India’s Neighbourhood: Challenges and Opportunities

Shalini Chawla (Ed.)

India’s neighbourhood has witnessed crucial developments in the last decade: complex security challenges, looming economic crises, socio-political unrest, border clashes, China’s expanding engagement, India’s rising profile, and the COVID-19 pandemic. For New Delhi to promote its national interests and drive the momentum of its growth trajectory, stability in its neighbourhood is indeed important. As a global player, India is increasingly looking to partner and extend cooperation in the growth of its neighbourhood. Over the last eight years, India has advocated the “Neighbourhood First” policy which ‘focuses on creating mutually beneficial, people-oriented, regional frameworks for stability and prosperity’. India’s neighbourhood presents complex dynamics, and the challenges demand attention and serious consideration in its policy options. The versatile neighbourhood also offers opportunities for India to extend cooperation at the regional level and address common strategic, economic, social and security concerns. India’s Neighbourhood: Challenges and Opportunities with insights of leading experts is a timely contribution to academia, practitioners, and keen readers. The book fills a critical void in the domain of neighbourhood studies and comprehensively analyses India’s bilateral relations with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The book assesses the traditional security challenges like terrorism, examines crucial non-traditional security issues (hydro-politics and climate change), scans the emerging dynamics of rare earth elements and evaluates the wider possibilities of India’s role in stirring regional cooperation in these key areas.

Shalini Chawla (Ed.)

Editor

Dr Shalini Chawla is Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi. She joined CAPS in 2006 and has published more than 100 research articles/chapters in national and international journals/books on a wide range of issues relating to Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has authored/co-edited five books and lectures regularly at various universities, think-tanks and leading institutions of the Indian Armed Forces and Foreign Services. She is actively engaged in India’s Track 1.5 initiatives. She received a Commendation and Badge by the Chief of Air Staff in October 2020 for displaying great dedication, professional ability and praiseworthy contribution to the service.

Contents

Preface

Editor and Contributors
Introduction
Anil Chopra

1. India-China: Competition or Confrontation
Anil Chopra

2. India-Pakistan Relations: Dynamics Post Revocation of Article 370
Shalini Chawla

3. India-Afghanistan Strategic Relations in the Past Three Decades: Post-Cold War, Post 9/11, and Post US Exit
HashimWahdatyar

4. India-Bangladesh: Convergence of Interests
SreeradhaDatta

5. India-Sri Lanka Relations: Contemporary Challenges and Prospects
SamathaMallempati

6. India-Maldives: The Revitalisation of Bilateral Relations
Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury

7. India-Bhutan Relations: Present Trajectories and Future Possibilities
MedhaBisht

8. The India-Myanmar Affair: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Angshuman Choudhury

9. Harnessing the Potential of Nepal-India Relations: Challenges and Prospects
Pramod Jaiswal

10. India and Iran in the Changing West Asian Regional Order
Anu Sharma

11. Hydrodynamics in South Asia
Uttam Kumar Sinha

12. India, South Asia, and Climate Change Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities
DhanasreeJayaram and Priyanka Jaiswal

13. Trends in Terrorism in India’s Neighbourhood
Kriti M. Shah

14. Rare Earth Elements and India’s Neighbourhood
Neha Mishra