Central Asia

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  • India and Mongolia: Modi on Ashoka’s Path

    India and Mongolia: Modi on Ashoka’s Path

    Nehru fought for Mongolia’s status at the United Nation. Today, Modi’s India has greater economic strength to nurture the relationship with Mongolia.

    May 13, 2015

    Manoj Kumar: What have been the achievements of India's ‘Connect Central Asia’ policy so far, and what are its future prospects?

    Meena Singh Roy replies: India’s ‘Connect Central Asia’ policy is an attempt to augment India’s renewed linkages with the entire Eurasian region. Its various facets include enhancing India’s engagement in economic, political and strategic fields, in education, connectivity and in the areas of culture and people-to-people contact. Since the policy was announced just two years ago in 2012, it is too early to expect much in such a short time. However, there are some initiatives which are in the pipeline and some achievements as well. As part of policy implementation, following developments may be noted:

    Central Asia: Democracy, Instability and Strategic Game in Kyrgyzstan

    Central Asia: Democracy, Instability and Strategic Game in Kyrgyzstan
    • Publisher: Pentagon Press
      2014

    Central Asia remains both stable and unpredictable after 20 years of its reemergence. The states here continue to undergo complex nation-building process, which is far from complete. The book is an attempt to provide an overview of political and strategic processes at work in the region by taking the case of Kyrgyzstan – tracing the events erupted since 2005 and more after 2010.

    • ISBN 978-81-8274-752-4,
    • Price: ₹. 995/-
    • E-copy available
    2014

    India and Central Asia: Need for a Pro-active Approach

    India and Central Asia: Need for a Pro-active Approach

    India has traditionally attached great importance to its relations with Central Asia. But, unfortunately, the relationship faces several constraints including the lack of direct access to Central Asia; the unstable situation in Afghanistan and a problematic India-Pakistan relation.

    October 14, 2013

    Manu Dev Jain asked: What is the importance of each of the five Central Asian countries for India?

    Rajorshi Roy replies: India and Central Asian Republics (CARs) - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - share deep civilisational ties. However, the importance of Central Asia for India is not merely cultural and historical. Being at the centre of the vast Eurasian land mass, one can always refer to Mackinder’s ‘Heartland Theory’ that dwelt upon the geopolitical importance of the Eurasian heartland, bounded by Volga in the west and Yangtze River in the east, and the Himalayas in the south and the Arctic Ocean in the north.

    Iran: India's Gateway to Central Asia

    Most of the discourses on India–Iran relations are either focused on cultural and civilisational links with Iran or its relevance as an energy-rich nation. Its transit potential in providing India with access to Central Asia has not received adequate attention.

    November 2012

    Mayank asked: What is the geo-strategic significance of Central Asian region for India?

    Meena Singh Roy replies: The geo-strategic significance of the Central Asian region for India needs to be viewed in the following context:

    Strategic location of the region - Countries of this region share borders with China, Afghanistan, Russia and Iran. Tajikistan is located in proximity to the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This region is seen as a Eurasian bridge, connecting countries of Asia to Europe.

    New regional security dynamics - Developments which are still unfolding in and around Central Asia, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the proposed withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan by 2014 and its regional implications; and the increasing problem of drug trafficking in the region. All these developments have direct security implications for India.

    India’s growing energy demands and its energy security policy.

    India’s new Connect Central Asia policy and its effort to enhance economic cooperation with all the Central Asian republics.

    Securing Central Asian Frontiers: Institutionalisation of Borders and Inter-state Relations

    This article develops the message that the artificially introduced administrative borders during the Soviet era, which were subject to the processes of re-delimitation after 1991, whether for reasons of security, administration, mutual distrust or the population's ethnic attachment, have become results and means of political manipulation and pressurisation. This has resulted in further pushing regional states to follow mutually exclusive policies.

    July 2012

    Harsha AH asked: What is the significance of Central Asian countries for India?

    Meena Singh Roy replies: Today, the importance of Central Asia for India is not merely civilisational and historical; it goes much beyond this. Central Asia serves as a land bridge between Asia and Europe, and is rich in natural resources. It is thus geopolitically axial and economically offers whole range of opportunities. Both India and Central Asian Republics (CARs) share many commonalities and perceptions on various regional and world issues. There is enormous scope for pragmatic and profitable engagement between the two. The importance of CARs also lies in ensuring peace and stability in the region. However, India’s major limitation in this strategically important region is geographic non-accessibility. India does not share border with the CARs.

    The United States in Central Asia: Reassessing a Challenging Partnership

    This article focuses on the evolving place of the US in the Central Asian arena, analysing how US interests have changed in this region since the 1990s. It studies how strategic relations were transformed around the NATO Partnership for Peace, the growing cooperation in the Caspian Sea, and the building of a regional security architecture surrounding Afghanistan. It also analyses Washington's difficulties in promoting 'civil society' and the limits of the US economic engagement in the region.

    May 2011

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