South Asia
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    • About Centre

    South Asia is one of the main areas of research focus at IDSA. The region has been going through a period of turmoil over the last few years. Definitive steps have been taken in the recent past towards the establishment of democratic governments in the region. Given the importance of developments in the region for Indian security, experts at IDSA keenly watch and analyse unfolding developments in each South Asian country.

    Two projects that are currently under progress are ‘Developments in Pakistan’ and ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’. In addition, individual scholars are engaged in researching various security related aspects pertaining to South Asian countries. The Centre has established bilateral institutional relations with leading think tanks in the region and proposes to undertake joint studies.

    Minutes of South Asia Centre Meetings

    Members

    China-Pakistan Ties and Kashmir: History and Geopolitics

    China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the multi-billion dollar flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought the Sino-Pakistan partnership at the centre stage of contemporary strategic discourse.

    Priyanka Singh
    2022

    Bangladesh and Its Security Relationship with External Powers

    • Publisher: KW Publishers
      2021
    A state’s security is heavily dependent upon its geopolitical environment. The geopolitical setting of South Asia changed in 1971 with the birth of Bangladesh as a new, independent nation. India already faces a hostile neighbour on its western border. In the north, China is a major threat. In this geopolitical setting the kind of relationship India has developed with Bangladesh becomes important.

    The military coup of August 1975 in Bangladesh marked a major shift in the way the country perceived its foreign and defence policies. India, its supporter in the liberation war, was now presented as the main threat to national security. A country’s defence policy and defence-related procurements depend on the threat perception of that country. Bangladesh, despite being a poor country, has tried to acquire significant defence capability mainly due to its perceived sense of insecurity and to some extent to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Some of the steps taken by Bangladesh purportedly to enhance its own security have meant that the security environment in the region has actually deteriorated. In this context Bangladesh’s security relationship with other major powers has significant implications for Indian security, and the book tries to throw light on it.

    • ISBN: 978 93 91490 15 7 ,
    • Price: ₹. 980/-
    • E-copy available
    Anand Kumar
    2021

    Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan: Origin, Evolution and Future Portents

    • Publisher: KW Publishers
      2021
    This volume is a result of an abiding interest in the phenomenon of radical Islamist terror that haunts Pakistan today. The research questions that it seeks to answer are: Why do the tribal areas remain a problem for rulers and administrators throughout history? How and why did radical Islam embed itself in the terrain?

    Was it influenced by the overall emphasis on Islam in Pakistani state politics? What is the role of history and politics in fuelling religious passions in the area? What has led to the survival of TTP despite humongous efforts of the Pakistan Army to decimate it? What are the future portents of such a movement? What impact is it likely to have on Pakistani society and politics?

    The volume makes an attempt to understand the context in which Pakistani Taliban or TTP, as it is called now, came into being, the enabling factors that made the growth of TTP possible, the formation and growth of TTP as a militant organisation, its leadership and its activities over the years, its ideological orientation and its worldview, its aims and objectives, its relationship with other militant groups in and outside Pakistan and the efforts of the Pakistani establishment to come to terms with such a phenomenon. There is an attempt to analyse the process and study its implications for Pakistan and the region.

    • ISBN: 978-93-91490-02-7 ,
    • Price: ₹. 880/-
    • E-copy available
    Ashok K. Behuria
    2021

    Political Changes in Nepal and Bhutan: Emerging Trends in Foreign Policy in Post 2008 Period

    The two Himalayan states—Nepal and Bhutan—adopted a new political system in 2008. Nepal upgraded the existing multiparty system by excluding the monarchy. Therefore, Nepal had Constituent Assembly elections in May 2008.

    Nihar R. Nayak
    2021

    Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Politics, Parties and Personalities

    • Publisher: Pentagon Press
      2019
    This book is a rersult of research undertaken on the subject by the scholars associated with the IDSA project on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) - also known as Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) - Which includes both the so-called "Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)" and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), was legally a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kahmir, which acceded to India in October 1947. The authors of this book seek to provide a critical analysis of the politics of the above mentioned two regions within PoK; throw light on the genesis and evolution of various political parties and interest groups, and acquaint the readers with different pesonalities playing important role in politics therein. The main aim of the publication is to help the scholars, analysts, and policy-makers to understand the dynamics of the political systems in PoK, the complex interaction of these systems with the government in Islamabad and the responses of the local leadership to Pakistan's strateghy of keeping them under strict control in the name of representative governance over the last 70 years.
    • ISBN: 978-93-86618-67-2,
    • Price: ₹.1495/-
    • E-copy available
    Surinder Kumar Sharma, Yaqoob-ul-Hassan and Ashok K. Behuria
    2019

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    Bangladeshi Women in UN Peacekeeping: A Case Study

    The United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPK) have been evolving continuously and Bangladesh as a country has been playing an important role in it. The country wants to remain a dominant contributor to UNPK even in future as the participation brings several advantages in military, diplomatic, economic and social arena. Meanwhile, it has also been realised that to make the UNPK more effective, women have to play an important role as there are certain functions which women can perform better.

    Anand Kumar
    July-September 2022

    Decoding Pakistan’s Cartographic Aggression Against India

    Territorial disputes between India and Pakistan got a new dimension with the release of a new political map by the latter on 4 August 2020, apparently in response to India’s move to administratively reorganize the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Widely described as ‘cartographic aggression’ against India, the new map lays claim over many parts of India. The article traces the historicity of map-making as a nation-building project for Pakistan and seeks to decipher the strategic objectives behind this move.

    Swati Sucharita Nanda and Sarfaraz Alam
    January 2022

    Speech of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi at a Public Rally in Dacca, 17 March 1972

    “My heart overflows as I come to your beautiful country and to this historic ground. For many years, we had all heard of the beauty of Bangladesh. For many years, we had known about the agony you have suffered, and especially the fierce atrocities of last year. The story of your journey through darkness has moved the hearts of people and brought tears to the eyes wherever people value the human spirit.

    Indira Gandhi
    November 2021

    We Don’t Know Defeat

    “At first, I remember the students, the labourers, the peasants, the intellectuals, the soldiers, the police, the people, the Hindus and the Muslims of my Bangladesh who were killed. I, wishing for their souls and paying tribute to them, would like to say a few words to you.

    Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
    November 2021

    Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971

    The Indian subcontinent marked 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak War or the Bangladesh liberation war: on 16 December 2021. While this event was commemorated in India and Bangladesh, it is a time for introspection for Pakistan.

    Vivek Chadha
    November 2021

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    Political Turmoil in Pakistan Raises More Questions Than Answers

    Pakistan’s political culture has become not conducive for democratic politics, at a time when the country is faced with the possibility of economic default and increasing attacks of insurgent groups from within.

    Ashok K. Behuria
    May 22, 2023

    पाकिस्तान में गहराते राजनीतिक संकट के बीच बढ़ता सांस्थानिक टकराव

    पाकिस्तान में जारी राजनीतिक संकट एवं सांस्थानिक टकराव उसे अस्थिरता और हिंसा के एक नए दौर में ले जा रहे हैं जहाँ से वापस आना काफी चुनौती भरा होगा|

    Ashish Shukla
    May 19, 2023

    TTP’s Political Violence and Jihad

    The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims that the Pakistani state does not practice true Islam and therefore it can wage a legitimate Jihad against it.

    Nazir Ahmad Mir
    February 14, 2023

    Emerging Fault Lines between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban

    Given the ideological convergence the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has with the Taliban, the latter may not be able or willing to fulfil Pakistan’s demand that its activities be curbed.

    Nazir Ahmad Mir
    December 09, 2022

    Prioritising Connectivity: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Visit to India

    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit underlines the fact that India and Bangladesh are successfully leveraging their geographical location to advance mutually beneficial economic ties.

    Smruti S. Pattanaik
    October 14, 2022

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