With the discovery of substantial gas in Myanmar's Sittwe region in the Rakhine state, India was keen to acquire gas from some of the new finds in the Shwe gas field, divided in several blocks, of which A-1 and A-2 blocks were closer to India and also estimated to have the best recoverable reserves. Given the geographical location, overland pipelines transiting through Bangladesh are the most cost-effective way of getting gas from Myanmar to India. Despite its initial enthusiasm, Bangladesh backtracked from its earlier willingness to be a partner to the tripartite pipeline.

• Sreeradha Datta
• January 2008
• Strategic Analysis

The Taliban are proving to be increasingly irrepressible. They seem to be adapting, faster than expected, to the challenges confronting them. Although in terms of weaponry they cannot match the vastly superior Western forces, in terms of propaganda, psyops and operational reach they are proving to be a force to reckon with. In retrospect one can say that the Taliban made good use of the time made available to them by the United States when it shifted its focus towards Iraq in late 2002.

• Vishal Chandra
• January 2008
• Strategic Analysis

King Gyanendra's takeover of absolute political power in February 2005 paved the way for the Maoists of Nepal and the political parties to fight together for democracy. In signing the 12-point agreement with the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the Maoists even changed their strategy from a revolutionary agenda to a democratic one. The paper argues that the Maoist departure from the classical resistance model to the path of negotiation was tactical, to overcome the constraints on their way forward.

• Nihar R. Nayak
• November 2007
• Strategic Analysis

The Tamil minority in Sri Lanka have traditionally exerted a sympathetic pull on their co-ethnics in Tamil Nadu. This has inevitably influenced India's policy towards Sri Lanka. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 changed this pattern and the popular sympathy for Tamil militancy ebbed considerably in its aftermath.

• M. Mayilvaganan
• November 2007
• Strategic Analysis

The rise of a militant Islamist group calling itself Pakistani Taliban has drawn wider international attention in recent years. It has appeared as a serious internal security threat for the Pakistani state and as an external challenge for the Afghan government facing a resurgent Taliban in southern Afghanistan. This article seeks to trace the evolution of 'Pakistani Taliban' and to isolate and analyse its ideological moorings and its political aspirations.

• Ashok K. Behuria
• September 2007
• Strategic Analysis

• Shanthie Mariet D’Souza
• September 2007
• Strategic Analysis

• Jason Miklian , Ingvill Håkås Tveite
• September 2007
• Strategic Analysis

• Alyson J. K. Bailes
• July 2007
• Strategic Analysis

It is now generally accepted that energy security could be significantly enhanced through sustained cross-border exchanges in many regions. In South Asia, however, regional energy security cooperation has seriously remained entangled in geopolitics. The possibility of overexploitation of natural resources such as coal, natural gas and oil reserves and the low level of political confidence in sharing hydro resources have placed serious obstacles to enhancing the level of energy security in the region.

• Mahendra P. Lama
• March 2007
• Strategic Analysis

For decades, the dominant sense in the foreign policy establishment of India was that neither the Kashmir question nor the boundary dispute with China was ripe for resolution. Yet, in defiance of this received wisdom, two very different political coalitions have opened and sustained substantive negotiations on Jammu and Kashmir and the boundary dispute with China. Forward movement in both negotiations has also been premised on opening the closed frontiers with China and Pakistan.

• C. Raja Mohan
• January 2007
• Strategic Analysis

It was almost certain that the United National Front for Good Governance coalition would outperform the United People’s Freedom Alliance in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.

• Gulbin Sultana , Ashok K. Behuria
• September 04, 2015
• Issue Brief

It was not in Pakistan’s interest that the NSA meeting should take place. It is to their credit that they managed to do that by waving a red flag at the Indians through their first briefing on the planned NSA talks by mentioning their invitation to the Hurriyat leaders for a meeting in Delhi prior to the NSA talks.

• G. Balachandran
• August 28, 2015
• IDSA Comments

Chinese stakes in Gilgit Baltistan could propel Pakistan to introduce a stop gap provincial arrangement that would contain popular resistance, promote greater stability, and deflate India’s objections to CPEC.

• Priyanka Singh
• August 27, 2015
• IDSA Comments

For the people of Sri Lanka the choice is clear – between de-democratisation represented by Rajapakse and his supporters, and democratisation represented by Sirisena and his political allies.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• July 28, 2015
• Issue Brief

The new equation is that the Americans nudge India, the Chinese press Pakistan, and together they try to ensure that things don’t go out of control in South Asia.

• Sushant Sareen
• July 20, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The BBIN-MVA would enable seamless sub-regional connectivity, deeper integration on economic issues and people-to-people contact between the four counties.

• Nihar R. Nayak
• June 19, 2015
• IDSA Comments

While heralding a new era in building regional connectivity, the Modi government has taken what was a warm relationship with Bangladesh to a new high.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• June 11, 2015
• IDSA Comments

Nepal claims that the Lipu-Lekh Pass, which was mentioned in the India-China joint statement of May 15, 2015, is a disputed tri-junction in which Nepal has an equal share.

• Nihar R. Nayak
• June 09, 2015
• IDSA Comments

In spite of the existence since October 2006 of a SAARC Disaster Management Centre, the Nepal earthquake brought to the fore the difficulties faced by this organization and its failure to rise to the occasion.

• Nihar R. Nayak
• June 02, 2015
• IDSA Comments

In the true spirit of a democracy, Modi should reach out to leaders of all major political parties in Bangladesh and convince them of India’s intention to work as a partner in progress and development.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• May 29, 2015
• IDSA Comments