The question is no longer whether India is the region’s natural anchor, but whether it can still act as one in a neighbourhood that has become more fragmented, more transactional, and far more contested.
If India boycotts Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and possibly even Russia will take its place. The harsh reality of geopolitics is that openings are short-lived.
The gap between South East Asia and South Asia has ‘widened enormously’, the statement noted. The latter would do well to take a leaf from the former’s book.
At the launch of his book, Democracy’s Heartland, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said he attempts to highlight why the Indian subcontinent matters.
Dialogue between American India watchers and Indian strategic community is broken. It is marked by ‘hot takes’ rather than a sustained conversation that bridges understanding gaps.
General MM Naravane’s memoir—Four Stars of Destiny—reveals that he was left hanging by political leadership for more than two hours as Chinese tanks drove towards Indian positions.
The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.
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