Publications : Blogs
Topic
BIMSTEC at 25: Fostering Sustainable Regional Cooperation
Bhavyanshi Sinha's interview of Sreeradha Datta offers a comprehensive view of the current and future prospects of BIMSTEC as a regional initiative.Nepali Migrant Workers in India: A Rite of Passage to Adulthood
While Nepal has experienced significant political and social transformations, the economic conditions and precarity that force Nepali men to migrate in the first place have not changed.How India Budgets to Become a Leading Power
Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha comment on the MEA Budget and how India can become a leading power in an increasingly uncertain, competitive and complex international arena.Beyond the Imphal and Kohima Campaigns: Japan and Northeast India
In this edition of Sambandh Scholars Speak, Anindita Sinh interviews Mayumi Murayama on her book, Northeast India and Japan: Engagement through Connectivity, co-edited with Sanjoy Hazarika and Preeti Gill.New Economic Ways between South and Southeast Asia
The Sambandh blog looks at new approaches to strengthening trade and revitalising economic links between South Asia and Southeast Asia.Decoding the Pashtuns in the Afghanistan–Pakistan Region
Riya Sinha interviews Tilak Devasher, Member, National Security Advisory Board of India, and Consultant, Vivekananda International Foundation, on his fourth book, The Pashtuns: A Contested History.The Media in Afghanistan: Local Perceptions of Regional Players
In this edition of Sambandh Scholars Speak, Nitika Nayar interviews Hazrat Bahar, on his book chapter, “Image of China in Afghan Media."Fresh Perspectives on Border Studies: A Regional Account
If South Asia gets connected to Central Asia, three South Asian countries will reap maximum benefits - India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.Climate Change in Bangladesh: Global Players vs Local Activism
Social and ecological change in Bangladesh today has been profoundly shaped by colonialism and its legacies, so recognition of this helps us to better understand climate change today.Sikkim and the Geostrategic Lessons from Himalayan History
The Indo-Sikkim Treaty of 1950 was a recognition of the fact that Tibet’s occupation by China had compromised India’s strategic interests and Sikkim had become of particular relevance to the future security of India.New Narratives from the North-East: Domestic Politics and Regional...
Jahnavi Mukul's interview of Sanjoy Hazarika sheds light on the historical perspective and political developments in the North East India by exploring the overarching question of the NER’s difference with the rest of India.India’s China Conundrum: Learning from the Past?
Tibet today has ceased to be a factor in India-China relations and India can no longer leverage its past relationship with Tibet for resolution of the present problem with China .Ladakh’s Transformation from a Connecting Bridge to a Borderland
The Sambandh blog attempts to understand the complex history of Ladakh and its transformation from being a bridge between the plains of India and Central Asia, to becoming a deeply contested and heavily guarded territory between China and India.Jungle Passports: Navigating the India-Bangladesh Borderlands
The Sambandh blog explores the mobility and the equilibrium surrounding the lives of the Muslim and Garo Christian communities in the volatile India - Banladesh border zones.From Insurgent Group to Interim Government: Taliban’s Legitimacy and...
India is surrounded by neighbours increasingly confronted by conflict and civil war. Understanding how rebel groups build legitimacy and come to govern large civilian populations is critical for New Delhi to craft suitable and innovative policy responses.The Kashmir Back Channel 2004 – 2007: Prospects for India-Pakistan...
India and Pakistan have, in the past, entered a dialogue process in the wake of intensely violent periods. The Kashmir talks that began in 2004 are an example.Ethnic Rebellion: Armed Struggle in Myanmar’s Borderlands
Riya Sinha interviews David Brenner on the dynamics of conflict and explores how to engage with EAOs (Ethnic Armed Organisations) in constructive ways in the Myanmar borderland.Paradiplomacy in Northeast India: Assam Acts East
Hazarika’s Paradigms of Paradiplomacy in the Northeast is pioneering in shedding light on the paradiplomatic efforts made by these North-eastern states, with a particular focus on Assam.The Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka’s Emerging Maritime Identity
The blog explores Sri Lanka’s non-aligned strategy over the years, and the country’s multipronged approach to secure its interests.Leveraging India’s Northeast Region for Regional Connectivity
Riya Sinha interviews Sanjay Kathuria and Priya Mathur on the changing scenario of the Northeast Region (NER) of India.Still Non-Aligned? Sri Lankan Politics and Foreign Policy
How Sri Lanka's internal politics and socio-economic changes under the Rajapaksas-led government inform Colombo's foreign policyNepal’s Turn to China: Opportunities and Challenges
Amish Raj Mulmi on his new book, All Roads Lead North: Nepal’s Turn to China, and how Nepal views its northern neighbourPartition and Pragmatism in India-Pakistan Relations
In Pallavi Raghavan's new book, we find out how a history of India-Pakistan cooperation 70 years ago matters to foreign policy nowIn India-Bhutan Borderlands, An Informal Exchange Rate System Thrives
In this edition, Saneet Chakradeo interviews Ankur Sharma on the parallel currency market in India-Bhutan borderlandsPartitions and the Periphery: India, Burma, and Patkai borderlands
In this edition, Nitika Nayar interviews Bérénice Guyot-Réchard on her recent work on India and Burma's 'unfinished partition'.Upstream-downstream politics: South Asia’s water discourse
In this edition, we interview Sunil Amrith on his book Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History.Deconstructing China’s infrastructure investments in Nepal
In this edition, we interview Galen Murton, and Austin Lord, on their article, ‘Trans-Himalayan power corridors: Infrastructural politics and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Nepal’India-Pakistan relations and Indian think tanks
In this edition, we interview Stuti Bhatnagar on her book “India's Pakistan Policy: How Think Tanks Are Shaping Foreign Relations.”Sustaining trade routes in the Himalayan borderlands
In this edition, Riya Sinha interviews Dr. Tina Harris, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, on her book chapter, “The Mobile and Material in Himalayan Borderlands.”Infrastructure across the India-Nepal borderlands: A photo-essay
This visual essay covers fieldwork and findings on how land acquisition and related challenges have delayed strategic infrastructure projects.Buddhism and the India-China rivalry in the Himalayas
Himalayan geopolitics is defined by a complex web of political and cultural ties among the diverse sects of Buddhism.India-Bhutan hydropower cooperation: Perceptions and politics
There is growing public concern in Bhutan regarding India’s increasing development cooperation in the country over the last few years.Reviving energy cooperation in South Asia
Mirza Sadaqat Huda’s book offers unique insights into addressing the underlying problems in regional energy cooperation.Bhutan’s democratic transition and ties to India
In this edition, Dr. Constantino Xavier interviews Dr. Sonam Kinga on his book “Democratic Transition in Bhutan: Political Contests as Moral Battles” published in October 2019 by Routledge India. The Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan offer comparative insights on how traditional Hindu and Buddhist monarchies have witnessed different political fates. ...Mughal empire and the making of a region: Locating South Asia in early...
In this edition, Sofia Shehana Basheer interviews Dr. Manjeet S. Pardesi on his recent work on South Asian international history. The paper titled “Mughal Hegemony and the Emergence of South Asia as a “Region” for Regional Order-building” was published in the European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 25(1) in 2019. Regions have ...Conflict, conservation, and cooperation across the India-Bhutan border
In this edition of our blog series, Umika Chanana interviews Dr. Anwesha Dutta on her article “Forest becomes frontline: Conservation and counter-insurgency in a space of violent conflict in Assam, Northeast India” published in Political Geography Vol. 77, 2020. In the article [1], Dr. Anwesha Dutta construes the evolution of separatist movements that stimulates ...Interpreting the India-Nepal border dispute
On May 8, India’s defence minister virtually inaugurated a new 80 km-long road in the Himalayas, connecting to the border with China, at the Lipulekh pass. The Nepali government protested immediately, contending that the road crosses territory that it claims and accusing India of changing the status quo without diplomatic consultations. Among ...Interview: On India’s neighbourhood, regional institutions and...
Q. Given your expertise in South Asia, by making use of the framework established within comparative politics how do you make sense of India’s South Asian policies in recent times? To what extent does it differ for various regional settings such as BIMSTEC, BBIN, and SAARC? Constantino Xavier: The big puzzle that ...Linking border-making and sovereignty in postcolonial South Asia
In this edition of the Sambandh blog, Riya Sinha interviews Dr. Elisabeth Leake and Dr. Daniel Haines on their article, Lines of (In)Convenience: Sovereignty and Border-Making in Postcolonial South Asia, 1947-1965, published in the Journal of Asian Studies. The article combines archival history methodology with conceptual insights from political geography and critical ...India and Bangladesh: Border enclaves and ‘acts of belonging’
For decades, India-Bangladesh relations were marred by the question of a comprehensive settlement of the land boundary between both countries, an important aspect of which included facilitating the belated exchange of border enclaves. These were pockets of land embedded entirely in the foreign territory of its neighbour complicating the state’s administrative control ...How India-China rivalry affects secondary state behaviour in South Asia
Saneet Chakradeo interviews Rohan Mukherjee and Darren Lim on their article “Hedging in South Asia: balancing economic and security interests amid Sino-Indian competition” published in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 2019. Q. In your article [1], you write on the concept of hedging, which describes the behaviour of secondary states amidst competition ...The road from India to Nepal: Development assistance and connectivity...
Regional connectivity in South Asia faces challenges that are unique to the region. According to a recent Policy Brief under our regional connectivity initiative, Sambandh, South Asia is arguably the least connected region in the world. Nepal is unique owing to various factors ranging from its terrain, its strategic location as the common ...India and Myanmar: The role of domestic calculations in the boundary...
In this edition of our blog series on issues related to India’s neighborhood connectivity, Nidhi Varma interviews Avinash Paliwal, on his recent work “A Cat’s Paw of Indian Reactionaries”? Strategic Rivalry and Domestic Politics at the India–China–Myanmar Tri-Junction published in Asian Security, 2020. Avinash is the Deputy Director of the South Asia Institute and Lecturer ...Fuzzy frames: Mobile borders versus rigid boundaries in India’s...
In the first of our blog series on issues related to India’s neighbourhood connectivity, Nidhi Varma interviews Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi on his recent work in antiAtlas Journal “Informal Markets and Fuzzy Flows in Fragile Border Zones.” Q: In your article,[1] you examine the differences ...“Modi government has been hardening stance against Pakistan for a...
Brookings India Foreign Policy Fellow Dhruva Jaishankar was part of a panel discussion on NDTV on the next steps for India post the Uri attacks where 18 Indian Army soldiers were killed. Anchor: Politics does guide the decisions of all governments everywhere in the world. You can’t divorce politics from governance. How much ...Indian Ocean region: A pivot for India’s growth
“[Matsya said] ‘I have saved you from this cataclysm’ [and Manu] set about his work of creating all beings in proper and exact order.” –The Mahabharata, iii.186 The Indian Ocean matters today, arguably more than ever. It is a major conduit for international trade, especially energy. Its littoral is vast, densely populated, ...All eyes on Pakistan’s commitment to peace in the region
WPS Sidhu argues that Pakistan walking away from the Ufa Agreement talks will be seen as Pakistan walking away from terrorism talks This interview first appeared on CNN-IBN channel. Watch the full discussion here. Key highlights This government is not going to allow Pakistan to meet Kashmir separatists on its own Pakistan pulling ...