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India and Tajikistan: Towards a New Strategic Partnership

By Dr. Lopamudra Bandyopadhyay

Introduction

On September 3, 2012, India escalated ties with Tajikistan, a nation that shares its periphery with Afghanistan, to that of strategic partnership after consultations between Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Emomali Rahmon were held in New Delhi during the latter’s four-day visit to India. The two leaders discussed the ongoing political transition in Afghanistan, and were determined to intensify the counter-terrorism mechanism between the two countries. On the issue of terrorism, President Rahmon was in agreement with India that the perpetrators of crimes committed such as those that happened during the terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008, must be aggressively prosecuted. Detailed Paper

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Recent India-Kazakhstan Relations: Venturing Towards Greater Cooperation

By Dr. Lopamudra Bandyopadhyay

The recent visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan in April 2011, took place against the backdrop of a volatile regional setting. It was a trial of the skill of Indian statecraft that New Delhi could embark upon a sequestered bilateral relation with Astana impervious of the regional turbulence prevalent in the area. Even if the recent BRIC summit achieved materially little, apart from the usual discourses on cooperation among BRICS countries, the visit of Dr. Singh to Kazakhstan definitely did cement a more meaningful relationship with that particular Central Asian country. Seven agreements in various fields of economic cooperation, from oil and gas to nuclear energy and allied fields, not to mention agriculture-related activities, are indeed a commendable record. Detailed Paper

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The Taliban’s Overtures into Central Asia: A Study

By Dr. Lopamudra Bandyopadhyay

Prominent concerns regarding the revival of the Islamist doctrines within the heart of Central Asia have existed since the independence of the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from Soviet authority in the 1990s. The reasons for these concerns have been manifold. The region borders the two crucial countries of the global radical Islamic movement: Iran and Afghanistan. Although of different and often antagonistic persuasions, these two countries became the centre of Islamic radicalism in the 1990s. Further, shortly after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Tajikistan was embroiled in a civil war that was between the former communist elite and an opposition force containing strong Islamic groups. This conflict led the four other regional states to outlaw most opposition parties and movements in their countries, halting the development of political opposition. Detailed Paper

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Central Asia: Of Ceremony and Substance

By Ms. Sayantani Sen

The Silk Road – an anonym of the nineteenth century was apprehended as a link between two continents of civilizations – the ‘Orient’ and the ‘Occident’. The ancient trading route – the Silk Road has for long fascinated the West. It has for more than a thousand years conjured the mysterious and the exotic East. It has been the conduit through which not only merchandise, but also ideas, pilgrims, armies, people and religions moved, casting an influence that went beyond the geographical compass of the region. Detailed Paper