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Subject: Bilateral Relations

1. Major World Events
2. India’s Interests in neighbourhood
3. Effects of our Policies

  • Nepal once again raises Kalapani Boundary Issue

    Nepal has raised the Kalapani boundary dispute with India during the Joint Commission meeting of the Foreign Ministers.

    Q.The India-Nepal bilateral relations these days are increasingly seen through the lens of China factor. Examine.

    Kalapani Boundary Issue

    • Mapped within Uttarakhand is a 372-sq km area called Kalapani, bordering far-west Nepal and Tibet.
    • A treaty signed between Nepal and British India in 1816 determined the Makhali river, that runs through Kalapani, as the boundary between the two neighbours.
    • The Treaty of Sugauli concluded between British India and the Kingdom of Nepal in the year 1816, maps the Makhali River as the western boundary with India.
    • But different British maps showed the source of the tributary at different places which were mainly due to underdeveloped and less-defined surveying techniques used at that time.
    • However, the river has many tributaries that meet at Kalapani. For this reason, India claims that the river begins at Kalapani but Nepal says that it begins from Lipu Lekh pass, which is the source of most of its tributaries.
    • While the Nepal government and political parties have protested, India has said the new map does not revise the existing boundary with Nepal.
    • India claims that the river begins at Kalapani but Nepal says that it begins from Lipu Lekh pass, which is the source of most of its tributaries.

    Legal Dimension of Issue

    According to International Laws, the principles of avulsion and accretion are applicable in determining the borders when a boundary river changes course.

    • Avulsion: It is the pushing back of the shoreline by sudden, violent action of the elements, perceptible while in progress. Also, it can be defined as the sudden and perceptible change in the land brought about by water, which may result in the addition or removal of land from a bank or shoreline.
    • Accretion: It is the process of growth or enlargement by a gradual buildup. It is the natural, slow and gradual deposit of soil by the water.

    If the change of the river course is rapid – by avulsion – the boundary does not change. But if the river changes course gradually – that is, by accretion – the boundary changes accordingly.

    Since, the Gandak change, of course, has been gradual, India claimed Susta as part of their territory as per international laws.

    • On several occasions, India has tried to resolve the issue through friendly and peaceful negotiations, but the Nepali leadership has always shown hesitation in resolving the issue.
    • In Nepal, the issue has become a tool for arousing strong public sentiment against India. Therefore, resolving the issue may not be in the best interest of Nepal’s domestic politics.

    Significance for India

    • The Lipu Lekh pass serves strategic importance for India as a key point to monitor Chinese troop movement.
    • The link road via Lipulekh Himalayan Pass is also considered one of the shortest and most feasible trade routes between India and China.
    • The Nepalese reaction would probably have triggered in response to Chinese assertion.

    An undefined boundary claimed by Nepal

    • Nepal’s western boundary with India was marked out in the Treaty of Sugauli between the East India Company and Nepal in 1816.
    • Nepali authorities claim that people living in the low-density area were included in the Census of Nepal until 58 years ago.
    • Five years ago, Nepali Foreign Minister had claimed that the late King Mahendra “handed over the territory to India”.
    • By some accounts in Nepal, this allegedly took place in the wake of India-China War of 1962.

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] India-Nepal Border Row

  • Who are the persecuted Hazara Community of Pakistan?

    Pakistan’s Hazaras finally ended a protest and agreed to bury the bodies of 11 coal miners from the community killed by the IS.

    Genocide and Pakistan are the two inseparable metaphors. Pakistan’s treatment of its minorities is the least highlighted global violation of Human Rights. Hindus, Sikhs and Christians are the most persecuted communities.

    Who are the Hazaras?

    • Around 1773, the mountainous region of Hazarajat in modern-day central Afghanistan was annexed and made a part of the territories of the Afghan Empire under Pashtun ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani.
    • The Sunni Muslim majority under the Pashtun ruler resulted in further marginalization of the Shiite Hazara community, to the extent that in the 18th and 19th century.
    • They were forced to leave fertile lowlands in central Afghanistan and make the dry, arid mountainous landscape their new home.

    Their persecution

    • Persecution of the Shiite Hazaras is nothing new in Pakistan or neighbouring Afghanistan.
    • They have been frequently targeted by Taliban and IS militants and other militant groups in both countries.

    Causes of persecution: Ethnicity and Religion

    • Their unique identity, ethnicity and religion always made the Hazaras stand out among the other communities.
    • Hazaras speak Hazaragi, which is close to Dari Persian, the official language of modern-day Afghanistan.
    • The community also shares physical similarities with the Mongols and their speech, specific terms and phrases, reflect strong Central Asian Turkic influences.
    • This sets them apart from their neighbours in Pakistan and other communities within Afghanistan.

    An attempted ethnic cleansing

    • In the 19th century, the Hazara community constituted approximately 67 per cent of Afghanistan’s total population.
    • Since then, primarily due to violence, oppression and targeted massacres, that number has come down to a little as 10 to 20 per cent of the population now.
    • The attacks reached a crescendo in 2013 when three separate bombings killed more than 200 people in Hazara neighbourhoods of Quetta.
    • In the aftermath of this incident, the Shia community in Pakistan had erupted in anger over the Pakistani government’s lack of protection of its minorities.

  • Reframing India’s foreign policy priorities

    The article highlights the challenges facing the India’s foreign policy and factors responsible for these challenging circumstances.

    Stronger China in 2021 and Impact on India

    • China is about the only major country which had a positive rate of growth at the end of 2020, and its economy is poised to grow even faster in 2021.
    • Europe has recently revived its China links by ‘concluding in principle the negotiations for an EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment’.
    •  The China-EU Investment Treaty which is an indication that Europe values its economy more than its politics.
    • In one swift move, Europe has thus shattered all hope that China would remain ostracised in 2021.
    • India which has greatly curtailed its relations with China in the wake of Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh, will find itself in difficult position.

    Major changes in West Asia and implications for India

    • In West Asia, the Abraham Accords have sharpened the division between the Saudi Bloc and Iran-Turkey.
    • Despite the hype surrounding the Abraham Accords the risk of a confrontation between Iran and Israel remains high.
    • This does pose problems for India, since both have relations with it.
    • Meanwhile, China demonstrates a willingness to play a much larger role in the region, including contemplating a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement with Iran.

    Foreing policy challenges for India in 2021

    • No breakthrough in Sino-Indian relations has, or is likely to occur.
    • India-Iran relations today lack warmth.
    • In Afghanistan, India has been marginalised as far as the peace process is concerned.
    • While India’s charges against Pakistan of sponsoring terror have had some impact globally, it has further aggravated tensions between the two neighbours and pushed Pakistan closer to China.
    • Hostility between India and Nepal appears to have reduced lately, relations continue to be strained.
    • Through a series of diplomatic visits, India has made efforts to improve relations with some of its neighbours such as Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, but as of now worthwhile results are not evident.
    • One key takeaway is that as India-China relations deteriorate, India’s neighbours are not averse to taking sides, increasing India’s isolation.
    • India will serve as the president of the powerful UN Security Council for the month of August, 2021, but if it is to make a real impact, it must be seen to possess substantial weight to shape policies, more so in its traditional areas of influence.

    Factors responsible for India’s foreing policy issues

    • There is a perception that India’s closeness to the U.S. has resulted in the weakening of its links with traditional friends such as Russia and Iran.
    • Perhaps the most relevant explanation could be the shifting balance of power in the region in which India is situated, notably the rise of China.
    • The enlarging conflict between the two biggest powers in Asia is compelling many nations to pick sides in the conflict.
    • Othe important factor is that India’s foreign policy suffers from an ideational vacuum.
    • India remains isolated from two important supranational bodies of which it used to be a founding member, viz., the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

    Conclusion

    As part of the ideational restructuring of India’s foreign policy, what is urgently required, apart from competent statecraft, is the adoption of prudent policies, pursuit of realistically achievable objectives, and, above all, a demonstration of continuity of policy, irrespective of changes in the nature of the Administration.

  • Domestic politics and its influence on foreign policy

    The article examines the issue of intervention in domestic politics by the external powers and the practical utilities of principles of non-intervention in the internal matters of neighbouring countries.

    Political turmoil in Nepal and India’s reaction

    • Nepal has been going through political crisis for some days now.
    • India’s reluctance to be drawn into the political turmoil in Kathmandu has drawn much attention.
    • India’s refusal is in contrast to Beijing’s active effort to preserve the unity of the ruling communist party in Kathmandu.

    The principles of sovereignty and non-intervention and its violations

    • India and China always insist that other countries should stop interfering in their respective internal affairs.
    • But big nations always intervene in other nations but fend off potential threats to their own sovereignty.
    • That does not prevent others from messing with India and Beijing.
    • Intervention is part of international life; all powers — big and small — frequently violate the principle of sovereignty.
    • The concept of national sovereignty was never absolute.
    • Big nations tend to intervene more, and the smaller ones find ways to manage this through the politics of balancing against their large neighbours.

    Analysing the causes of external interventions

    • The pressure for external intervention often comes from major domestic constituencies within.
    • For example, the conflict between Sinhala majority and Tamil minority in Sri Lanka produces political pressure on Delhi to intervene in Sri Lanka.
    • The demand sometimes comes from outside.
    • In Nepal, for example, elite competition sees different factions trying to mobilise external powers.
    • In recent years, we have also seen the intense interaction between domestic power struggles and external powers like India and China.
    • The Maldives is one example.

    Factors responsible for intervention

    • Given the nature of South Asia’s political geography, very few problems can be isolated within the territories of nations.
    • There is also the tension between the shared cultural identity in the subcontinent.
    • There is also the determination of the smaller nations to define a contemporary identity independent of India.
    • The bitter legacies of Partition leave the domestic political dynamics of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan tied together.
    • India’s relations with its smaller neighbours are also burdened by the legacy of India’s past hegemony and the emerging challenges to it.

    What should be India’s regional policy?

    • India can neither stand apart nor jump into every domestic conflict within the neighbourhood.
    • It is always about political judgement about specific situations.
    • Active and direct intervention in the domestic politics of neighbours must be a prudent exception rather than the rule in India’s regional diplomacy.

    Conclusion

    The subcontinent has historically been an integrated geopolitical space with a shared civilisational heritage. Equally true is the reality of multiple contemporary sovereignties within South Asia. In dealing with these twin realities, the principles guiding India’s engagement should be based on  “mutual respect and mutual sensitivity”.

  • Changing contours of India-U.K. ties

    India and the U.K. has shard past, now the present offers an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the two countries.

    India-U.K. ties in changing geopolitical landscape

    • India has invited the British Prime Minister as chief guest for the Republic Day parade.
    • India has a shared past with Britain and needs to chart a different shared future, now that Britain has left the European Union (EU).
    • One joint enterprise will be as members of the UN Security Council where Britain has permanent status and India holds a non-permanent seat this year and next.
    • Also, this year, the U.K. will be hosting India as an invitee to the G-7, and the UN Climate Change Conference.

    Implications of Brexit on the bilateral relations

    •  For the U.K., Brexit necessitates that every effort be made to seek commercial advantage in Asian countries with high growth rates.
    • India has been fruitlessly negotiating a trade agreement with the EU since 2007, during which Britain was considered the main deal-breaker.
    • The EU wanted duty reductions on autos, wines and spirits and wanted India to open financial sectors.
    • India sought free movement for service professionals.
    • The same obstacles with post-Brexit Britain will arise, because the export profile of both countries is predominantly services-oriented.
    • In response to free movement for professionals, Britain will refer to its new points-based system for immigrants.
    • After withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and will place greater stress on aspects related to country of origin and percentage of value addition in exports.
    • Therefore, while signing agreement two countries will coverge on pharmaceuticals, financial technology, chemicals, defence production, petroleum and food products.

    India-U.K. close ties

    • One and a half million persons of Indian origin reside in Britain.
    • Before COVID-19, there were half a million tourists from India to Britain annually and twice that figure in the reverse direction.
    • Around 30,000 Indians study in Britain despite restrictive opportunities for post-graduation employment.
    • Britain is among the top investors in India and India is the second-biggest investor and a major job creator in Britain.
    • India has a credit balance in total trade of $16 billion, but the level is below India’s trade with Switzerland, Germany or Belgium.

    Conclusion

    Two countries should strive towards strengthening ties against the backdrop of changing geopolitical circumstances and the Brexit.

  • New horizon of India-U.S. ties

    The article explores the area of cooperation for India and the U.S. under a new administration in U.S. amid changing geopolitical realities.

    China: Shared cause of concern

    • The Biden administration’s approach to India will be shaped by its position towards China.
    • There is a bipartisan change in the US’s attitude to China.
    • The Biden administration will continue Trump administrations trade policy- reducing the trade deficit, ensuring a level-playing field, keeping a keen eye on technology rivalry etc.
    • There are parallels in the concerns of India and the U.S. — invigorating the domestic economy and dealing with a rising rival.
    • These concerns can translate into opportunities for both countries.

    How India and U.S can convert concerns into opportunities

    1) Cooperation in healthcare

    • Healthcare is clearly an area that India can play up in bilateral relations.
    • The two countries can also work with multilateral agencies across the spectrum of vaccine (including Covid vaccine) development, logistics and distribution.
    • India produces around 20 per cent of the global requirement for generic drugs by volume and every third tablet of generics consumed in the US.
    • The President-elect has indicated his commitment to providing better and affordable healthcare
    • This could be an opportunity for the Indian pharma sector to play a role in reducing health costs of the American consumer.
    • India can benefit from advancements in medical technologies, devices, new medicines and R&D capabilities, presenting opportunities for American companies.

    2) Job creation through trade and exports

    • Biden has set an ambitious target for US-India trade.
    • Businesses in both countries are also looking for diversifying their manufacturing supply chains.
    • This portends well for the creation of employment in manufacturing.
    • An area where strategic considerations and imperatives of job creation converge is defence, especially since India has been designated a Major Defence Partner of the US.

    3) Focus on infrastructure in both countries

    • For the US, this can mean opportunities in India in transportation, power and other urban amenities.
    • The US’s renewed focus on climate change should lead to greater cooperation with India in energy-related areas.
    • Cooperation in energy-related areas includes more efficient energy dissemination and management (such as smart grids) to renewable energy technologies.

    4) Enhance opportunities in 5G tech

    • There is potential to enhance mutual opportunities in the 5G tech sector.
    • Increased partnership between the two nations can accelerate the development of technology solutions, promote vendors in the 5G open ecosystem and drive economic growth.
    • The two countries should engage in shaping the rules of a new order in this space.
    • This also has an important strategic element when seen in the light of developments in the Indo-Pacific as well as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    5) Multilateralism for cooperation in wider areas

    • Once the Biden administration assumes office, we should expect the U.S.’s return to multilateralism.
    • The Trans-Pacific Partnership aimed to create a rules-based order that all parties could subscribe to.
    • With the ascendancy of the Indo-Pacific paradigm and the Quad and Quad Plus, a successor to the TPP could include a wider canvas.
    • For India, this could mean cooperation beyond defence and security, including economics, technology and developments pertaining to the regional order.

    Conclusion

    Both countries should treat the economic and commercial dimension with as much priority as the strategic dimension. Both governments should embrace the prosperity-creating potential of such an approach.

  • CPEC- The corridor of uncertainty

    The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has turned five.

    What is CPEC?

    • China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.
    • It is an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative of China.
    • It intended to upgrade Pakistan’s required infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects, and special economic zones.
    • On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to Gwadar Port for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.

    Why in news?

    • The viability of some of the CPEC’s projects, and how they were going to be paid for in a pandemic-hit economy, had come under renewed attention in Pakistan.
    • China had sought additional guarantees before sanctioning a $6 billion loan for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, which includes upgrading a 1,872 km rail line from Peshawar to Karachi.
    • This is due to the “weakening financial position of Pakistan” and had “proposed a mix of commercial and concessional loans against Islamabad’s desire to secure the cheapest lending”.

    An overrated project

    • The CPEC, to some degree, has been a victim of its own hype.
    • Its economic figure may never materialise as the plan has been “considerably slimmed-down” from the scope that was first imagined.
    • This largely due to the ever-deteriorating financial situation of Pakistan and a visible debt-trap.
    • Pakistan had established a CPEC authority to speed up the execution of several projects that were mired in delays (and to give the military a greater role in the project).

    Threats of Baloch insurgency

    • Gwadar, the heartland of CPEC certainly faces serious threats.
    • The city is a prime target for Baloch nationalist insurgents. Hence Pakistan has decided to fence the area.
    • This has sparked a new furore among the local residents.

    India’s concerns with CPEC

    • CPEC passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (Gilgit-Baltistan) which is an Indian territory illicitly occupied by Pakistan.
    • Thus CPEC undermines India’s strategic interests and territorial integrity.
    • More importantly, with CPEC, China will get access to the western Indian Ocean through Gwadar port.
    • This will help China in controlling maritime trade and would affect the freedom of navigation and trade-energy security of India.

  • 2021: Challenges and opportunities for India in International relations

    After a year when it battled Covid-19 and Chinese aggression, India enters 2021 with the challenge of strengthening ties and building new ones with the US, EU, Middle East countries, and its neighbors.

    Lets’ take a look at key determinants of India’s foreign policy in the post-pandemic year 2021.

    Taking forward our legacy

    • In April 1963, about six months after the 1962 war with China, then PM Jawaharlal Nehru wrote an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, titled ‘Changing India’.
    • He conceded that there was a need to adjust our relations with friendly countries in the light of the changing actualities of the international situation.
    • The Chinese, ‘devious and deceptive’ as they have proved to be, required that India pay ‘considerably more attention to strengthening her armed forces’, said Nehru.

    Agenda for 2021

    • As India bids adieu to a disruptive year that challenged its diplomatic and military standing and enters a new one fraught with challenges, it could borrow from Nehru’s words.
    • The New Year presents India an opportunity to emerge as a global rather than an aspirational player.
    • A reflection of events shows India faced seven hard realities in 2020 and has to deal with six challenges and opportunities in 2021.

    Hard realities of 2020

    #1: China aims for top

    • While it was targeted initially for being the source of the coronavirus, Xi’s regime turned around and started to flex its muscle in the region.
    • The Indo-Pacific was its playground, where Chinese naval or militia forces rammed a Vietnamese fishing boat, “buzzed” a Philippines naval vessel, and harassed a Malaysian oil-drilling operation.
    • It even tried to arm-twist Australia through trade curbs.
    • And since May, Chinese troops have altered the status quo along the border with India, claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, and violated every agreement to maintain peace.

    #2: America under Biden

    Over the last four years, the US vacated the leadership space at the world stage under the Donald Trump Administration.

    • It walked out of or weakened almost a dozen multilateral bodies or agreements, from the Iran deal to the WHO.
    • While Beijing moved in to claim space, the Trump Administration did one thing right — it targeted China and the Communist Party of China for disrupting the global order.
    • Once Joe Biden takes over as President, the US is expected to reclaim the space vacated by Trump.

    #3: Acceptance for Taliban

    • Having invaded Afghanistan 19 years ago trying to root out the Taliban, the US finally made peace with them in February as it looks to exit.
    • For India, this meant the beginning of the process of re-engaging with the Taliban.
    • Signaling long-term commitment to Afghanistan’s future — under Taliban or other political forces — India has committed $80 million, over and above its $3 billion commitment in the last two decades.
    • This means India too is finally looking at the Taliban as a political actor, although it is controlled by the Pakistan military.

    #4: Middle East equations

    • The US-brokered rapprochement between Israel and four Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan — reflected the changing landscape in the region.
    • With Saudi Arabia and Iran competing for leadership, along with Turkey, in the Islamic world, there have been growing calls for ties with Israel.
    • New Delhi has been ahead of the curve, cultivating ties with Israel as well as Saudi-UAE and the Iranians with deft diplomacy.
    • But it has to be careful to not let its gains get impacted by polarizing politics at home — be it through the CAA-NRC or religious fault-lines.

    #5: Russia-China bonding

    • Brewing for the last three decades, ties between Russia and China got closer in 2020.
    • India has always felt that it was the West, with its approach towards Russia after the annexation of the Crimea in 2014 that has pushed Moscow towards Beijing.
    • This has been possible also due to the US’s anti-Chinese rhetoric, the collapse of oil prices, and Russia’s dependence on Chinese consumption.
    • India has strong ties with Russia, and Moscow was the venue for all the India-China official and ministerial conversations over the border standoff.
    • But, it has taken note of Moscow’s position on the Quad and Indo-Pacific, a near-echo of Beijing’s stance.

    #6: Assertive neighbors

    • The year began with Bangladesh asserting itself on CAA-NRC, and then Nepal claiming territory and issuing a new map. It brought home the reality that neighbors are no pushovers.
    • By the end of the year, New Delhi had moved to build bridges with both, wary of an active Beijing. Bangladesh pushed back, and India did not notify the CAA rules. Nepal reached out at the highest level.
    • India also watched closely the US and Chinese forays with the Maldives and Sri Lanka. India appears to have made peace with the involvement of the US in the Maldives, and that of Japan in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

    # 7: Aspirational India

    • By 2020, India’s public articulation of “self-reliance” and refusal to sign trade pacts with RCEP countries was widely perceived as “isolationist” and “inward-looking”.
    • India did step up to supply medicines and protective kits to more than 150 countries but did not come across as the global leader the world needed at this time.
    • Lack of resources, a contracting economy, and its populist politics made it come across as an aspirational power.

    2021: Challenges, opportunities

    #1: Countering China

    • India’s response to the border standoff has been guided by thinking that one has to stand up to the bully, but that has come at a cost: soldiers braving the harsh winter and military assets deployed on land, in air, and at sea.
    • The standoff has reinforced Nehru’s belief in 1963 that India needs “external aid in adequate measure”.
    • India will need continuing support from the US, Japan, Australia, besides European leaders such as France, Germany, and the UK.

    #2: High table at UN

    • As India enters the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the eighth time, stakes are high in the wake of this leadership contest between China and the rest of the world.
    • India will have to take positions on issues it had carefully avoided — from Tibet to Taiwan, from Iran-Saudi rivalry to the refugee crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
    • Cross-border terrorism is one of the top concerns and India will work towards isolating Pakistan further.
    • But a limited fixation on the western neighbor would distract from India’s aspirations of being a global leader.

    #3: Friendship with the US

    • Much is expected from the Biden Administration for building on Indo-US ties, but a lot will depend on how the US views China in the larger scheme of things.
    • Moves towards a possible US-China trade deal will be watched by South Block closely. One of the key tests will be the future of Quad, and the Indo-Pacific strategy of the new administration.
    • New Delhi will build on its deepening strategic and defense ties with the US and would want to resolve trade and visa issues.

    #4: Wooing Europe

    • As the UK and the EU agree on a deal, India will look ahead to negotiating a deal with the UK and a long-pending one with the EU.
    • For a start, it has invited British PM Boris Johnson as Chief Guest for Republic Day.
    • In May, there is a possibility of an India-EU summit.
    • Already, France and Germany have come up with their Indo-Pacific strategy, and a potential European strategy is a possibility, but an EU-China trade deal would be dissected by Indian negotiators.

    #5: Engaging with neighbors

    • China’s growing economic footprint in India’s neighborhood is a concern. While it is being played out in Nepal, India will also watch China’s moves in the rest of the subcontinent.
    • Its moves in Iran, too, were closely watched, and as Presidential elections take place in Iran this year, stakes for engagement will be high.
    • One of the important aspects of 2021 is that, while there is a churning in Nepal, almost every South Asian country has had elections in the last couple of years.
    • That means the governments in these countries are stable.
    • As the world emerges from the pandemic, New Delhi has a lot to gain from what could be “vaccine diplomacy” with neighbors in 2021 — supplying vaccines either frees or at affordable costs.

    Conclusion: Thining global, not just aspirational

    • For a long, India has played the role of an emerging power — with ambitions to play the role of global power.
    • In 2021, New Delhi will host the BRICS summit, and start its preparations for the G-20 summit in 2023. And the India-Africa Forum summit, which could not be held in 2020, could be held in 2021 or later.
    • New Delhi has opportunities to articulate and be vocal on issues that matter to the world and be proactive to further its interests.
    • This could well be the Indian strategy in the New Year, as it navigates a post-Covid-19 future.

  • What is Operation Meghdoot?

    Colonel Narinder ‘Bull’ Kumar (Retd.), instrumental in the Army launching Operation Meghdoot and securing the dominating heights of Siachen Glacier in 1984 has passed away at 87.

    Operation Meghdoot

    • Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces’ operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict.
    • The Siachen then had become a bone of contention following a vague demarcation of territories in the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.
    • Executed in the morning of 13 April 1984, this military operation, launched on the highest battlefield in the world, was the first offensive of its kind.
    • The operation preempted Pakistan’s impending Operation Ababeel and was a success, resulting in Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier in its entirety.
    • Currently, the Indian Army remains the first and only army in the world to have taken tanks and other heavy ordnance up to such an altitude (well over 5,000 m or 16,000 ft).

    Bull Kumar’s contributions

    • Kumar, a legendary mountaineer who had spotted Pakistani activities around the Siachen glacier in 1984 that helped India secure it subsequently.
    • He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 1965.
    • He was decorated with Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Kirti Chakra, and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM).
    • The battalion headquarters on the glacier located close to an altitude of 16,000 feet is named “Kumar post” in his honor.

  • Dealing with the challenges India faces

    The article deals with the challeges India has to deal with in 2021 on the various front like foreign policy and economy.

    Major challenge of 2020

    • The COVID-19 pandemic, which embraced every segment of Indian society was the most insidious threat.
    • Since April, India has confronted an unprecedented situation on the border with China in eastern Ladakh.
    • Ever since, the border has remained live; as of now there is no end in sight.
    • Chinese behaviour at the border has led to a grave hiatus in India-China relations.
    • Internal problems such as Naxalite violence and Jammu and Kashmir endured during much of 2020.
    • The economy is in recession. India has slipped further down the scale in the Human Development Index.
    • Slippages have occurred in the Global Economic Freedom Index.

    How India should deal with the challenges ahead

    1) China challenge and foreign policy

    • In foreign policy India must not remain content or satisfied with the current stand-off with China in the Ladakh sector.
    • The conflict with China is enabling many of its neighbours to play China against India.
    • So, India should think of what better options are available to it to resolve that conflict
    • To tackle China, India must come up with a whole new paradigm of ideas on which further actions can be formulated.

    2) State of the economy

    • India must seek to enhance its competitive advantage vis-a-vis other nations.
    • India should focus on export-oriented economic strategy instead of looking inward to enlarge its economy.
    • India should enhance its export capacity.
    • India’s strength lies in its diversity, and its ability to utilise all available opportunities.
    • The other pressing challenge in 2021 would be job creation for the youth, who are India’s most abiding asset.
    • The government must take urgent steps to set right the disruptions in the labour market caused by the pandemic.
    • Creating new jobs in new industries should be a critical requirement.
    • Stimulating demand would ensure growth in job opportunities, and this should go hand in hand with this task.
    • The importance of such measures must not be underestimated.

    3) Restoring confidence in constitutional practices

    • The government to restore confidence in constitutional proprieties, practices and principles.
    • There is a crisis of confidence which is affecting the body politic.
    • The starting point would be effecting an improvement in Centre-State relations, particularly between Centre and States.
    • As digital technology advances, concerns that an unduly centralised Central government could use this to further reduce the independent authority of States will again need to be dispelled.
    • Effective cooperation between the Centre and the States must be restored as early as possible to instil confidence about India’s democratic future.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges ahead for Indian economy in the wake of economic disruption caused by the pandemic? Suggest the way to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    As 2020 comes to a close, it might be worthwhile to take a hard look at these issues to ensure that 2021 does not become another wasted year.