South And Central Asian Studies - Mphil Thesis

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Being national or non-national: Sheikh abdullah's autobiography and the history of kashmir
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Dar, Waseem Ahmad; Varghese, Vijay
The present study encompasses a preliminary reading of Aatish-e-Chinar, the autobiography of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the most important political figure of modern Jammu and Kashmir. It is presumed here that the autobiographies as quintessentially a modern genre of expression are decisive instruments in the forging of nations, the quintessential political form of modern times. The Aatish-e-Chinar captures the trajectories of Kashmiri nation and nationalism and values that define it and the tendencies it is opposed to. The imagination of being national by Abdullah involved a simultaneous process of exalting certain attributes as national and others as non-national while placing himself at the centre of this historic nationalistic project. His autobiography stands out for its national character and faith in secularism and multiculturalism, overriding the prevalent orthodoxies. The autobiography draws us also to the national politics that made Abdullah to think in terms of remaining independent of both India and Pakistan, which has undergone transformation and change over time- the transformation of Jammu and Kashmir from a nation to a sub-nation as an administrative entity. The narrative is in conversation with its time and beyond in seeking legitimacy for the nation and its troubled historical trajectory.
Cantomentisation and transformation in south asia: a study of colonial military of punjab/firozpur
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Singh, Bhupinder; Varghese, V.J.
Military history in general is seen as an under-researched area, though military remained important to every country from time immemorial and countries and kingdoms maintained military for protection and security as well as for satisfying their imperial designs. It is well known that military has played a major role in the making of the British Empire in South Asia/ Indian Subcontinent in which Punjab played a strategic and pivotal role. The British Indian army was heavily concentrated in Punjab with a robust of network of military cantonments, apart from converting it as one of the most important army recruitment grounds. Punjab was thus turned into a 'garrison state'. The present dissertation is an attempt to map the military landscape of Punjab under colonialism and how it impacted the geography and socio- economic life of the region. From the 1830's a series of cantonments were established in the province- Firozpur, Lahore, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Peshawar, Ambala, Kanpur, Bathinda, Rawalpindi etc. which were vital in sustaining colonialism in India and maintaining the colonial dominance over the sub-continent. The cantonments transformed the life and geography of the respective locations/areas where they were established in the terms of demography and amenities. The attempt here is to make preliminary exploration into the details of the making Punjab a garrison state with these networks of cantonments and the changes they brought to the region. The study also makes a specific exploration into the history Firozpur cantonment.
China's startegic forays in south asia : Contextualising india's concerns
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Lone, Mansoor Ahmad; Singh, Bawa
China's terrific rise and all-round development in almost all fields have provided her an identity in the International system as one of the great power. China's focus has now changed and the older views are giving way to wider engagement in adjoining areas. China shares borders with many south Asian countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan. Therefore, within the Chinese foreign policy, South Asia is becoming an important element. South Asia's increasing strategic importance has resulted in the increasing Chinese involvement in the region. The compelling factors for China to have an increased engagement in South Asia involve; to sustain the fast growing economy by securing the resources in these countries; Containment of India's rise to become a global power so that it may not affect China's rise; to maintain territorial integrity. In order to achieve these objectives, China is cultivating relations with the countries in South Asia by giving much needed economic assistance, infrastructure building, arms and ammunition transfers and in some countries nuclear weapon technology transfers as well especially to Pakistan. The countries with which China is increasingly involved rival to India in one way or the other. Therefore, it is obvious that such engagement will automatically harm India's interests in many ways in these countries. China in order to secure the energy needs has started to pursue a strategy called 'String of Pearls' vi through which China is building port facilities in the littoral states of Indian Ocean through which most of the crude oil is imported by China. These states include Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. By the way, such a strategy has lead to the encirclement of India, which may be a potential danger in future. India fears that China, who has a long pending unresolved border dispute with her, could use such port facilities for military purpose in future. Thus has created concerns for India. India needs to search better policy options to cautiously counter such a strategy of China, in order to retain greater consistency in her economy, and to maintain territorial integrity.
China-pakistan strategic relationship : Implication for south asia
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Naiko, Ghulam Mohiudin; Kaushiki, Nishtha
Strategic relations between the two countries were established in 1972. Ever since then the two countries have given to each other the much required political and diplomatic support on various issues like, Kashmir, Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang, etc. In this study, an attempt has been made to first analyse the rationale behind the Sino-Pak relationship. How and why India is a major factor in their bilateral relations has been probed into. The study discusses the scope of their strategic relationship. The next section of this research includes the implications of their strategic relations on South Asia and particular emphasis has been placed on India. It has been analysed how strategic relation between the countries work for tying down India to South Asia?. The second part of the dissertation has dealt with the recent geopolitical shifts in the region that have further cemented their bilateral relationship, such as Indo-US nuclear deal and a ten year defense pact; Asia pivot etc. It has brought to surface the shifting Asian balance of power and how the Sino-Pak strategic relations affect India. Finally, the study is an attempt to recommend some policy measures for India that it can adopt for neutralising the affects of their strategic partnership on its foreign policy and larger strategic goals.
Connecting for energy? india's negotiation for space in central asia
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Singh, Sandeep; Varghese, V. J
The present research aims to examine the role of energy demands in determining the contours of India's new 'Connect Central Asia' policy. In a world of accelerating energy needs, possession and non-possession of energy sources are determining factors of the global economy of energy with significant impact on international relations and global peace. According to Exxon Mobil World Energy Outlook 2013 the world's population will rise by more than 25 percent from 2010 to 2040 which means growing mobility requirements and energy demand. The rising living standards of the people will also impacts energy demands. These dynamic changes demand understanding of political economy of global energy crisis as a whole and how it has become a strong factor in foreign policy initiatives. The plan of the present research is to contextualise India's energy crisis in the political economy of global energy crisis and investigate how far it is factored in its new found interest in Central Asian countries. Though, India accounts 2.49 per cent of world's annual energy production, its consumption accounts for 3.45 per cent of the global consumption. Its increasing population and enormous growth of middle class is posing a challenge to India in this regard. The research presumes that due to the insecure and unstable supply from the Middle East, India's 'Connect Central Asia' policy has a strong energy angle factored into it.
Democratic transformation in south asia: Emerging trends
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Gulam, Mudasir; Singh, Bawa
The South Asian region has experienced authoritarian and autocratic rule since its inception. India is the only country in South Asia to become a successful democratic country after independence. Sri Lanka has also adopted the similar model with presidential type of government. While the other countries of the region like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan have experienced ups and downs in their political systems. Pakistan after attaining its independence witnessed a rapid erosion of hopes to move the new nation to a democracy. The general elections held on 11 May, 2013 in Pakistan brought the first transition between civilian governments in a country which clearly shows the transformation of democracy in the country. Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 and since then many pro- democracy movements were observed in the country. These movements led to the multi- party democracy since 1991 till late 2006. It is evident that after 2009 the country has moved towards marginal political stability in its political affairs. Nepal, a kingdom, had monarchy which kept on flip-flopping between absolute and constitutional monarchy and vice-versa for many years. Democratic regimes proved to be short lived and unstable. The Nepalese movement in 2007 created a history in the country and moved ahead towards the consolidation of the democracy and General Election 2008 was the first step towards democratic transition. This way the Constitutional Republic was adopted in Nepal with the v collapse of monarchy rule. Bhutan has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a multi-party democracy. The growth of Bhutanese democracy has been marked since 1950s. The first democratic elections in Bhutan began in 2007, and all levels of government had been democratically elected by 2011. All this explains the transformation from an absolute monarchy to democracy in the Kingdom of Bhutan. It is now clear that the South Asian region has experienced a democratic resurgence in the recent past. All the South Asian countries now have a democratic system but this transition to democracy is still fragile and susceptible.
Foreign direct investment in south asia : Trends and prospects
(Central University of Punjab, 2012) Kaur, Gurpreet; Kaur, Sandeep
Foreign investment for these countries is an important strategy to achieve the objectives of increasing industrial production to fulfill the basic needs of people, to generate maximum employment opportunities, to attain high growth regime, to pave way for the improvement in balance of payments. Keeping in view the importance of FDI in regional integration scheme, there is a need to look into the growth and performance of foreign direct investment inflows as well as outflows of South Asia Nations. Therefore study's objectives are to examine position of South Asia nations in FDI inflows and outflows from world during 1990-2010. To study the growth of FDI in South Asia Nations during 1990-2010. to analyze the performance of South Asia Nations in terms of different FDI indicators. to examine the pattern of foreign direct investment of South Asia Nations and to study constraints and prospects of foreign direct investment of South Asia Nations. Keeping in mind the nature of the study, secondary data has been calculated from the different sources like UNCTAD World Investment Report's various reports of SAARC economies etc. The growth rate of FDI inflows in South Asia (24.77 percent) is much more than other developing economies (14.45 percent) and Asia (13.99 percent) during 1990-2010, still the inflows are not sufficient for the development of the region. The maximum average contribution in percentage share of South Asia's FDI inflows is of India (78.02), followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (12.07 percent, 5.69 percent, 2.93 percent) for 1990-2010. Regarding FDI out flows, the growth rate of FDI out flows in South Asia (47.97 percent) is much more than developing economies (15.26 percent), developed economies (11.43 percent) and Asia (14.67 percent) during 1990-2010. The comparative analysis of FDI inflows and outflows, it clearly shows that growth of FDI outflows is much more as compared to the growth of FDI inflows in developing economies, Asia and South Asia during 1990-2010. The maximum average contribution in percentage share of South Asias's FDI outflows is of India (89.28 percent) followed by Pakistan (5.76 percent), Sri Lanka (3.65 percent) and Bangladesh (1.31 percent) during 1990-2010. The comparative analysis of the percentage share of inflows and outflows, it clearly shows that the average of the percentage share of South Asia's inflows are much more than the average of percentage shares of South Asia FDI outflows during 1990-2010. They are various potentials of intra-regional FDI, yet investment from other countries outside is not satisfactory. This is due to the prevalence of some hindrances in South Asian countries which are acting as bottlenecks to the smooth flow of investment both intra-regional and outside the region, like, difference in size of economics, trade barriers, poor condition of infrastrure, appropriate and effective banking, lack of cross-border facilities, political factors etc. The study suggests that FDI in South Asia is very closely related to high economic growth of the region and most areas in these countries are under developed whereas huge natural resources exist in these regions, which can attract FDI for high growth.
Human trafficking in south asia : a case study of bathinda district, punjab
(Central University of Punjab, 2012) Kumar, Kovid; Varghese, Vijay
The effects of Arsenic (As) were investigated on four varieties of T. aestivum viz. PBW 343, PBW 550, PBW 621 and HD 2967 to elucidate the toxicity of As on morphological, physiological, biochemical and antioxidant processes of plant in early stage. The results showed that seed germination, root length, shoot length and biomass decreased gradually with increase in concentrations of As (125-750'M) and this decrease was biologically significant. The photosynthetic and respiratory activity of the test plants was also investigated. The decrease in chlorophyll and carotenoids content with increase in As content indicates negative effect of As on the photosynthetic pigments. However, the total cellular respiration increased with increase in As concentration and this probably may be due to the enhancement in respiratory enzymes which leads to high production of energy by the respective cells. The contents of water soluble carbohydrates and proteins increased with increasing As concentrations while their hydrolyzing enzymes i.e. ? amylase and protease were decreasing with increase in As concentration. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase followed the increasing trend indicating the induction of oxidative stress under high concentration of As. Further, among the various varieties HD 2967 was the most tolerant variety and PBW 550 was most affected variety.
India's trade with six EU countries: Trends and patterns
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Kaur, Amandeep; Kaur, Sandeep
India and European Union trade relations go back to 1960s. Both sides started their bilateral trade relations after their first summit which, was held in 2000 and after that India-EU has gone through various rounds of summits and negotiations for improving the bilateral trade ties. As a result, Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon between them in 2007 but it is still not fully implemented. EU is India's largest trading partner which has accounted 14.8 percent in its total trade in 2011. The study has taken up six nations of EU namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and UK as these countries have a large average share of trade with India during 1996-2011. The study strives to find out the trade competitiveness and patterns of India with these six EU countries by using various indices like Trade Intensity Index (TII), Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage Index (RSCA) and Intra Industry Trade Index (IIT). The study finds out that India's growth of exports are more as compared to imports towards these countries. Among EU's six countries, UK, Germany, Netherlands and France are the main trade partners of India. Regarding commodity composition, India's 'iron and steel', 'organic chemicals' and 'electrical equipments' are the main top ten export commodities and 'pearls and precious stones metals & coins etc', 'organic chemicals', 'electrical equipment', 'iron and steel', 'nuclear reactors', 'optical photos' and 'commodities elsewhere classified' are in the top ten import commodities of India from these six countries. Regarding RCA index of India with these countries commodities namely 'silk', 'cotton', 'articles of accessories' and 'articles of leather' and 'animals guts' have still remained in top position during the whole study period and with the severe effect of Euro crisis, some of the commodities lost their earlier place in 2011 like Indian 'cotton', 'tea coffee' and 'carpets'. RSCA index shows almost same results for these commodities. Then in the IIT index for 'chemicals and allied industries', 'wood and wood products', 'metals' and 'machinery electrical' accounted higher value of IIT index in 2000 but it has been decreasing in 2011. The study suggested that, there is diversification in goods and latest technology should be used to benefit from bilateral trade. There is still further scope to improve the FDI flows between India-EU. India should adopt policies which are open, attractive and investor friendly to enhance the FDI flows. There is a need to implement the FTA agreement at fast pace, for this there is great requirement of political will.
Indian ocean : A life -line for south asia
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Raikhy, Swati; Singh, Kiran K
Since the ancient times Indian Ocean has played significant role in dissemination of capital, goods, people etc. It has been a source of immense importance and has entered in the life of all the littoral countries .Natural harbours developed at coasts of Indian Ocean in South Asia culminated in to trading points to carry out trade activities across Asia, Africa and far Western world. Sri Lanka, being located in the middle of Indian Ocean was the main boarding station for the ships enrooting east-west or vice versa. Trade routes developed during this period were monopolized by one nation or other from time to time. The discovery of sea route to India via Cape of Good Hope brought Europe and Asia closer and the Industrial revolution that began in Europe gave impetus to trade activities and globalized the Indian Ocean world. The arrival of Portuguese followed by Dutch, British, French and other European powers led them into the tussle to gain power over the Indian Ocean region for its enriched resources, commodities and the strategic importance that naturally endowed to Indian Ocean. It later became bone of contention among various European powers that was responsible for Colonization of almost entire Africa and most of Asia. The British were successful in retaining the power over the region till the end of Second World War. After gaining control over this water-body, they became the masters of the seas. Since ancient time Maldivian economy was heavily dependent on Indian Ocean. Natural resources like fishery, cowries and coir obtained from the coconut was widely cultivated at the coasts. The natural scenic beauty of Indian Ocean sea shores gave the economy of Maldives a new dimension in the form of tourism industry. Britain used its atolls as secret harbors during the Second World War. The two island nations of South Asia heavily rely on Indian Ocean as no other mean to connect outside world since the air route is too costly and cannot handle bulk cargo. In Bangladesh trade was largely based on Indian Ocean water ways but due to problem of siltation in Chittagong port goods were collected at Colombo, Singapore ports and then iv brought to Bangladesh. The countries surrounding Indian Ocean were linked with one another through this ocean. The regular trade activities from India in ancient times catered the development of trade routes, Indian rulers from time to time carried out raids to secure their position for trade activities at the points of strategic importance. The Europeans made Indian Ocean coast as their base to expand colonies and British were successful. The period after Second World War is marked with the period of intense rivalry between major powers in Indian Ocean region. On the one hand Indian Ocean revealed a long story of transformation from a zone of conflict to a zone of peace while on another the Indian Ocean mobility experienced significant change because of growing economic activities of littoral nations. Soon after independence the south Asian countries, to cater their economic needs, relied largely on import of finished goods and export of raw materials in the initial years of their independence that had been largely traversed to various countries from the waters of Indian Ocean. The economic and strategic importance of South Asia is linked with the concentration of variety of raw material or natural resources of the world such as rubber, manganese, copper, tea, cotton, Jute and Gold in various littoral states. Indian Ocean did not only help in promoting economic growth in the region but also has played significant role in shaping the polity of south Asia. Since the Indian Ocean preserves the enormous quantity of natural resources and diverse culture it has naturally become a zone of importance in all spheres for the world and South Asia.
Indo-kazakhstan trade : Trends and protocols in the post cold war era
(Central University of Punjab, 2012) Kaur, Jaspreet; Kaur, Sandeep
Though economic relations between India and Kazakhstan have been strengthening; still the current size of trade and investment between the two countries is relatively less than potential. In this context, the present study is an endeavour to analyze the existing trends in bilateral trade and also to highlight the future prospects for India and Kazakhstan. It has been found that the increase in merchandise trade between the two countries is mainly because of the changing demand structure and comparative advantages of both the economies in complementary sectors in recent years. The trade specialization indices (RCA and Michaely) emphasize that while Kazakhstan has been specializing in a few energy products; India's exports have been more diversified. Also, both the countries have comparative advantages in different products in the same industry, revealing the opportunity for higher intra-industry trade (IIT) in future, which would reduce cost and enhance the benefits for both the countries. However, it has been revealed that India's trade with Kazakhstan is much below than the rest of the world. Thus, there are enormous complementarities in bilateral trade that need to be tapped. It is mandatory to overcome the geographical, political and other hurdles to increase two way flow of goods. Just before fully utilizing India's potential to contribute in transition of Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan's ability to provide the energy resources to India, it is required that the process of bilateral cooperation gets a boost
Indo-russian defence cooperation, 1991-2011
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Mubarik, Mudasir; Kaushiki, Nishtha
The purpose of the present study is to meticulously trace the origin and subsequent strengthening of the Indo-Russian defence ties that finally culminated into the formation of Indo-Russian joint ventures with the deal on BrahMos missile. The year 1991 has been specifically chosen because it marked the end of the cold war and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The study first brings to the surface the fact that in British India, the country was highly dependent upon the British weapons and ammunitions. Thus, the possible role of other countries in the Indian defence market was completely ruled out. India gained its independence in 1947 which coincided with the beginning of the Cold War period. The study then moves to explore the cold war conditions under which India developed strategic relations with Russia. Bilateral relations between the two countries were established on 1950's. It was due to the cold war conditions coupled with India's adoption of a mixed economic system and a planned economy that brought the two nations closer to each other. Bilateral relations since the very inception were focused on the defence trade and because of this reason the relations soon culminated into strategic one. In the due course of the Cold War, as the U.S. role in the South Asian affairs tilted heavily in favour of Pakistan, Russia saw it as an opportunity for its defence sector and also for itself to expand its sphere of influence in the South Asian region. Since then the arms have been imported from Russia. v From 1960 to 1990 India imported conventional arms and ammunitions worth U.S. $ ten to fifteen billion with some of the major arms being transferred as MiG, AN-12, MI- 4 and other arms. The depth of Indo-Russian strategic relations was at its peak in the 1971 India Pakistan war when the two nations signed the treaty of friendship. Though the study analyses the defence deals made by the two countries in a great depth, it also examines the individual role of the leadership of both the countries in taking the relationship ahead. Stalin was apprehensive about India's role in the region during the cold war and it was labeled as 'pro-capitalist'. A favorable shift in the policy towards India was seen during the reign of Khrushchev. Relations under the Indian leadership of Nehru gained an impetus. The problems that have been faced by the Indian defence sector are delays in the delivery of the consignments, high prices of the Russian imports as compared to the earlier Soviet arms supplies, Russian arms being less competitive than their western counterparts etc. All these issues pose a serious challenge for India. In 2000 India decided to diversify its sources of arms. With this, Israel, Germany, U.S. and other European nations were being viewed as potential partners. It was during this phase that Russia also sought new partners for itself and it forged new relationships with China and Pakistan. Thus, both the countries shifted their attention from each other and focused primarily on the market forces that played its role in the defence sector. India, however, could not do away with Russian technology for its defence equipments because of its past imports- finding a partner country for spare parts would have been tough. Thus, we see that despite India's quest for new relationships in the defence sector, the Indian army's arms and ammunitions is largely Russian dominated. After tracing the historical roots of the defence relations of the two nations, the study then moves to analyze joint ventures in the defence sector-yet another important aspect of the defence bilateral relations of the two countries. Agreements for the joint ventures were materialized in 1998 whereby both the nations agreed on brahmos co production. This agreement initiated a new chapter for the Indo-Russian defence cooperation. vi The study concludes with a brief summary of the dissertation and recommends that India should engage with Russia without deviating from current programs with other suppliers. Russia should manufacture the competitive arms and deliver to India at reasonable prices and on time. India and Russia should focus on long run military contracts to maintain the time tested friendship.
Militancy and media: A case study of indian punjab
(Central University of Punjab, 2012) Bassi, Dinesh; Romana, Paramjeet Singh
Militancy in Punjab has pushed the state to turmoil for more than one and a half decades. Though diverse aspects of this dark phase in the history of Punjab have been studied, the role and involvement of media has largely escaped academic scrutiny. The present study is an attempt to explore how the print media has been caught in conflicting discourses around militancy and thereby created a fractured public sphere. The Punjabi daily Rojana Ajit, the Hindi daily Punjab Kesri and The Tribune, an English daily, all popular in Punjab, has been selected for the purpose. The study also restricts itself to the period between May and July 1984, the time surrounding the infamous Operation Bluestar. The study looks at the communitarian leanings of the vernacular press in Punjab and how they construct categories according to the positions they subscribe to. It explore into the manner in which the murder of a prominent journalist has been representationally lost in its significance due to the media divergence. The study also argue that the set positions of the newspapers allowed them to report the news stories in their own way, and that the state and the nationalist rhetoric continue to wield considerable influence in deciding the character of the mediascape.
Neoliberal Politics: A Study of Restructuring of the Indian State
(Central University of Punjab, 2018) Singh, Hushiar; Verma, Sudheer Singh
Neoliberal Politics refers to 'economic rationalism', which is based on the efficiency of market forces and characterised it by minimal government intervention. It emerged in contrast to the welfare state model, in which the state takes responsibility for protection and socio-economic well-being of its citizens. On the other side, the neoliberal politics claims that the well-being of human can be forwarded by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills through private property rights, free market and free trade within the institutional framework. In post-independence era, Indian founding fathers constitute the developmental state structure for the welfare of the citizens. With the passage of time welfare state's institutional inefficiencies, government's unfinished distributive programmes, and slow economic progress induced the government towards neoliberal politics. Hence, in the wake of neoliberal politics in the 1980s, the Indian government has begun to transform the developmental path. Hereafter, the government has started to the institutional restructuring of the state and constituted new institutions for private entrepreneur lead development. As a result, the developmental state system has been restructured in order to free market system. With this background, the study has made an attempt to relook democratic socialist character of the Indian state and its journey from close to open market (1950 to 2014). After analysing the associated impacts on the democratic process and social welfare imperatives, the study concludes that the neoliberal politics has restructured the state institutions from the commanding control of the market system to the regulation based market system.
The new great game in central asia : India's interests and challenges
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Thokar, Parvaiz Ahmad; Singh, Bawa
The Great Game which divided Persia into a Russian-controlled northern zone, a nominally independent central zone, and a British-controlled southern zone, officially ended with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. After the end of Cold War, Central Asia became the central point of attention by the world powers, US, Russia and China, EU etc and many other regional players. Possessing divergent interests, the competition among external powers in the region is popularly termed as the New Great Game. Central Asian governments are working to use renewed external involvement to their sovereign advantage, extract economic benefits and political support where possible. India considers the region as geo-strategically and economically vital to fulfill its various interests like energy, trade and investment, security etc and both the regions own multifaceted historical ties. Apart from economic and other commercial interests, India also considers the region vital for the security and stability of Afghanistan. At present Middle East region accomplishes the required energy imports of India but in recent times, the region turned more unstable. Hence Indian policymakers started thinking about an alternative source and identified Central Asia as the best option. Therefore, economic diplomacy remains India's basic policy thrust towards the region and needs no clash but a compatibility of interests with the new states. v India has to face many challenges to get connected with Central Asia like the New Great Game, lack of proper road link, religious extremism and terrorism, drug trafficking, small arms proliferation and the most challenging one that is NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. India has to take lead to overcome the significant influence made by several regional powers and to make its own position extremely strong in the region. Hence this study will make an assessment about diverse interests that India possesses and various challenges due to role of external major powers in the region and also India's strategy to protect its interests in energy rich Central Asia.
Nuclearization in South Asia: The China Factor
(Central University of Punjab, 2013) Mir, Arif Mohmad; Singh, Bawa
Obama's asia pivot policy : Implications for south asia
(Central University of Punjab, 2014) Ramzan, Hilal; Kaushiki, Nishtha
One of the hallmarks of US President Barrack Obama's foreign policy is the 'pivot to Asia'. This policy is aimed at rebalancing US defence policies towards Asia. The Obama administration has rearticulated its policy away from the Middle East toward the Asia-Pacific. The focus of this research is on the strategic aspect of the policy. Under this rebalancing strategy, Washington, aims to increase its naval presence from the current 50/50 split between Atlantic and Asia-pacific to 40/60 respectively by 2020. Further, the geographical scope of the Asia-Pacific has been defined as 'stretching from the Indian subcontinent to the western shores of the America's, the region spans two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian oceans that are increasingly linked by shipping and strategy. As India has been termed as a 'linchpin' of this policy; it is going to be more affected. This research is a humble attempt to analyze the consequences of the Pivot on South Asian countries, with special focus on India. The first section of the dissertation discusses the rise of China and US's relative decline in order to explain the background of the pivot. It then moves on to discuss the changing geopolitical shifts in the Asian balance of power. This part sets to explain how the US and Chinese competing interests have changed the security architecture of Asia and how South Asian countries, particularly India is going to deal with it. Finally, the study would attempt to recommend some measures that India could adopt and benefit from the geopolitical opportunity from the emerging competition between US and China.
Pakistan and Russia Relationship: Changing Dynamics in the Post-Cold War Era
(Central University of Punjab, 2016) Singh, Besakh; Verma, Sudheer Singh
It would be an important relationship for Pakistan to become a regional partner of Russia, which is a major regional player in the South Asia. During the Cold War and the Post-Cold War era, Pakistan and the Russian Federation (erstwhile the Soviet Union) relationship fluctuated time to time. Pakistan and Russia relationship have been remained over shadow on India and United State of relationship. Both countries' relationship has positive effects on the regional and global political environment. These positive effects are in the geopolitics, economic, security, and trade. It is evident that in the post 9/11 attack, Pakistan emerged as a 'frontline state' in the 'war on terror'. Generally, nation-states follow strategies to gain economic and security related interests out of available opportunities in the world politics. It has been seen as progress in international relations when Pakistan and Russian relations recently moving towards trust zone in the Post-Cold War era. In Inspite of the limitations, the relationship has strong prospects in the Post-Cold War era. Thus, Pakistan has to keep maintain its diplomatic focus on the mutual interests through keeping friendly relations with the Russian Federation. The both countries' relations would help in easing the Political environment in the South Asia.
Politics and ethnic conflict in Bhutan: A nepalese perspective.
(Central University of Punjab, 2017) Singh, Balinder; Singh, Bawa
Driglam-Nam-Za, Gross National Happiness Bhutan is one of the most contemporary additions to the world's democracies. For over a century the nation had been run by kings of the Wangchuck dynasty. But, in 2001, a fundamental change was announced by the fourth king. Bhutanese society is multi-ethnic, being composed of several distinct communities whose differences rest on ethnicity, profession, social structure, beliefs, and values. The people consist of so-called indigenous groups as well as immigrants from neighbouring countries, namely Nepal, India, Myanmar (Burma) and Tibet (China). The Bhutanese people (Ngalong) have been imposing their own culture as the core value of the nation and also dominate the socioeconomic and political elite and decision-making institutions of the country. The King's family belongs to this ethnic group. Lhotshampa, an ethnic group of Nepalese origin, had been migrated to Bhutan since the 19th century. These people have been practising the Hinduism. This ethnic group has been facing discrimination from Bhutan's ruling class for decades. The ethnic crisis has been constitutionalized given the adoption of discriminatory policies such as one nation one people policy, one language policy, Citizenship Act (1985), assimilation of the culture, depriving of socio-economic opportunities for Lhotshampa ethnic group. The policy promoted the ruling class's language and religion Lamaistic Buddhism favouring the Ngalong Drukpa ethnic group over the ethnic group in question. As a result, the tension has risen between the native and ethnic groups led to a Bhutanese ethnic crisis. It left indelible imprints on the Bhutan-Nepal relations. Later on, these two countries engaged in diplomatic engagements to sort out the ethnic crisis. Now the current status of the Lhotshampa refugee has been sorted out. However, a small number of refugees are still a bone of contention between both the countries.
The Post-Cold War Global Politics: A Study of India's Role in Nonaligned Movement
(Central University of Punjab, 2018) Kumar, Manish; Verma, Sudheer Singh
The post-Second World War confrontational bipolarity enforced infant decolonised nations to adopt the policy of nonalignment to preserve their hard won sovereignty. India as pioneer nation introduced the notion of nonalignment and contributed to the development of Nonaligned Movement through prolonged collective deliberations with Asian and African countries for global peace and equitable global order. Using Nonaligned Movement's platform, India significantly gained her security, national development, and world order interests but loses some strategic interests during the war with China in 1962. However, being non-aligned, India has constructed enough capacity to cope further security challenges through building strategic alliances with suitable powers. India being a frequent participant country in periodical summits of Nonaligned Movement has committed to its principles and objectives. The end of the Cold War had posed several questions over its enduring existence in the global politics. The post-Cold War unipolarity has made Nonaligned Movement increasingly "responder" rather 'demander'. India's increased economic, military and political weight in global politics in the 21st century, realised New Delhi to calculate the potentials of Nonaligned Movement in accordance with its aspiration of great power status. In this context, by all reckoning, India is likely to be crediting the third world solidarity, nonetheless passionate for multialignment with major powers to gain its commensurate office in global governance.