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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100806T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100806T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T203925
CREATED:20231224T104217Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250228T045908Z
UID:64160-1281072600-1281072600@idsa.in
SUMMARY:Nuclear Forensics
DESCRIPTION:Open to all Members; others pl. contact 1030 to 1300 hrs Conference Cell
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/nuclear-forensics
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100813T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100813T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T203925
CREATED:20231224T104121Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250228T045741Z
UID:64159-1281677400-1281677400@idsa.in
SUMMARY:Implication of China's Civil Nuclear Cooperation with Pakistan
DESCRIPTION:Open to all Members; others pl. contact 1030 to 1300 hrs Conference Cell \nChairperson: Shri K SanthanamDiscussants: Dr. R R Subramanyan & Shri S K Gupta
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/implication-of-chinas-civil-nuclear-cooperation-with-pakistan
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100820T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100820T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T203925
CREATED:20231223T221438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T130246Z
UID:63641-1282282200-1282282200@idsa.in
SUMMARY:The Institutional Origins and Strategic Determinants of India's Africa policy
DESCRIPTION:Elaborating on his approach to the paper Mr. Xavier disavowed both\, a reductionist/particularistic and an overly generalist/homogenizing prism to assessment of India’s foreign policy. He proceeded to identify a number of limitations relating to existing work on the subject of India in Africa\, including the clubbing together of China and India vis-à-vis Africa and the assumption\, rather that explicit pronouncement\, of a definitive policy posture of India in the region.  \nBriefly reviewing historical ties between India and Africa\, the presenter drew out both high and low points in the relationship. Economic drivers were identified as assuming the central role in determining the nature and direction of evolution of this relationship in the contemporary context.  \nThe key analytical contribution of the paper was identification of intra- and inter-institutional tensions and short-comings that have hindered optimization of India’s role in Africa. On the diplomatic side\, a certain image of African nations has long been responsible for a less than desired Indian presence. Relative informalisation of processes\, lack of continuity and near-absence of lateral co-operation amongst GoI Ministries and Missions in Africa were deemed serious lacunae on the practical side. \nAs far as academic work on Africa produced in India is concerned\, lack of emphasis on field work and consequent regurgitation of known facts and missing policy relevance were viewed as problematic. Business endeavour in Africa by Indian industry was also similarly described as plagued by poor background research. Co-operation between Ministries and business entities was referred to as a “constant fire-fighting exercise”\, resulting eventually in an absence of a coordinated\, concerted and coherent policy and action agenda. The relative merits of ad-hocism and a diffuse character of policy as opposed to one that is well substantiated were thrown up for discussion. \nExternal Discussant: Mr. C. Raja Mohan\nMr. Raja Mohan questioned the assumption that a lack of approximation of India’s model for foreign policy formulation with that of the United States is ipso facto suggestive of a weaker quality of expertise and intelligent input. He hypothesised that examination of certain specific historic episodes was likely to yield interesting insights – some of them departing with the idea that Non-alignment has been the dominant discourse on relations with Africa. On the question of India’s reaction to Apartheid for instance\, he raised the question as to whether this was inspired by anti-colonialism or a preference for universalism.  \nDespite public rhetoric to the contrary\, he emphasized emulation of and competition with China as an undeniably important driver of Indian policy in Africa. Methodologically\, he favoured actions and market-based decisions of business actors more closely rather than political signals as more potent conveyers of the progression of India’s role in Africa.   \nExternal Discussant: Mr. Navdeep Suri\nLauding efforts at public diplomacy by Indian actors in Africa\, Mr. Suri underscored the need for greater publicity for these measures. He emphasized the importance of boots on the ground to deliver desired policy outcomes as equally important\, if not more so\, than official policy pronouncements. He lamented the long-standing experience that the good-will accrued through India’s investment and aid involvement in Africa has failed to translate into tangible gains on the ground for India.  \nMr. Suri recommended better documentation of the “Africa in India” story for the positive ramifications this exercise is likely to yield. On the issue of competition with China he urged appreciation of India’s own unique strengths and an attempt to build on these.     \nInternal Discussants\nOne internal discussant described pan-Africanism as the cornerstone for any definition of policy on that region. She also suggested that the degree of exceptionalism of the problems identified on the institutional side by the paper as regards Africa needs to be established in light of comparative evidence. The value of incorporating views of the Indian military presence in Africa was also spoken in favour of.  \nAnother internal discussant came out in support of Democracy and Aid as crucial drivers meriting in-depth exploration. He recommended spelling out and countering of that image of Africa which gets in the way of its prioritization as a region. On the general trend in academic work on foreign policy in Africa\, he advocated a more theoretically embedded methodological approach.     \nOpen-floor Discussion\nOne participant suggested inclusion of sub-national actors on the African landscape to derive a richer analytical range. Another questioned the adequacy of a pan-African policy alone to incorporate diversity across the Continent. There was a suggestion that yardsticks against which the paper found Indian policy in Africa to come up short would do well to be explicitly set out. Concern was expressed over capacity-related inadequacies across most regions where India’s pursuit of its foreign policy objectives is concerned even as recent achievements were acknowledged.      \nChairs Summary\nThe chair portrayed the African continent as the land of the future. It was his view that India’s diplomatic presence in Africa has a number of achievements to boast of and has played a useful supporting role to India’s business enterprise in Africa. But he equally highlighted the need for recognition of Africa’s felt needs as the over-riding concern for Indian engagement. He took the opportunity to encourage the think tank community to continue making its contribution to influencing policy and educating the wider public.     \nReport prepared by Kalyani Unkule\, Research Assistant\, IDSA
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/the-institutional-origins-and-strategic-determinants-of-indias-africa-policy
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR,EVENT REPORT
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100827T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100827T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T203925
CREATED:20231223T221438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T130246Z
UID:63640-1282887000-1282887000@idsa.in
SUMMARY:50 years of Indus Water Treaty: Will it Survive?
DESCRIPTION:Chairperson: Satish ChandraDiscussants: B. G. Verghese and D.K. Mehta \n \nIn an attempt to question whether the Indus Water Treaty holds any tangible ground in today’s day and age\, this paper tracks the origins of the basic conflict\, its origins and the detailed history that eventually led to it being drafted and signed in 1960. In the light of the history of the treaty\, the authors have laid  emphasis on  the first proposal of the World Bank which was based on three very prominent principles: “The Indus basin water resources were sufficient to meet all existing and further uses of both countries; the water resources of the Indus basin should be cooperatively developed treating the Indus basin as a unit; and that the problem of Indus basin water resources should be resolved on a functional and not on a political plane.” The authors however do go on to say that the nature of the treaty did become political in due course of time\, which is why one is obliged to question its survival. \nThe paper dwells on why exactly the treaty was signed and what it meant for both India and Pakistan and what other options either country had during the time of signing. For instance\, the paper elucidates that India as the upper riparian could have chosen not to sign the treaty and use the waters of the Indus river system flowing through its territory\, but it also states rather categorically that India also had its own compulsions to sign the treaty. The building pressure from the US and the World Bank for instance. \nAs the political relationship between the two conflicting nations has seen its ups and down\, the study brings to light how the political dynamics is directly corresponding to the survival of the Indus water treaty. Especially given that now Pakistan has given a notice to India to take the Kishanganga hydroelectric proposal to a neutral expert and also sought to invoke a court of arbitration for the interpretation on the treaty.  \nAnother aspect that this paper seeks to draw attention to is the issue of Jammu and Kashmir\, which the authors feel is one that is often missed. It brings out the strong perception that India’s generosity towards Pakistan (Pakistan getting 80 per cent of the water resources)\, was at the cost of the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Besides\, despite there being a general opinion to change the treaty in certain respects\, the paper is very clear in stating that neither side has officially communicated any desire to modify the treaty despite the increasing resentment in public opinion. \nExternal Discussant: Mr. D K Mehta\nOne fact that was brought out very coherently by Mr. Mehta was that as a matter of fact\, perception needs to be corrected. The main shortcoming from India’s side was that there has been no storage of water. At least 3 to 6 feet of water needs to be stored. He stated that it is absolutely imperative if India actually wants to make use of even the 20 per cent of the water that it does have from the Indus water treaty and a daily or a weekly balance needs to be maintained. States affected especially Jammu and Kashmir need to come up with some policies and facilities for storage. As far as the widely acknowledged generosity of India is concerned\, it could be said that India should have probably asked for more at the time of the signing of the treaty. \nExternal Discussant: Mr. B.G. Varghese\nMr. Varghese took a rather clear stand on the issue by saying that government secrecy between ministries needs to be done away with for good. And that this very problem has led to the downfall of many policy implementation programmes. Also the ideas of water storage need to be made clear\, for example\, a dead storage where water is stagnant is not a storage\, but a silt trap. According to him\, India was not being generous\, but had an acute problem of refugees post partition.  Therefore from the point of view of rehabilitation\, India needed to provide some irrigation for the land in question and as an upper riparian India has delivered on the treaty.  \nInternal Discussants \nOne of the internal discussants was of the opinion that this paper very lucidly brings out the “lie that it was a successful treaty.” Also India has not explored the opportunities of hydroelectricity and storage with the water available. The review of this paper must be driven by certain important factors. For instance\, at the time of the signing of the treaty\, short term gains were looked at\, Pakistan has had a hand in politicizing it. Also Ms. Ray asks of the authors to expand on exactly why India accepted the so called unfair terms of the treaty and also to state what “counter measures” can or may India take in the future.  \nAnother discussant raised the doubt whether India was only generous or was just a bad negotiator. \nGeneral Discussion\nIn response to some of the questions raised by the internal discussants\, one member said that contrary to popular belief\, per capita availability is not the issue in Pakistan. It is actually the mismanagement of water made available by this treaty. Emphasis was also laid on sources of information in Pakistan which has made water a very important issue in the country. It has also been instigated by non-state actors like the chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah Hafiz Muhammad Saeed\, whose main source of information comes from Urdu dailies that are not particularly pro-India. Furthermore\, the fact that these newspapers have a wide readership does not help matters either. \nChair’s Summary\nThe Chair concluded that what was required was effective policy implementation\, which needs to be reviewed on a regular basis. The chair also spoke at length on how both countries need to evolve and revise the treaty with the changing times. \nReport prepared by Shahana Joshi\, Research Assistant\, IDSA.
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/50-years-of-indus-water-treaty-will-it-survive
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR,EVENT REPORT
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