Publication Filter – Page 298

India and Pakistan: An Eternal Conflict!

Shooting for a Century: Finding Answers to the India–Pakistan Conundrum, by Stephen P. Cohen

Challenges to the Revision of the Nepal–India 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty

The contemporary strategic and political environment has gone through tremendous changes in comparison to the context in which the 1950 treaty was signed. The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s August 2014 visit to Nepal, the first by an Indian prime minister in 17 years, has rekindled the hope of improving Nepal–India relations, including revision of the 1950 treaty. Against this backdrop, this article argues that without understanding India’s strategic, security-related and political concerns, revision of the 1950 treaty is highly unlikely.

Northeastern India and its neighbours: negotiating security and development by Rakhee Bhattacharya

The insurgency movement in Northeast India, demanding various forms of autonomy including independence, is a constant concern for the maintenance of the country’s unity. It is further complicated due to the region’s strategic location, being almost entirely surrounded by several countries, and hence any development in these countries will certainly have implications for Northeast India.

Nuclear Security in Asia: Problems and Challenges

The importance of nuclear security in Asia needs to be focused upon in view of the emerging challenges of nuclear proliferation, growing nuclear arsenals, expanding civilian nuclear energy programmes, weak export controls, zones of domestic instability and terrorism in several regions within the continent. This article focuses on the factors that pose potential risks to nuclear security in Asia. It emphasises the prevailing factors endangering the security of nuclear and radiological materials in Asia.

India’s ocean: the story of India’s bid for regional leadership by David Brewster

Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan once stated: ‘Whoever attains maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean would be a prominent player on the international scene. Whoever controls the Indian Ocean dominates Asia. This Ocean is the key to the seven seas in the 21st century, the destiny of the world will be decided in these waters’.1 It is these prophetic words that are the pivot for the book under review, India’s Ocean: The Story of India’s Bid for Regional Leadership.

South China Sea: India’s Maritime Gateway to the Pacific

This article looks at India’s interests and strategy in the South China Sea (SCS). First, it highlights India’s maritime interests and discusses the relevance of the SCS to these interests. It then examines some key ingredients of India’s evolving policy initiatives in the region. The article argues that with a considerable expansion of India’s engagement with the South China Sea littoral states, India appears to be genuinely emerging as an indispensable element in the strategic discourse of this region.

Sri-Yantra and the geophilosophy of India by Niraj Kumar

The book, as the title suggests, has Sri-Yantra and geophilosophy as its central themes. Sri-Yantra is a powerful positive energy symbol that is known for bringing peace, prosperity, harmony and good fortune. This powerful Yantra is a diagram based on nine interlocking triangular formulations. It is also known as Srichakra and Indian mystics and gurus have known about it for a long time.

National Security: Concept, Measurement and Management

The concept of national security has often been taken to merely connote the preservation of sovereignty, territorial integrity and internal stability with the focus on the coercive power of the state. In today’s complex and interdependent world faced with many non traditional threats like pandemics, climate change, etc it must, however, be seen in a more holistic manner.

Cyber war: the next threat to national security and what to do about it? by Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake

War, in the age of the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)’ has changed its nature and tactics. Use of sophisticated systems has made it difficult to penetrate defences. Cyber war, however, appears as a drill to penetrate the defences of nations, because defence against cyber offence is so far not strong. Clarke was the first cyber security advisor to US president George W. Bush (Jr.) from 2001 to 2003 and Knake was a senior officer in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This book primarily focuses on US cyberspace security based on their experiences.

Role of Historical Legacy in India’s Relations with Territories to its East

The ability of history to intrude into the present has often been underestimated. Nowhere is this more evident than in India’s relations with territories to its immediate east. Colonial rule by the British in Northeast India and Myanmar left a lasting impact on the two countries, which is felt to this day. Japanese control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also left its own historical imprint.