FELLOW'S SEMINAR

Open to all Members; others pl. contact 1030 to 1300 hrs Conference Cell Chairperson: Prof. V P DuttDiscussants: Prof Madhu Bhalla and Prof Swaran Singh In sharp contrast to its reticence till the 1990s, the past few years have witnessed a notable increase in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) engagement with the international armies.… Continue reading China’s Military Diplomacy: Investigating PLA’s Participation in UN Peace Keeping Operations

Chairperson: Shri P R ChariDiscussants: Dr B M Gandhi and Dr Moushumi Basu The paper describes the existing procedures and systems of international export controls of materials, equipments and technology related to biological weapons. The author states that Export controls “are tools to ensure that trade flows consistently with treaty obligations embodied in the relevant… Continue reading International Procedures and Systems of Export Controls of Materials, Equipments and Technology related to Biological Weapons

Chairperson: Ambassador ShashankDiscussants: Ambassador Rajeev Bhatia and Professor S N Malakar Ms. Beri’s paper focuses on the upcoming referendum that brings forth the complexities of energy politics in Sudan. The referendum is important for both North and South Sudan. The deep historical and commercial ties between Sudan and India mean that the developments in Sudan… Continue reading Sudan in Transition: Implications for India

Chairperson: Shri V K MisraDiscussants: Shri Amit Kumar Singh and Shri Rahul Gangal This paper revolved around two key questions: Why does India need higher FDI in defence industry? And how much the FDI limit should be increased? Highlighting the present FDI policy of India, Mr Behera said that India has allowed FDI up to… Continue reading A case for Increasing FDI CAP up to 100 per cent in India’s Defence Industry

Dr. Panda’s paper treats the rise of multilateralism in the context of the decline of US power. It locates itself in the larger debate on multilateralism and the rise of new powers. In this context, it deals with three central questions: a) Is China taking the lead to formulate a ‘New World Order’? b) What… Continue reading China’s ‘New Multilateralism’ and the Rise of BRIC: Realist Interpretation of a ‘Multi-Polar’ World Order

Chair: Mr. Rana BanerjiDiscussants: Professor Anwar Alam and Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva Presentation The principle theme of the paper is that “the idea of national reconciliation and integration per se as a precursor to much desired stability in Afghanistan, however fragile it may be, cannot be denied”. The main conclusions of the paper are as follows:… Continue reading Is Reintegration and Reconciliation a Way Forward in Afghanistan?

Chair: Prof. V P DuttDiscussant: Prof. Sumit Ganguly and Amb. Suresh Bhutani The paper argued that the role of parliament in Sino-Indian relations can be assessed under following heads: debates on Addresses by President of India to joint sessions of Parliament, ‘demands for grants’, Annual Report of Ministries, motions and resolutions, statements, questions, etc. In… Continue reading Indian Parliament and Sino-Indian Relations

Chairperson: Air Marshall Inamdar Discussants:       External-Prof. Ramakrishnan (JNU)       Internal- Brig (retd) Rumel Dahiya & Ms. Princy Marin George India has huge interests in both Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in terms of securing energy supply, protecting interests of the Indian diaspora, enhancing trade and investment, fighting against piracy and… Continue reading GCC-Iran Rivalry and Challenges for India in the Gulf

Open to all Members; others pl. contact 1030 to 1300 hrs Conference Cell Chairperson: Prof. Sujit Dutta Discussants: Shri A Karnatak & Dr. Bhupendra Kr. Singh

Summary As the title suggests, the paper examines one of the significant aspects of Indian foreign policy which was greatly influenced by Nehru’s ideas on internationalism. The purpose of the paper is to explore how this idea of internationalism evolved during the freedom struggle and made a passage thereon to be a part of independent… Continue reading The Indian Advocacy of Internationalism in the Nehru Years

Col P. K. Gautam (Retd) Research Fellow presented his paper, Chinese Oil and Gas Pipelines and Sea Routes, on 29th October 2010. Dr. Arvind Gupta Chaired the session. Mr. V. Raghuraman and Cdr Agnihotri, IN were external discussants and Miss. Shebonti Ray Dadwal and Cdr. Sarabjeet Parmar, IN were the internal discussants. Highlights from the… Continue reading Chinese Oil and Gas Pipelines and Sea Routes

Chairperson: Shri Rajiv SikriDiscussants: Cdr. (Retd) M. R. Khan and Prof. Gulshan Dietl Mr Mahan Abedin, visiting fellow, introduced his paper by highlighting the significance of studying the foreign policy making process in Iran as it is rising as a regional power. He began by mentioning a note of caution that this academic exercise constituted… Continue reading The Domestic Determinants of Iran’s Foreign Policy: The Illusion of Consensus

Chairperson: Maj Gen (retd) D. Banerjee, AVSM Discussants: Col. Vivek Chadha and Shri Anit Mukherji Ali Ahmed introduced the paper by saying that he is going to bring the practise out of the theory. He assessed the utility of force for India in addressing its Pakistan problem. He explained that India has been a victim… Continue reading The Utility of Force in the India-Pakistan Context

Chairperson: Shri Amiya Kumar GhoshDiscussants: Shri T P Velayudhan and Shri K K Y Mahinderkar The infrastructure development in border areas is very important to bolster troop mobility and logistics supply. Realising the need for creation of a single entity for development of road network in far flung and backward areas of western and eastern… Continue reading Project Management in Border Roads Organisation and related Management Concerns

Chairperson: Ambassador C DasguptaDiscussants: Professor Sujit Dutta and Dr. Srinath Raghavan The presenter identified the more aggressive stance taken recently by China in staking territorial claims over the North Eastern parts of India as the key motivation for undertaking her study. She also expressed her desire to reach out to the people of the region… Continue reading China’s Territorial Claim on Arunachal Pradesh Hostile Intentions and Local Fears

Chairperson: Satish ChandraDiscussants: B. G. Verghese and D.K. Mehta In 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… Continue reading 50 years of Indus Water Treaty: Will it Survive?

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… Continue reading The Institutional Origins and Strategic Determinants of India’s Africa policy

Chairperson: Shri R BanerjiDiscussants: Prof. Kalim Bahadur and Prof. Savita Pande The paper titled “Foreign Policy Trends in Pakistan” concerns itself with the context set by 9/11, though its key objective was to analyse the most recent trends in Pakistan’s Foreign Policy. The central argument of the paper is that there is no consensus within… Continue reading Foreign Policy Trends in Pakistan

Chairperson: Admiral (Retd.) P S DasDiscussants: Cmde Ashok Sawhney and Cdr Shishir Upadhyaya Paper Summary India’s forward presence in the eastern Indian Ocean is enabled by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The location and geography of these Islands impart them with immense strategic importance. The archipelago forms India’s southeast frontier. It is also nearer to… Continue reading Securing Andaman and Nicobar islands

Senior Research Associate Ruchita Beri presented a Fellows Paper on “Emerging Security Scenario in the Western Indian Ocean Region” on Friday, July 2, 2010. Commodore (Retd.) C. Uday Bhaskar chaired the session. The author introduced the subject highlighting the strategic importance of the Western Indian Ocean Region for India. To underscore the importance of the… Continue reading Emerging Strategic Scenario in the Western Indian Ocean Region

Chairperson: Prof. Satish KumarDiscussants: Shri A. K. Verma and Prof. Savita Pande Paper Summary The creation of Pakistan was a unique human-political experiment, in which an effort was made to create an Islamic, but sectarian-secular state in which state and religion were to co-exist side-by-side and the socio-political interaction of its subjects was not to… Continue reading From Islamization to Talibanization: Pakistan’s drift towards ‘Lebanonisation’

Dr. Nihar Nayak began by offering some basic facts about the Madhesi movement. Although there exist a number of versions about what the word ‘Madhes’ stands for, the most popular or accepted version is that it refers to ‘Madhya-desh’, a region between the hills and the plains. Also known as ‘Terai’, Madhes region consists of… Continue reading Madhesi Movement in Nepal: Implications for India

Chairperson: Shri Ajit K DovalExternal Discussants: E N Ram Mohan and J N RoyInternal Discussants: Brig(retd.) Ramel Dahiya and Dr. Smruti S Pattanaik Stating that that they are around 10-20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India, Dr. Anand Kumar emphasized the need to understand the security aspects of illegal migration. The 9/11 Commission report points… Continue reading Illegal Bangladeshi Migration to India: Impact on Internal Security

Chair: Dr. Thomas MathewExternal Discussants: Ambassador S. K. Bhutani and Brig. (Retd.) Gurmeet KanwalInternal Discussants: Prof. P. Stobdan and Brig. Raj Shukla At the very outset of his presentation, Dr. Kalyanaraman argued that like any other nation state, the primary task of India’s security policy has been the structuring of an international environment conducive for… Continue reading India’s Security Policy in the Post-Cold War Era

Chairperson: Brig. (Retd.) Rumel Dahiya, SMDiscussants: J N Roy and W ChandrakanthInternal Discussants: Dr. Rajiv Nayan and Dr. Nihar Nayak According to Dr. P.V. Ramana, in order to succeed in its revolutionary agenda of the armed overthrow of the state, a Communist group requires three magic weapons – strong Party, strong Army and United Front.… Continue reading Maoist Mass Organisations and Mass Movement

Chairperson: Prof. V. P. DuttExternal Discussants: Amb. Rajiv Sikri & Amb. T.C.A. RangachariInternal Discussants: Brig. (Retd.) Rumel Dahiya and Dr. Shamshad Ahmed Khan Dr. Rajaram Panda presented his paper titled India and Japan: Exploring Strategic Potentials on Friday, April 16, 2010. The paper’s main focus was on maritime cooperation between India and Japan and more… Continue reading India and Japan: Exploring Strategic Potentials

Chair: Prof. Amitabh MattooExternal Discussants: Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Hari Prasad and Dr. Suba ChandranInternal Discussants: Dr. Namrata Goswami and Col. (Retd.) Ali Ahmed Dr. Arpita Anant’s paper notes that traditionally the Army defends the borders and, whenever called in, helps in counter-insurgency operations and provides aid to the victims of calamities. However, in Jammu and… Continue reading Transformation of Conflict: An Analysis of “Op Sadbhavana” in Jammu and Kashmir

Dr. Cherian Samuel notes that cyber security is a significant domain for policy makers in India to formulate a hands-on approach, as there is clear evidence over the past decade of an increase of cyber threats worldwide. In his paper, he searches for scope for cooperation between India and the United States in the area… Continue reading Prospects for India-US Cyber-Security Cooperation

In his paper “The Obama Doctrine: Deciphering Obama’s Nuclear Policy and What it bodes for India,” A. Vinod Kumar examined President Obama’s nuclear policies and critically assessed its implications for India. By addressing Obama’s “nuclear policy” as Obama’s “nuclear doctrine”, the paper attempted to show how America’s nuclear policies achieve a consistent doctrinal character even… Continue reading The Obama Doctrine: Deciphering Obama’s Nuclear Policy and What it bodes for India

Ms. Shebonti Ray Dadwal, Research Fellow, presented her paper titled “Energy Related Border Trade Measures: Can it lead to trade war?” on 12 March 2010. Dr. Arvind Gupta chaired the session. Dr. Nityananda and Prof. V.G. Hegde were external discussants. Col. P.K. Gautam and Dr. Uttam Sinha were internal discussants. Shebonti Ray Dadwal highlighted the… Continue reading Energy Related Border Adjustment Measures: Will it Lead to Trade War?

Chairperson: Ashok MehataDiscussants: Arun Sahgal and N.P. SinghInternal Discussants: Rumel Dahiya and S. Kalayanaraman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok Mehta stated at the very outset that India fought its last conventional war in 1971. Since then, it has been fighting only sub-conventional wars. However, the real spurt to sub-conventional wars that India has been fighting came… Continue reading Sustaining Motivation in Sub-Conventional Warfare

Colonel Deepak Sharma treated the subject from the larger point of view of national security. He argued that space assets constitute a sub-set in the broader structure of national security, and highlighted the important role they play in military defence. According to him, imagery, navigation, signals intelligence, telecommunication, early warning and meteorology are the key… Continue reading Space Assets and India’s Capability (Specific to Satellite Communication for Defence Forces up to 2020 and Beyond)

Chairperson: Dr. Arvind GuptaDiscussants: Alok Bansal and General Barmer Dr. Sreeradha Datta, notes that Bangladesh’s maritime boundary dispute with India and Myanmar is becoming increasingly salient in their bilateral relations. It is only in recent years that the issue has gained prominence fraying relations. The un-demarcated nature of the maritime boundary line is the source… Continue reading Navigating Through Troubled Waters: Bangladesh’s Experience with India and Myanmar

Chairperson: Ramesh V. PhadkeDiscussants: Srikant Kondapalli and P. K. Ghosh The research objective of this paper is to develop and explore a broader range of plausible scenarios for East Asia in 2030 for flexible policy planning and strategic thinking. According to Ishida, the paper does not make any predictions but provides alternative possibilities. For this… Continue reading Mapping East Asian Futures 2030

During the Cold War, there was a complete focus on the military competition because these two things projected as power and increase security of the states. Given the evolving nature of conflict however, this no longer holds true. New “soft” threats pose bigger hazards to human beings today. There has been a need to redefine… Continue reading Indo-Africa Narcotics Ties

The paper presenter’s aim was to create a new discourse that treats Tibet as a regional, if not a global, commons that has wide-ranging implications for all of South Asia from being a source of many important rivers to controlling the Monsoons. Such a discourse that highlights Tibet as being crucial for a wider humanity… Continue reading Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Tibet and Implications for South Asian Security

Chair: Dr. Rajaram PandaExternal Discussants: Dr. P.K. Ghosh Senior Fellow, CAPS and Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra, JNU Presentation The paper’s core question “What factors influence why states make the decision to import advanced weapon systems or to develop them indigenously?” Both India and Japan had similar threat perceptions owing to similar kind of neighbourhood situation. The… Continue reading To Develop or not to Develop?: The Political Dimension of BMD Procurement in Japan and India

Amb. Rajagopalan chaired the session while Mr. Mukul Sanwal and Mr. V. Raghuraman were external discussants and Avinash Godbole and Antoine Levesques were internal discussants. Dr. Uttam Sinha highlighted the core points of the present state of the global Climate Change debate. Developed and developing countries have contrasting priorities about climate change and development. Therefore,… Continue reading Copenhagen Summit: Climate Change Debate

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chairperson: Saeed NaqviDiscussants: Gulshan Dietl and Anwar Alam The uneasy relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran is one of the main reasons for the continuing conflict in the Persian Gulf region. Iran has difficult relations with both the GCC and its individual members. With the… Continue reading GCC – Iran Relations and its Strategic Implications for the Region

Chairperson: Aditya SinghDiscussants: R. Dahiya and Gaurav Kampani Aim and Scope Implications of Pakistani nuclear use for India’s nuclear and conventional doctrine. This paper revisits the ‘Sundarji doctrine’ to assess its suitability for limitation and termination of nuclear war. In a nutshell, the ‘Sundarji doctrine’ calls for termination of a nuclear war at the lowest… Continue reading Limitation in Nuclear War: Doctrinal Implication for India of Pakistani Nuclear Use

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: N S Sisodia Discussants: Shishir Upadhyaya and Vijay Sakhuja

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: K C SinghDiscussants: Ravi Sawhney and B R Muthukuma This paper is an attempt to assess options before India as insecurity and political uncertainty returns to Afghanistan. The author argues that with the re-emergence of the Taliban, some of the old issues that haunted Indian foreign policy… Continue reading The Afghan Maze and India’s Options

Chair: Vinod Kumar MisraDiscussants: V. K Chopra and G Balachandran The aim of this paper is to analyse the reasons behind the poor performance of the ordnance factories (OFs) and recommend measures to revitalize them. To achieve this, the author, Laxman Kumar Behera, identifies six core areas pertaining to OFs. After identifying the problems in… Continue reading Revitalising the Ordnance Factories

Chair: Shantanu ChowdhuryDiscussants: Gulshan Sachdeva and Peter Garretson The paper attempts to analyse the role of European Union in the Afghan-Pak region. Strategy in Af-Pak region has been widely debated since the U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan on March 27, 2009. European Union is a significant player in… Continue reading Evaluating EU’s role in the Af-Pak Region

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Rajiv SikriDiscussants: Srikanth Kondapalli and Rajeswari Rajagopalan The objective of this is paper is to understand the China’s strategic perception of India. To do so the author Manjeet S Pardesi divides the paper in two broad sections. In first he analyses the validity of the arguments of… Continue reading Understanding Chinese Perceptions of India

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Rajaram PandaDiscussants: J Madan Mohan and Sitakanta Mishra The tremendous transformation in the strategic and security environment of Japan in the last decade has once again influenced the nuclearization debate in the country. North Korea’s second nuclear test followed by the launch of three short-range missiles on… Continue reading Will Japan go Nuclear?

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Rajaram PandaDiscussants: J N Roy and K Srinivasan The paper analyzes the ongoing insurgency in the North East and argues that the nature of insurgency in the region is changing due to the alliance between Islamist terror and local insurgent groups. Indian insurgent groups seem to be… Continue reading Changing Nature of Insurgency in Northeast and Role of Bangladesh

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Arvind GuptaDiscussants: Subodh Malakar and Patrick Hoenig During the last one year Somalia has captured global attention, due to the surge in piracy off the Somali coast. Piracy off the Somali coast has had a severe commercial, global and regional impact. The piracy and the resultant dangers… Continue reading Piracy in Somalia: Need to Address the Root Cause

Chair: Brahma ChellaneyDiscussants: R R Subramanian and Sitakanta Mishra The main focus of this paper is the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and for this purpose the secrecy of nuclear weapons is the most important aspect. However Clary presumes that even the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan may not have knowledge about Pakistan’s nuclear… Continue reading Thinking about Pakistan’s Nuclear Security in Peacetime, Crisis and War

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Amb. Arjun AsraniDiscussants: Dr. Vijay Sakhuja and Dr. Chintamani Mahapatra In recent years, piracy and terrorism on high seas are posing serious threats to international security and economic development. With increasing interdependence, the use of sea route for transportation has become vital. In this paper, Dr. Panda… Continue reading Piracy, Maritime Terror and Policy Response

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: A K DovalDiscussants: J N Roy and G D Bakshi A Communist party, according to classical understanding, requires ‘three magic weapons’ to achieve its goal of capturing political power. These are: Party, i.e. a strong organisation; Army, i.e. a body of fighters; and United Front, i.e. alliances… Continue reading Maoists’ Tactical United Front (TUF) and Urban Movement

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Kalim BahadurDiscussants: Ashok Behuria and Anwar Alam Pakistan has witnessed a significant shift in the politics of religion. Islam in the initial years after the creation of Pakistan was confined to constructing a national identity by defining the role of the state on religious grounds. However, the… Continue reading ‘New’ Radicals and ‘Old’ Islamists: Understanding the Politics of Religious Radicalization in Pakistan and its Implications

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Santosh KumarDiscussants: G Balachandran and Jayshree Sengupta The objective of this paper is to analyse the economic relations between India and United States. Dr. Samuel advocates taking a strategic approach to current economic relations between the two countries. This approach is necessary because of somewhat unique nature… Continue reading Locating Priorities in India-US Strategic Economic Engagement

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Arun BhagatDiscussants: S Y Thapliyal and Bibhu Prasad Routray In India, the word terrorism came to be officially used for the first time in 1984 to characterise the violence in Punjab. This followed the enactment of the Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act of 1984, the impulse… Continue reading A new wave of Terrorism in India

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: S K BhutaniDiscussants: Arun Sahgal and M. V. Rappai Since China underwent a series of reforms back in the 1970s, the world has been witnessing sporadic symptoms of its widening presence in South Asia, particularly in the contexts of India and Pakistan. It is more so in… Continue reading Dragon’s Digital Eyes beyond the Himalayas: Online Chinese Nationalism towards Pakistan And India

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: K Raghunath Discussants: Divyabh Manchanda, Arun Sahgal and Arun Mohanty The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) represents a major development in the strategic landscape of the Central Asian region. The inclusion of India, Iran and Pakistan as observer states in the SCO mechanism suggests that it is gradually… Continue reading The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Afghanistan

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: Rajaram PandaDiscussants: Vijay Sakhuja The paper discusses the overall coastal security arrangement in Maharashtra. The first part of the paper deals with the evolution of the coastal security mechanism in the state. Section two evaluates the deficiencies, inadequacies and shortcomings in this mechanism. An assessment of the… Continue reading Coastal Security Arrangement in Maharashtra: An Assessment

Only by Invitation 1030 to 1300 hrs Chair: M. S Chowdhury Discussants: Rahul Bhonsle and Chandar S Sundaram “Trends in thinking about warfare” presented at the IDSA Fellow Seminar on 08 May, 2009 at IDSA New Delhi by Col. PK Gautam( Retd) was well received and critically reviewed by external discussant and internal peer discussants.… Continue reading Trends in Thinking about Warfare

India and Pakistan were again on the verge of a military confrontation following revelation of Pakistan’s complicity in the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008. Pakistan reluctance to act against its perpetrators had forced India to plan punitive responses against terror camps, prompting Pakistan to project a capability to repulse an Indian attack. After weeks… Continue reading Low Intensity Conflict under Nuclear Conditions: Analysing the India-Pakistan Theatre

Chair: B S MalikDiscussants: V Raghuraman and Sanjay Verma Though the case for incorporating renewable energy into national energy policies has been around for decades, the growing debate on climate change has enhanced the profile and brought the issue of renewable energy to the forefront as a means of tackling global warming. However, more than… Continue reading Can Renewables Enhance Energy Security?

Chair: R RajagopalanDiscussants: Luther Rangreji and Purnamita Dasgupta Climate change has the potential to create conditions for changing foreign policy in a globalised world. It dares to test whether the established tenets of foreign policy are still valid. Climate change has entered the realm of negotiations. National action plans, globally binding commitments, leadership and historical… Continue reading Climate Change and Foreign Policy: The UK Approach

Chair: C Uday BhaskarDiscussants: Kalim Bahadur and Siddharth Varadarajan In 1947 Swat was a princely state that was ruled by Miangul Abdul Haq Jehanzeb, the Wali of Swat, who was a progressive ruler and built a number of educational institutions, hospitals, roads and infrastructure. The state acceded to Pakistan in 1947, but retained its identity… Continue reading Accomodation with Militants in Swat: Implications For Regional Security

Chair: Vinod PatneyDiscussants: R. K. Pruthi and Rahul K Bhonsle The paper argued that the futuristic battlefield is going to depend substantially on deployment of standoff weapons and virtual technology. Robotic technology is likely to play a major role. Presently, military robots are essentially used as UAVs or for landmine and explosive search. A few… Continue reading Military Robots

Chair: Kanwal SibalDiscussants: K. C. Singh and Christopher S Raj The presentation of Professor Steven Hoffman began by examining the question “Is diplomatic style important and what impact does it have as far as Indo-US diplomatic negotiations are concerned? Professor Hoffman began by noting that diplomatic style is important enough to deserve careful attention. During… Continue reading The Indo-US Relationship: Is Diplomatic Style Important?

Chair: Prakash SinghDiscussants: G. D. Bakshi and Arun Sahgal In her presentation titled ‘A Scenario-Building Method on India’s North East’, Dr. Namrata Goswami projected the vision of a peaceful and prosperous North East India by 2015. Identifying terrorism, left-wing extremism and insurgencies as the three great internal security threats of India, she repeated Manmohan Singh’s… Continue reading A Scenario-Building Method on India’s North East: Time Horizon 2015

Chair: Rajiv SikriDiscussants: Arun Sahgal and K. P. Vijayalakshmi The debate on strategic autonomy makes a conceptual contribution about how India as an emerging power seeks to forge a partnership with the United States. The Indian imperative is to keep a sufficient degree of autonomy in its security and military relationship with the United States.… Continue reading India’s Strategic Autonomy Dilemma and the Rapprochement with the United States

Chair: V. K. MisraDiscussants: Amit Cowshish and Sujeet Samaddar India’s security comes with a huge price tag. In 2009-10, the defence budget reached Rs. 1,41,703 crores, representing nearly one-seventh of total central government expenditure and 2.35 per cent of the gross domestic product. Such a huge financial outlay raises questions as to how funds are… Continue reading Rationale for Performance Oriented Defence Budgeting

Chair: Arvind GuptaDiscussants: Anuradha Reddy and Sunil Kumar After the Cold War, India’s foreign relations have become multi-directional and diversified. Growing realisation that international defence cooperation can supplement diplomatic initiatives towards issues of common interests is increasingly being acknowledged the world over. New geo-strategic realities necessitate improvement of relations with the major powers, such as… Continue reading Benefits of India’s Defence Cooperation Initiatives towards the Foreign Policy Goals

Chair: G. BalachandranDiscussants: Shakti Sinha, K. C. Singh and Rahul Bhonsle Afghanistan today appears to be teetering on the brink of failure and unending chaos. Despite the military endeavour by the United States (US) and its allies, under Operation Enduring Freedom for the last eight years, violence in 2008 increased by 40 per cent over… Continue reading US Counter Insurgency Approach in Afghanistan Under Obama Administration: Does It Portend ‘Change’?

Chair: V.G PatankarDiscussants: Kalim Bahadur and Ajay D Behera Pakistan’s self image, geographical location and history have influenced the country’s strategic thinking. In the initial years, Pakistan perceived itself to be a weak state and believed that India posed an existential threat to its security. However, Islamabad’s thinking evolved over a period of time through… Continue reading Pakistan’s Strategic Thinking

Chair: Sudhir DevareDiscussants: Baladas Ghoshal and C. S. Kuppuswamy The major argument of the paper was that the government’s stance with regard to constraining religious assertion in Malaysia has been biased against non-Muslims. The government and society are carefully balancing their economic and religious interests, so that the situation does not get worse. The internal… Continue reading Religious Assertion in Malaysia

Chair: Hari PrasadDiscussants: Arun Sahgal and Manpreet Sethi Strategic doctrine is taken here to be implemented by a combine of war fighting land, air, naval and joint doctrines in conjunction with nuclear doctrine. While with respect to China, India has a doctrine of ‘dissuasive deterrence’, it is contended in this paper that with respect to… Continue reading Rethinking Strategic Doctrine in the Indo-Pak Context

Chair: Arvind GuptaDiscussants: Bhaskar Roy and Sanjay Bharadwaj “Terror Financing in Bangladesh” by Dr. Anand Kumar outlined key factors that contribute to terror financing in Bangladesh. Dr. Kumar’s primary argument was that sustenance and maintenance of terror organizations is often built on the edifice of a strong financial base and that terror cannot make much… Continue reading Terror Financing in Bangladesh

Chair: P. StobdanDiscussants: Ashok Mehta and Sangeeta Thapliyal The paper, An Exploratory Framework for India’s Relationship with New Nepal, was presented by Dr. Nihar Nayak. Professor P. Stobdan was the Chair. Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok Mehta and Prof. Sangeeta Thapliyal were the external discussants; and Dr Smruti Pattanaik and Dr. Pushpita Das were the internal… Continue reading An Exploratory Framework for India’s relationship with ‘New Nepal’

Chair: Ved MarwahDiscussants: G. D. Bakshi and K. M. Madhusudhanan Various case studies of Naxalite-related incidents have revealed that one of the prime reasons for recurring security forces casualties has been the inadequacy in training imparted to them. While the Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) have well developed integral infrastructure and resources for training, the police… Continue reading Spreading Tentacles of Left-Wing Extremism: Are we Failing in Police Training: A case study of Chhattisgarh

Chair: Arvind GuptaDiscussants: Ravi Sawhney and Rahul K Bhonsle Since 1951, China had fueled massive economic investment in Tibet. In recent decades, infrastructure assumed the salience in China’s Tibet strategy, especially under its ‘Go West’ policy, launched by Jiang Zemin in 2000. The stated goal was to usher Tibet into an era of modernity and… Continue reading Tibet: Connectivity, Capabilities and Consequences