Vishal Chandra

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Mr Vishal Chandra studies Afghanistan at Manohar Parrikar IDSA, New Delhi. He joined the Institute in 2003 and is currently a Research Fellow in the South Asia Centre of the Institute. He holds an MPhil degree from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has travelled widely in Afghanistan and has participated in various national and international academic forums. He has delivered talks & lectures at various training academies and institutes, and has participated in panel discussions and as commentator on Afghanistan affairs on various news channels.

He has several publications to his credit, including a single-authored book and a monograph on Afghanistan, and three edited books on South Asia. He has contributed to MP-IDSA flagship publications, including Strategic Analysis (Routledge) and Asian Strategic Review. His most recent key publication is: Afghans in Need: Positing India’s Continued Engagement with Afghanistan (MP-IDSA Monograph, October 2024).

Mr Chandra is the author of The Unfinished War in Afghanistan: 2001–2014 (IDSA, Pentagon Press, New Delhi, 2015). He is also the editor of India and South Asia: Exploring Regional Perceptions (Pentagon Press, 2015) and India’s Neighbourhood: The Armies of South Asia (Pentagon Press, 2013), and the co-editor of India’s Neighbourhood: Challenges Ahead (IDSA, Rubicon Publishers, Delhi, 2008).

Reviews on his book on Afghanistan have been published in The Journal of Slavic Military Studies (formerly The Journal of Soviet Military Studies, Taylor & Francis), Indian Foreign Affairs Journal (a quarterly of the Association of Indian Diplomats), The Book ReviewIndia Today / Mail TodayThe Pioneer and New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur). The book was reported by Afghanistan’s leading national dailies and news agencies, including Pajhwok Afghan NewsAfghanistan Times and Daily Outlook Afghanistan.Reports about the book in Hindi were published by Amar Ujala and Nai Dunia.An abridged Farsi translation of the book was later brought out by a Kabul-based Afghan publisher.

Along his research, Mr Chandra also had a decade long editorial stint with the Institute’s website from 2011 to 2022, including editor website from 2019 to 2022.


Research Fellow

Publication

Russia’s Growing Afghan Re-Engagement

The historical baggage weighing on the Russo-Afghan relationship is apparently in the process of being jettisoned. The two countries have been cautiously reaching out and engaging each other for quite some time now. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's state visit to Moscow on 20–21 January 2011 – the first by an Afghan head of state in more than two decades – could be perceived as a major step forward.

Response to Respondents

There is no cause for dismay over a growing sense of marginalisation of India in regional and international forums on the Afghan issue. Similarly, the resurgence of the Taliban and increasing Pakistani influence in Afghanistan should be seen as a temporary phenomenon. Sushant Sareen is right in arguing that the ‘turn of events’ in the ‘not so distant future’ could open up possibilities of India playing a larger role in Afghanistan.

India in the Afghan Maze: Search for Options

The Afghan war has a long way to go. The situation has come to a point where with every passing month one wonders where the war is headed. There can be no doubt that it will be long before Afghanistan will be at peace with itself. At this moment, there does not seem to be any solution to the Afghan crisis. The Taliban and their allies, both Afghan and foreign, have notably succeeded in transforming the war to their advantage.

Will NATO Stay On in Afghanistan?

A new actor was inducted in the decades-old Afghan conflict when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) assumed command of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003. NATO's entry into the Afghan theatre took place in the backdrop of the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. With the United States diverting its resources and greater attention to Iraq, NATO was to expand its operations throughout Afghanistan in support of the US-led coalition force in a phased manner.

The National Front in Afghan Politics: An Exploratory Study

The Jabhe-e-Melli or the National Front (NF) is largely considered inconsequential in Afghan politics. It is often dismissed as a loose mlange of elements from the former United Front or the Northern Alliance, some ex-communists, and former royalists, which is bound to wither away sooner than later. The Front is said to represent the interests of a political class which is disgruntled with the politics and the policies of President Hamid Karzai, and which is struggling to preserve its erstwhile status and relevance in the power politics of Afghanistan.

Making of the New Afghan National Army: Challenges and Prospects

The paper attempts to examine diverse challenges to the making of the new Afghan National Army (ANA), and its future prospects. The issue assumes significance as the Taliban shift battle lines outside the Pashtun areas and there is growing difference among Western countries regarding the means and approaches to be used to stabilize Afghanistan. The paper is broadly divided into four sections. The first section seeks to identify and critically examine the role played by key institutional structures responsible for the training and mentoring of the new national army.