Two projects that are currently under progress are ‘Developments in Pakistan’ and ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’. In addition, individual scholars are engaged in researching various security related aspects pertaining to South Asian countries. The Centre has established bilateral institutional relations with leading think tanks in the region and proposes to undertake joint studies.
The monograph attempts to present an exhaustive account on Gilgit Baltistan (part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and now part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)) by contextualising it within the larger discourse on Kashmir.
This monograph undertakes a descriptive analysis of the water sector in Pakistan and underlines issues related to Pakistan’s water policies, politics and management practices. It argues that domestic water management is perhaps one of the key areas which requires urgent attention in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Project of IDSA has come up with a second report titled Pakistan on the Edge. This Report takes into account various political developments in Pakistan focusing more on the events of the last two years and analyses its impact on the nation’s nascent democracy. The Report takes a broad view of the politics, emerging political alliances, economy, foreign policy, India-Pakistan relations and civil-military relations. Two chapters of this report focus on Pakistan’s English and Urdu language print media and how it looks at the critical issues of domestic and foreign policy.
The image of Bangladesh of being a ‘moderate Muslim country’ was tarnished at the turn of the 20th century. The country known for its Sufi Islam was witnessing a spurt of Islamic radicalism. While delineating the threat posed by Islamic radicalism to Bangladeshi politics and by Indian insurgent groups to Northeast India, the book also focuses on their sources of finance. This book marks an advance over other works on the same topic as it discusses the actions taken by the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government to counter terrorism.
The volume contains contributions by leading Asian analysts and Asia watchers on the theme of prospects for Asian integration. It discusses regionalism at the continental level and investigates overarching trends. It focuses on Asia's 'rise' and the key factors shaping the Asian regional order. The volume also provides valuable perspectives on Asia's sub-regions. Another salient feature of this volume is its coverage of increasingly significant non-traditional issues in the Asian context.
The chapters in the book take a prospective look at India's neighbourhood, as it may evolve by 2030. They underline the challenges that confront Indian policymakers, the opportunities that are likely to emerge, and the manner in which they should frame foreign and security policies for India, to maximise the gains and minimise the losses.
This book brings out perspectives from India and Bangladesh on various important issues of bilateral cooperation. Bringing together scholars from two premier think tanks in India and Bangladesh who play an important role in providing policy inputs, generating informed debates and discussion and act as an interface between policy makers and the people, this is the first effort of its kind.
This book is an attempt to study the problem of terrorism in South Asia, which has often been perceived as its hub. The contributors to the volume belonging to South Asian region have provided valuable insights on the issue of terrorism and have also suggested measures to deal with the problem. They consider terrorism as a phenomenon that has been harmful to society, economy and polity of the South Asian nations. At the same time, they also point out that there should not be over-emphasis on the use of force. In fact, a calibrated use of force is likely to be more effective.
Bringing together a pool of renowned international experts, the book deals with the potential drivers of future change in Asia like economic growth, climate change, demographics, urbanisation, migration, resource competition, technology, military modernisation, globalisation, nationalism and identity politics, radical movements, extremism and terrorism, and great power competition.
Taking note of the strategic importance of India and Bangladesh for each other, the report cautions against complacency and argues that the Indian PM’s visit provides an opportunity to take India-Bangladesh relations to a higher trajectory and move towards a strategic partnership. The significance of strong India-Bangladesh ties goes beyond the bilateral context. Good relations between India and Bangladesh will have positive influence on the region. Regional countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand will benefit from trade and transit connectivity between India and Bangladesh.
The report brings out key facts relating to the history of PoK and analyses the prevailing political situation in the region. The report aims to disseminate information on PoK, inform public opinion and create awareness on a crucial issue which has been largely ignored.
This volume includes a collection of papers contributed by eminent scholars and analysts from the South Asian region on how they visualise South Asia a decade hence. It is recognised that the region suffers from several constraints that has made common challenges difficult to address; nevertheless, there is an optimism that the region will move forward steadily albeit slowly, to evolve a common agenda, and shape a regional identity that would form the bedrock of any cooperative endeavour.
Pakistan has invariably evoked a great deal of interest among India’s strategic affairs community. Because of historical, geographical, economic and cultural linkages, developments in the neighbourhood have important implications for India’s politics, economy and security. The basic argument that flows from the report is that Pakistan is likely to remain unstable because of inherent weaknesses in its political, economic and security policies.
This is an insightful analysis of inter- and intra-state conflicts and tensions in the countries of Asia even as the centre of gravity of economic, political and technological power is shifting from the Trans-Atlantic zone to Asia, particularly to East, South and Southeast Asia.
This book is an effort to understand how the future will unfold in Asia 2030. This book has addressed issues ranging from air-power, cyber security, climate change, ballistic missile defence to geo-political and regional issues pertaining to East Asia, South East Asia and South Asia. Based primarily on the method of scenario building, this book is an attempt to discuss the future of critical issues related to security and the international relations of Asia in 2030.
The papers in book outline the common challenges that the countries face, identify the factors that inhibit inter-state cooperation, acknowledge the costs of non-cooperation, and reaffirm the need for the states in South Asia to shed their differences and engage with each other in meaningful ways.
The contemporary strategic context is increasingly defined by the rapid growth of major Asian economies and the rapidly increasing interest the major powers are evincing in the region. It has also resulted in a perceptible shift in power to the Asian continent.
The book covers the developments in post colonial Balochistan, its geo-political significance, and the underlying grievances of the Baloch. It makes an attempt to analyse the reasons for current revival of violence in Balochistan and highlights the current situation in the region.
The book discusses the tenure of the Second Caretaker Government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed. This government, functioning like an interim government navigated Bangladesh through its worst political crisis since 1991 and held free and fair elections in December 2008. Despite several drawbacks, this government introduced a number of political reforms, and strengthened key institutions in the country.
The volume highlights various contemporary issues confronting the SAARC countires in the 21st century. It seeks to provide substantive reference material for policy-makers, researchers, diplomats and students of South Asian Studies.
The tale of Bangladesh’s liberation war of 1971 cannot be told without the ‘before’ and a bit of the ‘after’ of that year, as it would then turn into a futile exercise in historicism,2 merely, ‘capturing’ that instant of extensive explosion which ascended like the phoenix, while ignoring the intensive seedbed of creative ‘becoming’ from which it arose.
‘Isn’t it wonderful to be witness to the birth of your country?’ These words were shouted out to my mother and myself by David Vanzant, an international aid worker, just outside the ‘neutral zone’ that was set up in the Hotel Intercontinental in Shahbagh, Dhaka. Crowds were milling around him, and truck-loads of Indian soldiers who had fought their way into Dhaka, alongside troops of Mukti Bahinis (Bangladeshi freedom fighters), shouting ‘Joy Bangla’ at the top of their voices in sheer ecstasy!
The War of Liberation 1971, or the (Muktijuddho), or just Ekkator er Juddho as it is popularly known in Bangladesh, was a People’s War in which all Bengalis participated, sans a few thousands of the country’s seven and a half crores. This was a peoples’ struggle against the undemocratic Government of Pakistan and its oppressive Army. It was a war where ordinary people from all strata of life ― who knew nothing about waging a war ― took up arms against a trained and fully armed Pakistan Army, while many others ― men and women ― contributed in various other ways.
More than seven decades after Pakistan’s creation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah continues to captivate both his critics and admirers. While the former excoriate him for exploiting religion to achieve his goal, the latter hail him as the Qaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) who single-handedly secured a homeland for the Muslims of British India.
How do humanitarian norms and national security concerns shape a host state refugee policy? This article addresses this question in the context of Bangladesh, the largest host state in the world for Rohingya refugees. It argues that although the norms of humanitarian protection can explain why a host state would open its border to forced migrants and allow relief agencies access to the refugee camps, humanitarianism alone cannot explain the full gamut of a state’s refugee policy.
Regionalism in South Asia continues to evoke intense academic interest among scholars. SAARC, an organization that was conceptualized in the early eighties, evinced both hope and despair. A hope to overcome the factitious past and move onto the path of prosperity, and the despair that was embodied in its inability to achieve its potential. The fight against poverty and the path to prosperity has mostly been an individualistic journey among countries.
The policies, actions and postures of the United States Administration towards Bangladesh from March 1971 to December 1971 form the subject matter of this article.
The gruesome events in East Bengal since March 25, 1971 and their repercussions on India easily constitute the most appalling experience of the society of nations since the end of the Second World War; and the refugee problem is the largest and the worst during the present century. It has few parallels in history. This is all the more shocking because of the context and background in which it happened.
It is not often that Pakistan is talked of in terms of the diversities it embodies. It is, perhaps, its descent into extremism and violence that has overshadowed every other characteristic of the country. Tilak Devasher peeks into this rather less traversed dimension and provides an analysis on the festering insurgency in Balochistan. The book provides a lucid account of Balochistan’s history, geography, and demography.
Yelena Biberman offers a new framework for understanding why and how states ‘outsource’ war to local non-state actors despite the risks of forfeiting the state’s monopoly over violence. Specifically, she explores state and non-state alliances in counter-insurgencies in India and Pakistan. Taking a qualitative approach, Biberman argues that ‘state-nonstate alliances are balance-of-interests bargains’ wherein the ‘state seeking to shift the local balance of power in its favor may enlist activists if it can cultivate social or ideological ties with them’
Pakistan is a forbidding place for minorities—confessional, sectarian and ideological. Violence, direct and structural and exacted with eerie regularity has ghettoised minority communities and forced them to flee. Among them, no other community is being subjected to such annihilatory violence as the Hazaras in the Balochistan province. Hazaras are an ethnic group predominantly based in Afghanistan, but also with a sizeable population in Pakistan, with estimates ranging between 650,000 and 900,000.
Pakistan’s historical insecurity towards India and the Islamisation of its military raises a curious question of strategy and identity rooted in Pakistan’s political genesis. This article examines the social and geostrategic factors underpinning Pakistan’s Afghanistan approach between its inheritance of security principles from colonial administration after Partition, and the Taliban’s capture of Kabul in 1996 and beyond. This article also critically analyses the existing link between the Taliban and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).
India’s international borders and disputed boundaries with its neighbours are guarded by five different Central Armed Police Forces, two Paramilitary Forces and the Indian Army.
The ongoing dialogue between the US and the Taliban has generated lot of interest among strategic analysts in the region and beyond. There are indications that the Taliban are hardening their position as the US appears to be in a haste to pull off an agreement.
The Directorate General of Inter Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR), or the Pakistan Army’s media wing has perfected the form of subverting democracy and showcasing the dominant position of the Army in the entire Pakistani polity. This article sets out to prove the same in a quantified manner. By analysing almost 25 tweets from the official account of DG-ISPR in the period 2016 −18, the article tries to quantify, using the Merkel-Croissant model of embedded democracy, the priorities of the Pakistan Army.
Bangladesh and India are enjoying increasingly close relations in the latter’s northeastern region. This represents a transformation in the two countries’ past relationship, which was characterised by suspicion, distrust and insecurity. This recent change, which began with the arrival of Bangladesh’s current regime in 2009, has resulted in a sense of cooperation, mutual interest and connectivity. This article aims to explain this transformation.
Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has quietly functioned as one of the main arteries through which Afghanistan’s massive opium crop reaches the outer world. Six of the nine major drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan transit through Balochistan en route to Iran, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Afghanistan’s opium production peaked at 9,000 tons in 2017, on account of the country’s rampant instability and lack of viable options for families to sustain themselves.
At the outset, we must remind ourselves that Indo–Bangladesh cooperation began in the battlefield of 1971. As a freedom fighter diplomat, one recalls with deep appreciation and gratitude the whole-hearted support we received from the Government and people of India during the critical days of our nationhood. We pay homage to those brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives for our independence. We also pay tribute to the valiant war veterans who fought with us in our War of Independence.
The people of India and Bangladesh share close and multi-faceted socio-cultural, religious and linguistic ties spanning centuries. The two countries share the same values of secularism, pluralism and democracy, and the distinct honour of having their national anthem written by the same person—Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore. Bangladesh Jatiyo Kabi Nazrul, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Lalon Fakir, etc., are revered on both sides of the border. Their influence transcends political boundaries and inspires people in both countries.
This article employs the 3-i framework to explore the institutions, ideas, and interests that have shaped the Bangladesh government’s policy choices for implementing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the first such plant in the country. The logic behind three choices—vendor country, reactor model, and spent fuel management—are analysed.
Given the ideological convergence the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has with the Taliban, the latter may not be able or willing to fulfil Pakistan’s demand that its activities be curbed.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit underlines the fact that India and Bangladesh are successfully leveraging their geographical location to advance mutually beneficial economic ties.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation is unlikely to bring the desired political outcome and the much-needed economic relief to the people of Sri Lanka.
Though the Janatha aragalaya (people’s struggle) against the Rajapaksas was spontaneous, the role of the Left organisations in galvanising this into a movement that ousted the Rajapaksa family is an important landmark in Left politics.
Depletion in foreign reserves has led to uncertainty about Sri Lankan government’s ability to account for import of essential items and debt servicing. Analyses of government’s policy measures and global geopolitical-economic developments suggest that a state of uncertainty is hovering over Sri Lankan economy.
The decline in terrorist incidents and reduction in infiltration from across the border is no doubt a positive development but this alone cannot guarantee peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Strengthening of democratic institutions at the grassroots level is also required.
Chinese reaction to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture’s decision to cancel an organic fertiliser deal has demonstrated that China is not hesitant to take punitive action against Sri Lanka, if its interests are not fulfilled.
Given Myanmar’s geostrategic significance and the continuing insurgency threat, disturbances in Myanmar pose a direct and serious policy challenge to India. A calculated realistic approach weighing the evolving ground situation alone will deliver the objectives of India’s foreign policy.
Pakistan’s NSP, the first such policy document with guidelines for achieving the set national security goals, is a hint towards breaking the inertia and embracing change to forge a more prosperous Pakistan. However, the question is whether it is possible, if Pakistan continues to remain entangled with the past.
The recent visit of Sheikh Hasina to the Maldives provided an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relationship and enhance connectivity, trade and commerce between the two countries. The visit also signified Bangladesh’s growing importance in the international politics.
As the civilian political space shrinks and the capacity of the state gets hobbled by political dissension and internal resistance from forces armed with an alternate blueprint for action, Pakistan is likely to rely more on its anti-India stance to build national unity, seeking especially to suck in the militant religious groups into its orbit.
Sheikh Hasina and her India-friendly policies are not liked by her domestic and international opponents. The Awami League government should remain vigilant to the designs of forces inimical to it, and not let them undo the progress in India–Bangladesh relations.
The recent statement by the former Amirs (chiefs) of Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which was banned in 2019, seems to be a tactical move by the leadership to save the organisational structure from any kind of damage and to continue Islamisation of the society at the grassroots level.
US–Pakistan relations have witnessed upheavals in the past; the US’ exit from Afghanistan is the latest in the series of inflection points in their relationship. However, irrespective of the escalatory war of words sometimes, the nature of US–Pakistan relationship of convenience is likely to keep them strategically aligned in the future as well.
The geo-strategic location of Afghanistan has tempted many dominant powers to intervene but no great power has been able to occupy or attain predominance in the country. The US failed to fulfill its geo-strategic objectives even after two decades of war and peace efforts aimed at either subduing or pacifying insurgency in the country.
The relationship between TTP, or Pakistani Taliban, and Afghan Taliban will continue to be dictated by religious-ideological convergence, ethnic-fraternal linkages and the close camaraderie that emerged while they were fighting together against the foreign ‘occupying’ forces in Afghanistan.
India's emphasis on humanitarian crisis, concerns about possible misuse of Afghan territory by fringe elements, and silence on issues like how to deal with Taliban, and the prospect of India's recognition of new regime or lack of it, indicate that India's new Afghanistan policy is still in making.
Mired in controversies, the 2021 elections in the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir were heavily tilted towards the Kashmir issue, which overpowered all other issues including those concerning immediate local needs and the extant development lag.
The choice of words Taliban employs to communicate with the international community is symptomatic not only of the limits of inter-cultural communication, but also depicts how meanings move across geo-cultural spaces and that “right” vocabularies are being used indeed as a qualifier to join the community of nations.
The unfolding horror in Afghanistan appears foreboding for India, as for the rest of the world, considering that a war-ravaged Afghanistan can well become a global terrorism hub under the Taliban.
