South Asia Chat

India’s military strength has increased in the past decades. However, it has still some way to go in developing the processes which makes the use of military force effective. The civilian bureaucracy within the Ministry of Defence and military establishment tends to be out of touch in setting national priorities and corresponding military objectives. The book, Absent Dialogue: Politicians, Bureaucrats and the Military in India, captures much of this dysfunction. The author, Dr Anit Mukherjee Deputy Head of Graduate Studies, and an Associate Professor in the South Asia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, joins ISAS Research Fellow Yogesh Joshi in a conversation on civil-military dysfunction in India and its implications on military efficiency in India.

The Finance Ministry has announced an ambitious disinvestment plan and decided to exit most sectors except four strategic ones. Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, Non Resident Senior Fellow, ISAS and Member (Part Time), Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, shares his views on the challenges that the government could face and how it could overcome them, as well as how the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) programme ties in with its privatisation plan.

The ongoing elections in the four states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as the union territory of Puducherry are significant as these will be a test of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s dominance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s continuing popularity. These will also evaluate the party’s ability to perform well in areas which are not its traditional bastions and the capacity of regional parties to resist one-party dominance. To discuss the polls and analyse the possible trajectory of the elections, Dr Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Politics, Society and Governance) at ISAS, spoke to Rahul Verma, a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research.

The first Quad Summit, where leaders of the United States, India, Australia and Japan met virtually, signalled a continuation of Trump's policy for the Indo-Pacific. It also announced a huge vaccine initiative as well as cooperation in rare minerals which not only challenges China's dominance, but also indicates that the group's focus has not been primarily related to security concerns. To tell us more on the significance of this Quad meeting and what it means for China and the rest of the world, we spoke to Dr Yogesh Joshi, Research Fellow at ISAS. 

After several rounds of military and diplomatic negotiations, the nine-month long standoff between India and China came to an end with the disengagement of troops along the line of actual control in Eastern Ladakh.  While the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has said that "China and India should be friends and partners,” the new Biden administration has not deviated from Trump's stance on China. What led to this thaw and what lay ahead for the two countries especially in the light of the recent Quad summit? Nithya Subramanian, Editor at ISAS spoke to Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, a career diplomat who has served as India’s ambassador to China, Pakistan and Bhutan. He is also a Distinguished Professor at Symbiosis International University, Pune and Senior Advisor to Ola.

In a surprising turn of events in the relationship between India and Pakistan, both countries recently signed a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control. While this development is a positive step in improving bilateral relations, it is bound to affect domestic politics as well as have broader regional implications. To discuss the foreign policy strategies at play as well as the factors and rationale behind these developments, Dr Yogesh Joshi, a Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to Professor C Raja Mohan, Director of the institute. 

One of the biggest announcements made by the Finance Minister of India in the recent budget was the large divestment proposal that targets raising Rs 1.75 trillion (S$32 billion) to shore up the economy. The government plans to exit most of the sectors, except four strategic ones and the list of companies to be privatised include Air India, Life Insurance Corporation, IDBI Bank and some others. Dr Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow; and Research Lead (Trade and Economics) at ISAS shares his views on the complexities of the disinvestment process and the possible challenges that this strategy could face.

The relations between India and Pakistan are consequential not just for South Asia but for the globe. The two countries have been engaged in three wars since 1947, with Kashmir and terrorism being at the centre of dispute. Dr Imran Ahmed, Consultant at ISAS, spoke to Dr Stuti Bhatnagar, Sessional Academic – University of New South Wales, Sydney, on India's Pakistan strategy. They also discussed her book titled India's Pakistan Policy: How Think Tanks Are Shaping Foreign Relations that examines the role of these institutes as foreign policy actors. Currently there are 509 operational think tanks in the country with many having considerable interest in India-Pakistan relations. 

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders of the National League for Democracy were arrested in a series of raids by the military causing imbalance in the tensed civil-military relations on February 1. While, the American President Joe Biden slapped sanctions on Myanmar, India has taken a calibrated stand on the coup. To discuss this implications of this development on democracy, human rights and the larger geopolitical implications on South Asia, Nithya Subramanian, Editor at ISAS, spoke to our guest Dr Avinash Paliwal, a Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Deputy Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, South Asia Institute.

India has emerged as the largest producer of the COVID-19 vaccines globally with the locally manufactured Covishield and Covaxin. In January 2021, it began exporting Covishield to its neighbours and some countries beyond the region through its 'Vaccine Maitri' or 'Vaccine Friendship' initiative. It has, so far, committed to supply 10 million doses worldwide. In this episode, Dr Karthik Nachiappan, a Research Fellow at ISAS, shares his insights into India's vaccine diplomacy and its geopolitical implications against the background of a somewhat strained relationship with its neighbours and a growing Chinese presence in the South Asian region.