Border Management

The landslide victory of the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina in the December 29, 2008 parliamentary elections ended the two-year old political uncertainty in Bangladesh and marks the return of a democratic government. With 262 seats out of 299 for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance, Sheikh Hasina is entrusted with the onus of opening a new era in the history of Bangladesh. The mandate clearly shows that people voted to power the party that won the country’s independence from Pakistan, and rejected the BNP-led four-party combine which got only 32 seats.

• M. Shamsur Rabb Khan
• January 09, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The Indo-Nepal border is an open border, which has facilitated close social, cultural, and economic exchanges and led to a special relationship between the two countries. However, in recent times, the increasing misuse of the borders by terrorists, political activists, anti-social elements, etc. has led to the demand for the closure of the border from the Indian side. The paper posits that a closed border is not beneficial for both the countries as the social and political costs involved in such a border are immense.

• Pushpita Das
• September 2008
• Strategic Analysis

In recent years, China has again publicly revived its territorial claims over India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. However, by insisting on these claims, China is making a settlement of the territorial issue virtually impossible and seriously misperceiving public opinion trends in India. China has failed to appreciate that if Arunachal is claimed to be the southern part of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), India cannot accept Tibet to be within China.

• Sujit Dutta
• July 2008
• Strategic Analysis

The India-Bangladesh border has been described as the 'problem area of tomorrow'. The problems include illegal migration, smuggling, and trans-border movement of insurgents, which are serious threats to the security of the country. India shares its longest border with Bangladesh, but this border is not attentively managed. This article analyses the problems arising along this border and reviews the recommendations of a report by the Group of Ministers on Border Management and the measures undertaken by the government to tackle the problems.

• Pushpita Das
• May 2008
• Strategic Analysis

There has been a qualitative shift in recent years in the way policy makers perceive borders and border areas. Borders are increasingly being seen as facilitators of easy circulation of goods and people rather physical obstructions. And border regions have transformed from underdeveloped buffer zones to bridges between neighbouring countries. This change in attitude is one factor that has contributed to India’s recent commitment to construct a port in Sittwe.

• Pushpita Das
• January 14, 2008
• IDSA Comments

China's demand for the removal of two Indian Army bunkers from its outpost at Batang La near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction in August 2007 can be seen from two angles. Firstly, the entire episode can be dismissed as a case of highhandedness of a few Chinese border officials who entered Indian territory inadvertently and came face to face with these Indian bunkers. Oblivious of where their actual position on the ground is, these officials then raised objections about the bunkers.

• Pushpita Das
• October 19, 2007
• IDSA Comments

For decades, the dominant sense in the foreign policy establishment of India was that neither the Kashmir question nor the boundary dispute with China was ripe for resolution. Yet, in defiance of this received wisdom, two very different political coalitions have opened and sustained substantive negotiations on Jammu and Kashmir and the boundary dispute with China. Forward movement in both negotiations has also been premised on opening the closed frontiers with China and Pakistan.

• C. Raja Mohan
• January 2007
• Strategic Analysis

Statistics reveal that the Border Security Force (BSF) has so far, this year, apprehended 8,196 persons who were trying enter India illegally from Bangladesh. The numbers that successfully manage to evade the security forces on the border, is of course, much larger. Apart from the usual suspects, the militants and economic migrants, the recent political turmoil in Bangladesh has also resulted in many Bangladeshi political dissidents and people from the religious minorities attempting to sneak into India to avoid political and religious persecution.

• Pushpita Das
• December 08, 2006
• IDSA Comments

The Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India signifies an important milestone in bilateral relations. The visit showed that there is a mutual willingness to keep the irritants aside and move forward. Both the powers of Asia have indeed placed greater importance on "stable relations" with each other in the coming days. This was clearly visible in Hu Jintao's "five-point proposals" for developing Sino-Indian relations. The rumours of India-China relations being affected by growing strategic relationship between India and US have been laid to rest for the moment.

• Jagannath P. Panda
• November 30, 2006
• IDSA Comments

Refuting China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh, India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee firmly reiterated that "The whole of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India." Coming as it did days before the Chinese President's four-day visit to India from November 20, 2006, the statement made by China's Ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi, that "In our position, the whole of the state of Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese territory. And Tawang is only one of the places in it. We are claiming all of that. That is our position," is unfortunate.

• Abanti Bhattacharya
• November 21, 2006
• IDSA Comments