Indian power projection and influence will greatly depend on the choices of small powers — or partner countries — that exercise great agency despite power asymmetries.
Ayni’s origins lie in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when the United States invaded Afghanistan and the international order briefly seemed open to new alignments.
Tajikistan did not want to extend the lease because of apparent pressure from Russia & China over non-regional military personnel at the air base, it is learnt.
The GMA or the Ayni airbase is just west of the Tajik capital Dushanbe. It has been administered by India along with Tajikistan for nearly two decades.
While the Russia-Ukraine war saw the BJP projecting PM Modi as a ‘vishwaguru’ who could end international conflicts, the party has made a nuanced shift in its electoral strategy vis-à-vis the West Asia war.
Report on impact of AI emergence—drawing upon depositions from several ministries—confirms that the developments come in the absence of AI laws or considerations over them.
It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.
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