has and offers to make our life better, to educate our children, to train our police, to train our army, to train our physicians, to train our lab technicians. The strategic partnership that we have is to support Afghanistan develop. I am sure this partnership will benefit us.

*To enrich the debate, a transcript of the Third RK Mishra Memorial Lecture by the President of Afghanistan, delivered in New Delhi on 5 October 2011, under the auspices of the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, is also being reproduced with their permission. Transcript available at:

http://www.orfonline.com/cms/sites/orfonline/documents/other/speech-hk.html

 

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ARTICLES

 

T. P. SREenivasan: Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN Offices at Vienna, former Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN at New York and presently, Member of the National Security Advisory Board.

UNSC: Resistance to Revolutionary Change

The UN needs reform not to make one country or the other happy, but to make itself more relevant, credible and effective in the world and it will be ready for a revolution sooner rather than later. A time will come when global governance will not be possible without the participation of countries like Germany, Japan, India, Brazil and South Africa in the Security Council. When that happens, the provisions of the Charter will not stand in the way of restructuring the UN just as they did not stand in the way of expanding the agenda or ignoring anachronistic ideas and institutions. Fundamental changes cannot come like rain drops, they come like avalanches. The amendments route will, at best, create a third category of members with long or permanent terms in the Council, but without being equal to the original permanent members. What the UN requires is not a fix, but a fundamental change to reflect the realities of the present century

 

VINOD KHANNA: Former Ambassador of India to Indonesia, Bhutan, and to Cuba; the first DG of the 'India-Taipei Association' office in Taiwan (the de-facto Indian Mission)

India’s Soft Balancing with China and US in the 21st Century

In the coming decades India will have to devote much attention to the creation and maintenance of an optimal India-China-USA triangle. But it is a fair assumption that the American concern about China’s emergence as a rival power, and China’s keenness to ensure that India does not become an active member of a US-led China containment policy will ensure that a self-confident ‘rising’ India will not be without diplomatic options. All in all, India and USA must reduce trust deficit with China to ensure better understanding of each other’s strategic intentions so that policies are not based on the assumption that worst case scenario is a probable one. India clearly needs to pursue a two-pronged China policy. On the one hand, India’s strategic thinkers should carefully analyze China’s moves which have the potential to adversely affect its interests and take effective steps to safeguard its interests. On the other, it would be in India’s interest to pursue areas of mutually beneficial engagement, both in a bilateral and in a multilateral framework.

 

MONIKA CHANSORIA: Senior Fellow, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, , where she heads the China-study project.

India and China: A Case of Constrained Cooperation

Although, both Beijing and New Delhi desire improvements in bilateral relations, ties have been constantly stymied by a paucity of parallel and competing interests. The India-China equation makes for a classic case of the realist vs. idealist debate wherein there is an emerging sense that while recognizing and taking cognizance of India’s rise as a regional power, China is attempting to make inroads into India’s immediate and extended neighbourhood by virtue of broadening economic and security linkages.

The realist mode could be described as one which counteracts and negates the understanding that the economic facet of Sino-Indian ties would constitute the key to the success of the future relationship. In all firmness, economic stakes and convergences cannot take the liberty of discounting the existential strategic divergences which shall only confirm to becoming a future spoiler in the Sino-Indian relationship, as both contend for a larger share of the global economic and strategic pie.

 

SHEEL KANT SHARMA: Till recently, the Secretary General of SAARC; Former Ambassador of India to Austria / Permanent Representative of India to International Organisations in Vienna

South Asian Regionalism: Prospects and Challenges

Although set up in 1985, SAARC has made more tangible gains since 2004.

To tap full potential of regional integration it requires fulfillment of certain conditions and setting out of clear priorities. Thrust for regionalism has to be substantial and consistent. Absent a common commitment in the ministries of government and among thought-leaders, even media, this may remain, at best, weak.

 

Rajiv K. Bhatia: Former High Commissioner/ Ambassador of India to Myanmar, South Africa, Lesotho, Mexico, and Kenya.

India  - Myanmar Relations: The Way Forward

India - Myanmar relations are important not only for these two countries, but for the region concerned, namely South Asia and Southeast Asia. …

Against a long historical background, these have developed considerably. Progress in the past decade has been particularly remarkable. Developments in 2010 and early 2011 clearly necessitate a constructive reappraisal.

Stronger and more diversified Myanmar-India relations will not only promote mutual benefit, they will also be hugely beneficial for the region as a whole. However, it is time for Myanmar, under the new Government, to indicate to the world the scope of enhancing inclusive governance at home as well as the real contours of its Asia policy, especially whether it will be based on a calibrated balance.

 

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ORAL HISTORY

 

India’s ‘Rediscovery’ of the East

 

Sudhir T. Devare

Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs, Former Ambassador of India to Republic of Korea, to Indonesia and to Ukraine; Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs responsible for relations with South East Asia;

 

According to him: The world “Look East” has been very fashionable over recent years implying that India ‘started’ looking East - perhaps for the first time. In fact, India has always looked to the East; India’s association with the East dates back to thousands of years. … What happened recently during the Cold War period can be described as a brief gap in our understanding with the East. … “We, in fact, began ‘re-discovering’ the East”, he adds.

 

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BOOK REVIEWS

 

K L. DALAL, Former Ambassador of India to Austria and to Thailand

K. H. Patel, An Envoy Looks Back – A Memoir, (New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2011), Pages: 164, Price: Rs 495.00.

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KANICA RAKHRA: Research Associate, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi

V.R. Raghavan, Nuclear Disarmament: India-EU Perspectives, ed., (New Delhi: Delhi Policy Group and Vij Books India Pvt. Ltd., 2011)

 

PRASANTA KUMAR PRADHAN: Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

Geoffrey Kemp, The East Moves West: India, China and Asia’s Growing Presence in the Middle East (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2010), Pages: 326, Price: $29.95.

 

 

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Vol 6, No. 4           Oct - Dec 2011

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DEBATE

India and Bangladesh – a New Phase in Bilateral Relations

 

DEB MUKHARJI: Former Ambassador of India to Bangladesh and to Nepal

Seize the Opportunity

... the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does mark a watershed in India-Bangladesh relations. It is a watershed between maintaining a cautious distance and recognition of the benefits that could accrue through genuine cooperation. It is a watershed between a transactional relationship and one of mutual confidence to achieve common goals.

... only the future that would show if the two countries have the commitment and the stamina to translate into reality the vision that has been on display. ... But for a harmonious forward movement on the areas laid out in the Framework Agreement and the Joint Statement, coordination among the numerous agencies involved is essential and, above all, continued political direction and involvement.

 

M. Harun-Ar-RashiD: Former Chief of Staff of Bangladesh Army; Former High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji; and, Secretary General of the ‘Sector Commanders Forum’ established in 2006 by the surviving Sector Commanders of the 1971 Liberation War.

Let us Prove that Past is Past

The greatest challenge is to transform the agreements and understanding reached between the leaders of the two nations into reality. The two countries need to prove that the past is past. The intended beneficiaries have to be able to reap the benefits of the agreements.

All concerned must rise to the occasion and seize the opportunity to improve the lot of the people of both countries. The people on both sides of the border are willing and eager to cooperate. Only, the administrations have to move faster. It is to be hoped that good sense prevails in all those who are responsible for implementing the agreements in the true spirit in which they were crafted and remain friends in need to each other.

 

Smruti S. Patanayak: Research Fellow, The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi

Make the People the Ultimate Stakeholders

India needs to take speedy decisions and undertake projects that are visible and that will connect it directly to the people of Bangladesh. The people of both countries must be made to feel that they are the ultimate stakeholders in the relationship. This can happen only when the benefits of the cooperation accrue to the people and are also visible. Building a communication networks and providing trade concessions will build such stakeholders, whose interest will be intertwined with better bilateral relations. Any such relationship that has the common people as the major stakeholders would be hard to derail.

 

SREERADHA DATTA: Director, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata

Show Tangible Results Leading to Visible Benefits

Dhaka and Delhi need to go far beyond just an assertion of their traditional political and historical links. Gen Next expects much more than just platitudes and hopes to see tangible results leading to visible benefits, right at its doorsteps. While the two countries are now engaged in breaking down many of the trade barriers, which held them hostage for long, it will also be necessary to show visible progress in their various other joint agreements within the shortest possible time.

Mutually beneficial projects and agreements will always find favour irrespective of the governments of the day in New Delhi or Dhaka. The next two years would thus be critical. Bangladesh needs more than ever to feel the tangible gains that only a large neighbour like India can offer.

 

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ARTICLES

 

CHINTAMANI MAHAPATRA: Professor of American Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

India-China-Pakistan Triangle: The US Factor

Among the three countries in the triangle, it is China that has come out relatively more successful in using its America policy to bolster its status in the global hierarchy of power. But the future is likely to be favourable to India. The US will view India as a partner and China will most likely be a competitor and at worst a rival. Chinese analysts appear concerned that the Indo-US strategic partnership is aimed against China. There is also a view that by establishing closer ties with India, the US has been able to weaken the Russia-China-India strategic triangle. Nonetheless, India is unlikely to take sides in any future Sino-US conflict. Nor is India going to accept the G-2 concept where India’s emerging global role would be overshadowed. India will most likely remain non-aligned in any future Sino-US cold war, but will work against the emergence of a G-2 world.

 

 

UTTAM KUMAR SINHA: Research Fellow, The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi and Adjunct Professor at the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research, Benares Hindu University.

China: Geopolitics of a Thirsty Nation

China’s upper riparian position and its enormous domestic requirement gives water a strategic characteristic, and as such, different levels of trust and mistrust and cooperation and misperception are seen. The future stability of the Tibetan watershed would depend upon stable supply of water. Any river basin agreement is largely a reflection of the political situation within the basin. Therefore there is a need for a constant and focused dialogue among the riparian countries. ... Suggestions that the Tibetan rivers, geologically called the “circum-Himalayan rivers”, be treated as “global commons” or “natural heritage for humankind” would clearly be anathema to China. However, such suggestions merit attention, given the large humanity dependent on the water resources from the Himalayan glaciers. ...

Serious effort for a coalition of lower riparians, specifically to draw China into a water dialogue, is attainable in spite of the fact that many of them have a strategic partnership with China. It needs to be emphasized that dialogue amongst riparians will benefit both the upper and lower riparians. China’s expertise and knowledge in dam building helps to enhance its power and influence and may influence some, but the coalition is worth promoting.

 

RAMAN PURI and ARUN SAHGAL: Respectively, Former Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) and currently Executive Director of the Institute of National Security Studies; and, Joint Director at the Institute and Visiting Fellow, Vivekananda International Centre, New Delhi.

 

South China Sea Dispute - Implication for India

ASEAN states are especially concerned because China historically has shown readiness to use military force to settle disputes within what it regards as its sphere of influence. China’s build-up of naval forces is seen as expanding this sphere in the South China Sea through build-up of force projection capabilities. The Chinese moves at attaining blue-water naval capability are viewed by some as spawning a naval arms race among Asian states.

Where India is concerned, it has no strategic interests beyond economic engagement and security of its trade. It has entered into legal contracts with sovereign states, which are legally binding. It is important for China to recognize these facts and resolve any contentious issues in a spirit of mutual accommodation and cooperation, without being unduly jingoistic.

 

AMITA BATRA: Associate Professor for South Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Rise of India and China: Regional and Global Perspectives

The last decade has been witness to a spectacular rise of India and China as the fastest growing economies with impressive levels of trade integration with the global economy. Their economic dynamism that has been apparent even in the wake of the financial crisis has made their contribution to global growth even more significant and critical. In the context of India and China emerging as the future global growth poles, this paper makes an attempt to provide a perspective on the multi-dimensional rise of the two Asian economies highlighting the many similarities and differences that are apparent in their economic interaction and exchange within the Asian region and the rest of the world as also the implications for the evolving regional and global economic architecture.

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ORAL HISTORY

 

Many Firsts - Establishment of Berkeley Chairs of India Studies

 

Satinder K. Lambah

Special Envoy of the Prime Minister,

Former Consul General of India at San Francisco during 1989–91

 

With his “encouragement”, the Indian community in the east Coast of United States contributed to the establishment of two Chairs of India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, the first such at a university in the US. His achievement in galvanizing the community, coordinating the fund-raising efforts, etc. was recognized by the University of California, Berkeley, which, in an unusual gesture, conferred the 1991 Trustees’ Citation Award on him. He narrates the pioneering efforts culminating in establishment of the chairs and  an annual lecture, in addition to reviving a scholarship scheme.

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BOOK REVIEWS

 

D. S. RAJAN: Director, Chennai Centre for Chinese Studies, Chennai.

Henry Kissinger, On China (London: Allen Lane, Penguin Group, 2011), Pages: 586, Price: Rs. 899.00

 

BALKRISHNA SHETTY: Former Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal, to Bahrain and to Sweden.

K. P. Fabian, Diplomacy: Indian Style (New Delhi: Har - Anand Publications, 2012), Pages: 257, Price: Rs. 595.00

 

VIKASH RANJAN:  Research Fellow, at Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi

Vijay Sakhuja,  Re-invigorating IOR-ARC, Ed., (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2012), Pages: 174, Price : Rs. 695.00

 

last updated September 27, 2013