India’s growing neighbourhood dilemmas
1 year ago

India’s growing neighbourhood dilemmas

The Hindu  

The proverbial Achilles heel of Indian foreign policy continues to be its neighbourhood. But South Asia is not only not keen to jump on the bandwagon of the India story, but it is New Delhi’s dilemmas, the causes In general, there are three types of dilemmas that India faces in the neighbourhood. The second type of dilemma India faces in the neighbourhood is structural, resulting from Beijing’s growing influence in South Asia. For New Delhi, Washington’s presence in South Asia was not always advantageous, but its departure is definitely disadvantageous, in particular given how China has filled the power vacuum created by Washington’s departure. The second assumption that New Delhi approached the neighbourhood with was that India’s special relationship with the region rooted in culture, soft power, history and ethnicity would help the country deal with the neighbourhood better than those without intimate knowledge of the region, namely China.

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History of this topic

Neighbours have their domestic politics, we should be mature: Jaishankar
1 week, 3 days ago

Neighbours have their domestic politics, we should be mature: Jaishankar

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: India’s neighbours have their own domestic politics, which have certain implications for New Delhi. Tewari had pointed out that India was the eighth country visited by the Maldives president after assuming office in 2023, and that he had travelled to New Delhi “under severe economic compulsion.” Tewari also said that Nepal’s new prime minister had first travelled to …

Transforming Ties: India's Evolving Foreign Policy Towards China and Other Neighbours
Trending News
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Transforming Ties: India's Evolving Foreign Policy Towards China and Other Neighbours

Firstpost  

India's evolving foreign policy towards China and other neighbors is evident in the recent development of a significant agreement between the two countries on a comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership. This move signifies India's ability to adapt its foreign policy to suit changing circumstances and prioritize its interests, despite facing challenges from China's assertive posture. The agreement also highlights …

A new chapter in India-Sri Lanka relations
2 months, 4 weeks ago

A new chapter in India-Sri Lanka relations

Hindustan Times  

The Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory and ascension to the presidency marks a significant shift in Sri Lanka’s political landscape, with effects on its relations with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to President Dissanayake on his electoral victory, highlighting Sri Lanka's vital role in India's Neighbourhood First policy and the Security and Growth for All in the Region …

A new footing in South Asia for India-Russia friendship
4 months ago

A new footing in South Asia for India-Russia friendship

Hindustan Times  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s July visit to Moscow and this week’s trip to Ukraine revived the debate on what role Russia plays in India’s evolving strategic balance. But a closer look shows that — except for Pakistan — Russia is also playing a rising role in South Asia, aligned with India’s Neighbourhood First policy from Afghanistan to Myanmar and from …

The View From India Newsletter Lessons from the region
4 months ago

The View From India Newsletter Lessons from the region

The Hindu  

South Asia doesn’t have to look far for crucial lessons in politics. From the coup in Myanmar, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021, to the political ouster of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, by a people’s uprising, in 2022, to the more recent fall of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following a formidable …

Grand Strategy | Time for a new neighbourhood policy
4 months ago

Grand Strategy | Time for a new neighbourhood policy

Hindustan Times  

There is a growing, and legitimate, concern in India today that its neighbourhood is becoming increasingly hostile. And yet, considering the domestic and regional changes afoot in the region, India must craft new strategies to engage the region. First and foremost, it is simply not possible for India and any other regional or global actor to control or micro-manage the …

Neighbourhood tests India-U.S. ties
4 months, 1 week ago

Neighbourhood tests India-U.S. ties

The Hindu  

The turmoil in Bangladesh could test India-U.S. relations at a time when heightened nationalism in both countries has already reduced mutual trust. Religion, or ethnicity, is already a major feature of selfhood and state policy all around India’s neighbourhood — Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. “To boost Indian manufacturing and plug India into the global supply chain, it …

Neighbourhood First at risk
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Neighbourhood First at risk

Hindustan Times  

The challenges for India from Sheikh Hasina’s ouster are daunting. Bangladesh’s centrality to the Neighbourhood First aspect of India’s foreign policy makes the developments in the country even more worrying from New Delhi’s perspective. India’s push for regional energy and transport connectivity is also an attempt to contain Chinese influence in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. They vociferously opposed almost all …

Grand Strategy | Indian-origin leaders abroad: Feel-good stories don’t help national interests
5 months ago

Grand Strategy | Indian-origin leaders abroad: Feel-good stories don’t help national interests

Hindustan Times  

We tend to get overjoyed when non-resident Indians or persons of Indian origin do well overseas or assume political offices. The rediscovery of the Indian diaspora by the Indian state is a function of India’s rising international stature as well as the growing influence of Indians in their host countries. The Indian diaspora’s presence in foreign countries, along with their …

India's neighbourhood policy: Time to move on
5 months, 2 weeks ago

India's neighbourhood policy: Time to move on

Hindustan Times  

As the world's largest democracy strides confidently along its growth trajectory, it is increasingly clear that the traditional paradigms of regional engagement are no longer relevant. Other instances, such as its relationships with Iran and Saudi Arabia and its active participation in multilateral groups like BRICS and Quad, illustrate India's policy of strategic pragmatism in a complex geopolitical landscape. The …

Review of The Routledge Handbook of South Asia Region, Security and Connectivity: Fractured identity
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Review of The Routledge Handbook of South Asia Region, Security and Connectivity: Fractured identity

The Hindu  

The six blind men of the proverbial story touching an elephant and describing it partially fail in the task assigned to them, but they succeed in conveying its complexity. A labour of love by a dedicated band of social scientists, economists, IR scholars, and other experts, this brilliantly edited and crafted volume will help not only university academics, researchers, and …

Grand Strategy: Time to reset the rules of the game in South Asia
6 months, 1 week ago

Grand Strategy: Time to reset the rules of the game in South Asia

Hindustan Times  

By inviting the leaders of key neighbouring countries to the swearing-in ceremony of the new council of ministers, New Delhi has made its intentions clear: It plans to double down on efforts to engage the neighbourhood and regain its influence. South Asian government leaders at PM Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in Delhi The fact is that China has changed the …

Neighbours watch as India’s coalition government takes charge
6 months, 1 week ago

Neighbours watch as India’s coalition government takes charge

The Hindu  

Indian elections were closely watched in the neighbourhood. Leaders of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal, and Bhutan were in New Delhi for Sunday’s swearing in ceremony, as they witnessed the new government — formed by a diminished BJP that relies on coalition partners for a parliamentary majority — being sworn in. Here’s cartoonist Mika Aziz’s take on …

Fresh look at India’s neighbourhood first policy
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Fresh look at India’s neighbourhood first policy

Hindustan Times  

In 2014, the Narendra Modi government came to power with an eye towards reimagining India’s relationships in South Asia, and across the Indo-Pacific. Fresh look at India’s neighbourhood first policy On the show, Xavier argued that China’s ambitions in India’s neighborhood have catalysed a more robust Indian policy. “In India, aligned with the divergence in India-China relations—which culminated in the …

Frontline On Air | India in the South Asian neighbourhood: Friendship or friction?
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Frontline On Air | India in the South Asian neighbourhood: Friendship or friction?

The Hindu  

Published : Feb 09, 2024 17:18 IST - 1 MIN READ The economic shock of COVID-19 in 2020-2021 and subsequent escalating debt burdens, the ongoing Ukraine war now in its third year, and, in 2023, the eruption of the Gaza conflict, repeatedly jolted the economies of all countries in South Asia. The smaller and more vulnerable economies of all of …

Staking Maldives, Looking Lakshadweep: Why India Needs the Neighbourhood
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Staking Maldives, Looking Lakshadweep: Why India Needs the Neighbourhood

Deccan Chronicle  

In what must be a unique phenomenon for any country, Maldives periodically chooses between two of the largest contestants on earth in a national election. Maldives’ Deputy ministers Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid threw the gauntlet by ridiculing India’s Prime Minister in an unacceptable manner and rousing anti-India sentiments. Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma, Distinguished Fellow at VIF, …

Don’t let Maldives go the Nepal way
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Don’t let Maldives go the Nepal way

Hindustan Times  

Nations disagree and express their occasional disagreements, as they should, to protect their sovereign interests, and it is par for the course. However, it would be naïve to say that perceptions about India wasn’t given to occasional suggestions of interference, giving rise to ‘pro-India’ and ‘anti-India’ labels onto political parties e.g., Sheikh Haseena’s Awami League was believed to be preferred …

Don’t let Maldives go the Nepal way
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Don’t let Maldives go the Nepal way

Hindustan Times  

Nations disagree and express their occasional disagreements, as they should, to protect their sovereign interests, and it is par for the course. However, it would be naïve to say that perceptions about India wasn’t given to occasional suggestions of interference, giving rise to ‘pro-India’ and ‘anti-India’ labels onto political parties e.g., Sheikh Haseena’s Awami League was believed to be preferred …

Anti-India narrative in Maldives not isolated incident but nurtured by foreign powers for long, says official
11 months, 1 week ago

Anti-India narrative in Maldives not isolated incident but nurtured by foreign powers for long, says official

Firstpost  

Amid an ongoing diplomatic dispute with the Maldives, Syed Tanveer Nasreen, the former head of the Indian Cultural Centre in the island nation, has said that the current situation is not an isolated incident but rather a reflection of a long-standing anti-India sentiment nurtured by external powers. Addressing China’s growing influence and its impact on the anti-India narrative in the …

The Israel-Palestine Conflagration Is a Cautionary Tale for India’s Global Ambitions
1 year, 1 month ago

The Israel-Palestine Conflagration Is a Cautionary Tale for India’s Global Ambitions

The Diplomat  

Claims of a “new Middle East” have been quashed as the “old Middle East” has returned with a vengeance: The devastating October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel have been followed by unprecedented Israeli attacks on Gaza and the resumption of prolonged Israel-Palestine hostilities. Beyond the Modi government’s unequivocal support for Israel the latest hostilities in the Middle East hold …

India-Maldives Ties: A Walk on Eggshells As New Delhi Faces the China Question
1 year, 2 months ago

India-Maldives Ties: A Walk on Eggshells As New Delhi Faces the China Question

The Quint  

Following Delhi’s aid during the crippling Covid pandemic via ‘Operation Sanjeevani’, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had stated the obvious, “India is almost always, our first responder in times of crises, and is amongst the loudest supporters in times of good fortune. Which is why, my Administration’s ‘India First’ policy is so crucial to ensure that our longstanding ties continue …

How the Maldives elections will shape Indian Ocean geopolitics
1 year, 2 months ago

How the Maldives elections will shape Indian Ocean geopolitics

Hindustan Times  

As the India-China rivalry is played out across the Indian Ocean region, domestic politics is becoming a key focal point of geopolitics. In the last decade, as China’s naval presence has grown across the Indian Ocean, the region has become a centerpiece of strategic rivalry between India and China. The question of China’s growing military and economic presence and its …

Shifting political tides in the Maldives: Implications for India
1 year, 3 months ago

Shifting political tides in the Maldives: Implications for India

Hindustan Times  

The upcoming Maldives presidential election holds historical significance as it features seven candidates vying to challenge incumbent President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih. Geopolitical factors are pivotal in shaping the political dynamics of the Maldives, as both India and China have high stakes in the election's outcome. India's relationship with the Maldives faced challenges during Yameen's tenure, but New Delhi witnessed a …

The BRICS test for India’s multipolarity rhetoric
1 year, 4 months ago

The BRICS test for India’s multipolarity rhetoric

The Hindu  

Once again, New Delhi is back in the thick of global geopolitics of things — chairing summits, navigating tricky Manichaean choices, ducking geopolitical whirlwinds, and negotiating a place at the high table of global governance. At a time of global geopolitical uncertainty, with the global order going through a major churn, middle powers, regional heavyweights and the outliers that are …

India’s Myanmar Conundrum: New Delhi Should Know This Isn’t The Old Tatmadaw
1 year, 4 months ago

India’s Myanmar Conundrum: New Delhi Should Know This Isn’t The Old Tatmadaw

ABP News  

On February 1, 2021, six months before the fall of Kabul, one of India’s friendly neighbouring countries Myanmar had a meltdown with the Tatmadaw taking control of the country, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. For the first time since the military coup took place in Myanmar that saw thousands of civilians getting killed, maimed …

The concept of the Global South is slowly fraying
1 year, 7 months ago

The concept of the Global South is slowly fraying

Hindustan Times  

As New Delhi’s multilateralism progresses apace, the Global South continues to feature prominently on its agenda. The problem with these developments is that they clash with India’s vision, which seeks genuine stability and progress across the Global South, not least because it has traditionally understood that genuine postcolonial recovery requires a positive agenda rather than angry anti-westernism. The development model …

The View from India | India’s message to China
1 year, 7 months ago

The View from India | India’s message to China

The Hindu  

As the Chinese Defence Minister, General Li Shangfu, visited New Delhi last week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers’ Meeting, his host, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, had a clear message for him and Beijing: that the violation of existing agreements by China had “eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations. Their 45 minute-long bilateral talks last week were …

India’s Northeast: Gateway to connectivity with eastern neighbours
1 year, 8 months ago

India’s Northeast: Gateway to connectivity with eastern neighbours

Hindustan Times  

India’s Northeast Region can serve as a pivotal connecting space between India and its neighbours to the east in South Asia, as well as to East and Southeast Asia and beyond, enhancing the country’s diplomatic, infrastructural, and commercial engagements. India’s Northeast Region, sharing international borders in the east, has massive potential to become a vibrant link to the country’s eastern …

Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | India’s neighbourhood outreach | What lies ahead for South Asia in 2023?
1 year, 10 months ago

Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | India’s neighbourhood outreach | What lies ahead for South Asia in 2023?

The Hindu  

India begins the year with an outreach in the neighbourhood- with visits to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan, and even an invitation to Pakistan- what lies ahead for 2023 in South Asia? Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra visited Bhutan and held talks with the fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck and called on Prime Minister Lyonchhen Lotay Tshering- discussions on development …

India’s dilemmas in an Asian century
1 year, 11 months ago

India’s dilemmas in an Asian century

The Hindu  

If 2022 was a momentous year for India and the rest of the world, 2023 is likely to further sharpen the geopolitical fault lines set in motion by the previous year. The geopolitical and economic rise of Asia coincides with several regional and global developments which have the potential to undermine the stability and prosperity India had hoped an Asian …

In the new evolving world, India needs a new vision
1 year, 11 months ago

In the new evolving world, India needs a new vision

The Hindu  

The year 2022 can perhaps be best summarised by a quote by Vladimir Lenin: ‘There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.’ The year began with the ostensible vanquishing of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the remarkable collective vaccination efforts of science, business and governments across the world. Editorial | Clarity and confusion: On Rahul …

India needs a new urban deal
2 years, 3 months ago

India needs a new urban deal

Hindustan Times  

The future of Indian cities has played out in horrifying detail over the past 48 hours. The toxic combination of poor urban planning, rampant flouting of rules, lax governance hindered further by red tape, and intensifying effects of the climate crisis has brought our cities to their knees. But repeated flooding and increasing vagaries in climate patterns mean that the …

‘Advantage New Delhi’ in Sri Lanka’s India lifeline
2 years, 5 months ago

‘Advantage New Delhi’ in Sri Lanka’s India lifeline

The Hindu  

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election as the President of Sri Lanka in a crucial Parliament vote on July 20, 2022, gives India an opportunity to take the lead in the foreign aid game in its neighbourhood. Opportunity for India India was the first responder to Sri Lanka’s desperate calls for foreign aid to help tackle its crippling debt and economic crisis. Moreover, …

India’s Borders & Climate Change: Tensions With Pak & Bangladesh Set to Grow?
2 years, 6 months ago

India’s Borders & Climate Change: Tensions With Pak & Bangladesh Set to Grow?

The Quint  

Peace and conflict in South Asia have traditionally been underpinned by three regional realities: internal issues of civil war and ethno-religious violence and separatism, military conflict between India and Pakistan, and political conflicts between India and the smaller states of Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, writes researcher and policy analyst MS Huda. South Asia is one of the most critically …

Maldives: Will ‘India Out’ Overwhelm ‘India First’ Close to Elections?
2 years, 8 months ago

Maldives: Will ‘India Out’ Overwhelm ‘India First’ Close to Elections?

News 18  

In electoral politics, although there is often a major difference between rhetoric while in opposition and action when in government, Abdulla Yameen’s pro-China track record suggests that there is more to his ‘India Out’ campaign than harmless propaganda. It is also pertinent, therefore, for New Delhi to carefully assess whether the ongoing ‘India Out’ campaign by sections of the Maldivian …

Delhi-Dhaka: A model for the neighbourhood
3 years ago

Delhi-Dhaka: A model for the neighbourhood

Hindustan Times  

President Ramnath Kovind was on a State visit to Bangladesh from December 15-17. This invite also underlined Bangladesh’s interest in further deepening its relationship with India. These new challenges were the reason for India’s desire to invest more in Bangladesh vis-à-vis the Neighbourhood First and Act East policies. Bangladesh’s economic success portrayed by its development indicators, anti-poverty measures, increase in …

A strategy for India in a world that is adrift
3 years, 2 months ago

A strategy for India in a world that is adrift

The Hindu  

New situations require fresh thinking. A few of us — Yamini Aiyar, Sunil Khilnani, Prakash Menon, Nitin Pai, Ajit Ranade, Srinath Raghavan, and Shyam Saran — some of whom were authors a decade ago of Non-Alignment 2.0, were prompted by the tectonic shifts in India’s internal and external environment to take another look at India’s path to power in a …

India’s Cities are Victims of Outdated Political Economy Constructs
3 years, 4 months ago

India’s Cities are Victims of Outdated Political Economy Constructs

News 18  

Livability in a city, over the past 18 months, is strongly influenced by the extent of the ravages unleashed by the COVID-19 virus. Constitutional Oddities City governments also lack original powers under the Constitution of India, which requires individual states to legislate city mandates, even though the Twelfth Schedule specifies 18 functional areas as city government mandates. No Takers for …

’India’s way forward is to engage’: Shiv Shankar Menon
3 years, 7 months ago

’India’s way forward is to engage’: Shiv Shankar Menon

Live Mint  

Former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon’s new book, India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present, makes an unusual request of the reader—to look at India’s foreign policy choices through the lens of geography rather than history. Given his background as India’s former ambassador to China and a former foreign secretary, there is of course a detailed look at India’s …

The reality of an India at the crossroads
4 years ago

The reality of an India at the crossroads

The Hindu  

Individual events are often an indicator of broader trends. India’s forays in its Near Abroad in West Asia are yet to yield results, even though, on the surface, relations with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are better. Comment | The shifting trajectory of India’s foreign policy Signs of rigid policies Far more serious, however, are concerns being voiced …

Delhi-Dhaka ties: India is doing well in the region
4 years, 3 months ago

Delhi-Dhaka ties: India is doing well in the region

Hindustan Times  

In a telling statement, Sri Lanka’s new foreign secretary Jayanath Colombage has said that Colombo will have an “India first” strategic policy outlook. Arguing that while the Rajapaksa government has adopted a posture of neutrality in its dealings with major regional and global powers, he was categorical in underlining that “the president has stated that we have a strategic security-wise …

India must take the lead in South Asia | Analysis
4 years, 3 months ago

India must take the lead in South Asia | Analysis

Hindustan Times  

With the privilege of being the region’s largest economy by far comes the power to make a difference. In a just-released report from the Centre for Policy Research, India as the Engine of Recovery for South Asia: A Multi-Sectoral Plan for India’s COVID-19 Diplomacy in the Region that we have co-authored with our colleagues, Shyam Saran and Sandeep Bhardwaj, we …

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