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Contents

• Foreign Policy- New Trends

• Soft Power

• Central Asia

• West Asia

• Mongolia and India Relations

• North Korea & India Relations

• Indo-Japan Relations

• Oceania

• USA - Cuba Re-approachment

• Indian Ocean

• Refugee Crisis

• Diplomatic Immunity: Issues related to it

• South Korea & India Relations

• Defence Diplomacy

• Russia - (Decline in Indo-Russia Relations)

• Indo - USA Nuclear Deal

• CLND Act, 2010 - (Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages)

• Pivot To Asia

• New Constitution of Nepal

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CURRENT AFFAIRSInternational Affairs

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NotesForeign Policy- New Trends

A. Bringing Religion into Foreign Policy : Importance and Challenges –

1. One of the distinguishing features of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’sdiplomacy has been his effort to rebuild the long-neglected Buddhist bridgeto the world.

2. Recently Modi addressed “A Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on ConflictAvoidance and Environment Consciousness” in the capital in partnershipwith the Tokyo Foundation and the International Buddhist Confederation.

3. From a seeming personal fad of the PM, Buddhism has begun to acquirean unprecedented weight in India’s Asian policy. In his address to theparliament of Mongolia in June this year, Modi went beyond the notionof promoting India’s soft power to highlight the importance of Buddhismin dealing with the contemporary political challenges before Asia and theworld.

a. For one, he insisted that the spiritual values of Buddhism are deeplyconnected to the principles of democracy. “If we follow the ‘rightpath’ of the master,” “it will also be natural to walk on the path ofdemocratic values.” “The convergence of Buddhism and democracyprovides us a path to build an Asia of peace and cooperation, harmonyand equality.”

b. Modi also argued that Buddhism is “a call for each of us, as individualsand as nations, to assume the universal responsibility to mankind andour planet”. That Modi was not being quirky in injecting religion intothe messy debate on climate change was confirmed by none otherthan Pope Francis, who released the encyclical on climate change afew days later, insisting on our collective moral responsibility to passon a clean planet to the next generations.

c. He is quite in tune with an emerging international trend. Many leadingpowers are getting their foreign offices to be more attentive to religiousissues. While many secular states have traditionally seen religion asa source of international conflict, some are beginning to argue thatit might, under certain conditions, be a force for some good. Theavowedly godless Chinese Communist Party now deploys Buddhismas a major diplomatic tool to win friends and influence religiouscommunities across the world. The deeply secular West Europeanstates are acknowledging the resurgence of religion as a major factorin world politics, especially on their doorstep in the Middle East, andare finding ways to cope with it. Although the professional USdiplomatic corps has no religious bias, America’s political leadershave long seen the nation as the “chosen one” and its foreign policyas “god’s work”. More recently, Washington has begun to strengthenthe institutional capacity of the United States government to dealwith matters of faith. The US Department of State now has anOffice of Religion and Global Affairs that advises the secretary ofstate on policy issues relating to faith and helps the US governmentagencies engage religious communities around the world.

4. In Delhi, there is bound to be some unease at Modi’s attempt to bringreligion into the conduct of Indian foreign policy.

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Notesa. After all, independent India has consciously kept its diplomacy apartfrom religion all these decades.

b. Even when India talked of shared culture and deep civilisationallinks with its Asian friends, Delhi was quite careful to edit religionout of it. In being unafraid of bringing faith into foreign policy, Modimay be treading new ground in India.

5. While Modi must bring Indian foreign policy in line with this trend, hemust also guard against the real dangers of faith-based diplomacy.

a. Delhi must recognise that putting religion into statecraft does notmean privileging one faith over another. If Buddhism has the potentialto reinforce India’s engagement with many East Asian countries, asimilar outreach on Islam might boost India’s ties with the Muslimworld. As the power of Christian groups rises across the world, Delhialso has a good reason to engage them.

b. India must also avoid creating any impression that its new interest inBuddhism is directed against any particular country. Even moreimportant, Delhi must be acutely conscious of being drawn intoreligious quarrels of others or allowing external intervention in itsown multiple contentions on faith.

c. A purposeful engagement with key religious communities around theworld could certainly lend new effectiveness to India’s internationalrelations, but only when it is handled with great political care anddiplomatic competence.

B. Federalization of Foreign Policy

1. Present scenario – Federalization of foreign policy is happening here

a. From Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s aggressive lobbyingon Sri Lanka, to the multitude of voices on Bangladesh that haveemerged from Assam and Tripura on Bangladesh, to Punjab andJammu and Kashmir’s engagements with Pakistan — states aredemanding a direct say in how foreign policy is made and conducted.

b. In June 2015, West Bengal CM accompanied PM on his tour toBangladesh. This was a decisive turn in Indian diplomacy as for thefirst time, perhaps, the leader of a state — and one ruled by anopposition party — has been acknowledged to have a place in themaking and execution of foreign policy.

2. Dangers of it – It doesn’t take a lot to see the perils that could lie ahead.

a. CMs have a record of putting chauvinist concerns ahead of strategicimperatives, something that has increasingly complicated India’sdealings with Sri Lanka.

b. Then, the interests of states in dealings with foreign countries mightnot always converge, which could render decision-making fraught.

c. Issues of national security might, conceivably, conflict with stateinterests in trade.

d. And worse, states could blackmail the Centre on foreign policydecisions, demanding concessions in return for their consent.

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Notes3. For all these dangers, though, the federalisation of foreign policy isinevitable, even desirable.

a. Though New Delhi cannot afford to give regional leaders a veto overthe conduct of foreign policy, it has to take on board the fact thatmany states now have economic and diasporic relationships acrossthe world.

b. Foreign missions in New Delhi are devoting growing resources tocultivating relationships with state-level leaders, recognising that they— not the Central government — are key to making and deliveringdeals.

c. Also the present government is not comfortably placed in RajyaSabha, thus it has make ego-assuaging concessions to CMs belongingto opposition parties.

4. Concluding Remark

a. For India’s foreign policy establishment, learning to listen to regionalleaders will be a new, and sometimes painful, experience. But theprocess cannot be deferred.

Soft Power

What is Power and Hard Power?

1. Power is the ability to achieve one’s purposes or goals and at the mostgeneral level, it is the capacity to influence the behaviour of others to getthe outcomes one wants.

2. There are several ways of influencing the behaviour of others. To achievethe desired outcomes, one can coerce with threats, induce with paymentsthis has been the traditional concept of power (‘hard power’) in internationalpolitics. This concept of hard power is often associated with the possessionof certain resources like population, territory, natural resources, economicstrength, military force and political stability.

What is Soft Power?

1. A new form of power—‘soft power’— has become increasingly discussedin the post-Cold War era.

2. The idea of soft power was formally coined by Joseph Nye, a Harvardpolitical scientist in his book, ‘Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature ofAmerican Power’. The term was coined in the context of an aggressivedefence strategy pursued by the US. Nye argued, especially as in the caseof Vietnam where the US military was unable to hold its own, leave alonewinning the hearts and minds of people, for employing non-military methodsto further the US cause. (Now USA has started engaging with Vietnam (ina bid to counter China’s influence).

3. According to him, soft power is the ability of a country to persuadeothers to do what it wants without resorting to force or coercion.

4. How is it different from hard power?

a. Hard and soft power can be regarded as two extremities on acontinuum of power.

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Notesb. They involve different ideas, interactions and institutions for foreignpolicy whether in the areas of security, politics or economics.

c. Ideally, hard power strategies focus on military intervention, coercivediplomacy, and economic sanctions in order to enforce nationalinterests resulting in confrontational policies vis-à-vis neighbouringcountries.

d. While soft power strategies stress on common political values,peaceful means for conflict management, and economic co-operationin order to achieve common solutions.

5. Source of soft power –Soft power, lies in a country’s attractiveness andcomes from three resources:

a. Its culture (in places where it is attractive to others),

b. Its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad),and

c. Its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and havingmoral authority).

6. Power is becoming less fungible, less coercive and less concrete today. Co-

optive behavioural power and soft power resources are not new. However,

recent trends and changes in political issues have made them more

significant.

Importance of Soft Power & Limitations of Hard Power

1. Though slower to yield results, soft power is a less expensive means than

military force or economic inducements to get others to do what we want.

2. Neither possible, nor desirable to achieve the goal of foreign policy using

hard power.

3. Soft powers importance has increased in the context of globalisation and

the growing disquiet over the use of military power for achieving foreign

policy objectives.

4. Though soft power cannot produce results as fast as hard power, its effects

are more long-lasting and it is less expensive than hard power.

5. The importance of soft power is due to its ability to influence others

unintrusively and unconsciously. It is thus an indirect way to get what you

want and hence has been termed the ‘second face of power’.

6. India cannot compete with leaders like USA and China–

a. Not coincidentally, India’s public diplomacy over the last 5 years hassought to promote its soft power credentials in a battle for influencewith China in Asia and around the world.

b. A concrete example of this new soft power rivalry is visible inAfrica today. Since India cannot match China’s massive financialinvestments in Africa, it has been concentrating on soft powerresources such as its information technology capabilities and itsaffordable university courses to attract African students.

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Notesc. At the same time it has promoted its image of the country whichinspired the anti-colonial struggles of the last century and took astrong principled stand against apartheid to develop future partnershipsin Africa. As a result, by publicising the pluralist nature of its politicsand society, India intends to prove it is a cooperating, stabilising andexemplary rising power, in contrast to China’s more aggressive, if notneo-colonial model.

7. Supporting Examples –

a. Reapproachment of USA with Vietnam and Cuba where hard powerfailed;

b. Another example is the Unites States’ increased funding and emphasisto public diplomacy post 9/11 and the Iraq War because its unilateraluse of hard power in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to the growth ofanti-Americanism in many parts of the world and decreased its softpower significantly.

8. Today’s major powers are not as able to use their traditional power resources

to achieve their purposes as in the past. Private actors and small stateshave become more powerful on many issues. At least five trends havecontributed to this diffusion of power: economic interdependence,

transnational actors, rise of nationalism in weak states, the spread oftechnology and changing political issues.

9. The importance of soft power in the contemporary world can be seen ifwe look at why China pulled out all stops to hold a successful Olympics.

The success of the Beijing Olympics has helped increase China’s softpower around the world with the associated benefits.

‘SOURCES’ of India’s Soft Power – India’s Soft Power Potential

India has always been a country with tremendous ‘soft power’—as can be seenfrom the fact that unlike the rise of China, its ‘rise’ is not being viewed with

trepidation and alarm in many countries. The various sources of soft power

Culture 1. Culture is the most important source of soft power. Indiais at a very advantageous position as far as culture isconcerned and has historically enjoyed much soft power.

2. Alternative to western values -

a. Indian culture (based on spiritualism) offers one ofthe most dynamic alternatives to Western culturalvalues (i.e. materialism).

b. India's spirituality is much needed in these days ofconflict and strife. India's tolerance for differentreligions and cultures is legendary. This is the landwhich has preached 'Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam' (theworld is my family) and Loka Samastha SukhinoBhavanthu (let there be peace in the whole world)after all. India's message of secularism which actuallymeans different religions co-existing in harmony witheach other, rather than the Western concept of

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Notesseparation of religion and the State is a valuable lessonin these days when there is so much strife in the nameof religion.

3. Long civilizational links -

a. India has had a long history of civilizational and culturallinks with countries as far-flung as Iran, Rome andSouth East Asia. Its riches and splendour have attractedtraders and travellers for thousands of years.

b. Countries in Southeast Asia still have remnants ofIndian traditions: the Angor Vat temple in Cambodia,temples and pagodas in Thailand, Myanmar as well asthe presence of several Sanskrit words in languageslike Bahasha Indonesia prove the influence of Indianculture on these countries. India, as the land wherethe Buddha preached, has positive connotations forBuddhists all over the world.

c. Buddhism spread from India to China and othercountries through Buddhist monks and scholars cameto India to study at its universities leading to a healthyexchange of ideas right from ancient times theinfluence of which is apparent throughout Asia eventoday.

d. Islamic preachers from India are believed to havespread the religious and cultural values of Islam inSingapore and Malaysia.

4. Non Violence -

a. Also, as one of the few places in the world whereJews were welcomed and not persecuted, India enjoysmuch soft power in Israel.

5. Indian Diaspora -

a. India's diaspora is a huge soft power asset. There aremillions of Indian diaspora spread across countries.

b. This diaspora (comprising of blue color labor as wellas white collar professional elite to political elites) havecontributed immensely to the countries they havesettled in and command influence and respect in thesecountries.

c. In fact, the Indo-American community in the US hasbeen found to be the most educated immigrantcommunity in the US. The recent upturn in Indo-USrelations has a lot to do with the lobbying, influenceand reputation of the Indo-American community.

6. Yoga -

a. One of India's most successful and enduring imports-yoga-is practised all over the world both as a form ofexercise and as a stress-buster by millions of people.

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NotesYoga is already a global phenomenon and is rapidlybecoming part of mainstream culture, particularly inthe West.

7. Cuisine -

a. Indian cuisine with its subtle use of spices and herbsgrown across the Indian subcontinent is also becomingpopular in the West, particularly in the UnitedKingdom (UK) which is home to a large Indiandiaspora. Indian food has also gained popularity inother Western countries and there are many Indianrestaurants in the larger cities of the US and Canada.

8. Music and Movies

a. Elements of popular Indian culture like music andmovies have a wide following in many countries. Thepower of music can bridge borders and bring people

closer.

b. Indian music and movies have a large international

market and have become increasingly popular abroad,particularly in Asia, Europe, Africa and West Asia.

c. Even in countries like Russia, Syria and Senegal,Indian films, particularly Hindi Bollywood, which is

the most important movie industry after Hollywood)movies, have a following. Indian movies are popular

and watched not only in South Asian countries likeBangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and SriLanka due to their close proximity with India and due

to certain similar cultural outlooks present in themovies but also in Europe, Africa and the MiddleEast. Wax statues of several actors from the Indian

film industry at Madame Tussaud's in London beartestimony to the influence of Indian cinema and India's

soft power.

d. When Indian movies are screened at International FilmFestivals like Cannes, then our soft power is built.

9. The success of Indian companies like Infosys Technologies

and Wipro Technologies in the Information Technology

(IT) sector; success of other multinational companies like

the Tata Group and Reliance Group; and the worldwide

recognition of the academic excellence of the Indian

Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of

Technology (IITs)-the centres of excellence for higher

training, research and development in science, engineering

and technology in India-have contributed to the new image

of India as a country with English educated, enterprising

people. In the US, for example, the stereotypical Indian is

no longer a starving peasant, but a highly professional IT

specialist.

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Notes 1. Democracy

a. India is the world's largest democracy. India has neverhad a military dictatorship.

b. India has had free and fair elections sinceindependence.

c. India's democracy has allowed traditionallymarginalized sections of society like ScheduledCastes, Scheduled Tribes and women to participate ingovernance.

d. In fact, Bhutan's and Nepal's recent shift towardsdemocracy was encouraged by its neighbor India'sexample of a thriving democracy.

e. Free Media - The presence of a free press in which allshades of opinion are allowed to be expressed alsocontributes to India's soft power.

f. Civil society - India has a thriving civil society whichhas never shied away from trying to solve social ills.

g. Judiciary -unlike most Asian countries, also has afiercely independent judiciary which has often playedan activist role in taking up many issues important tothe public, but neglected by the government.

h. As the world's largest democracy, with a vibrant freepress, India has important soft power advantages overthe other rising power in the region, China. Becauseof India's democratic experience, its rise (unlike China)has been perceived as complementing rather thanchallenging the existing Asian and international orders.

2. Nuclear -

a. The U.S., with its Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, accordedIndia special treatment in nuclear cooperation. Thedeal provided benefits usually reserved for Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatories. Washingtonjustified cooperation with India by highlighting Delhi'simpeccable non-proliferation record. This stance wasreplicated by other states, including the NuclearSuppliers Group (NSG) member states who allowedIndia's participation in international nuclear commerceand supported the Indo-U.S. deal. Today, India is theonly known nuclear weapons state that is not part ofthe NPT but is still permitted to engage in nuclearcommerce globally.

b. Despite having tested weapons in 1974 and 1998 andbeing a non-signatory to the NPT and ComprehensiveTest Ban Treaty, India has been one of the most vocaladvocates for global disarmament. It has arguably beenthe most passionate anti-nuclear campaigner amongstthe world's nine known or suspected nuclear weapons

Political Values

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Notesstates, with one of the world's most notable pleas forglobal disarmament made by Prime Minister RajivGandhi at the U.N. in 1988. Delhi sought to avoidlabels of hypocrisy by positioning itself as the"reluctant nuclear power."

1. Joseph Nye says that a country's foreign policy can increaseits soft power if its foreign policy is perceived by othercountries and people to be 'legitimate, non-aversial and havingmoral authority'.

2. India's foreign policy has been based on moral values fromthe time of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who remainsa tremendous influence on Indian foreign policy even today.

3. Moreover, even before independence, leaders of the IndianNational Congress supported the freedom struggles of peopleunder colonial rule in Asia and Africa. This support, bothpolitical and material, continued even after independence.

4. India also strongly decried Apartheid and racialdiscrimination at international fora.

5. Its refusal to join either bloc during the Cold War and sendinga medical contingent rather than armed combatants to theUnited Nations (UN) force in Korea in 1950 also enhancedits standing in the world community, particularly thecountries of the Third World.

6. His is proved by India's getting the chairmanship of theNeutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) set upin 1953 after the Korean War and India's mediatory role inbringing about the Indo-China Peace Agreement after theFrench were defeated by the Vietnamese.

7. Nehru commanded respect in the newly-independentcountries of the world as leader of the Non AlignedMovement (NAM). Nehru was determined to "forge a worldorder that eschewed, or at least hobbled, the use of forcein international politics".29 India even supported China'sclaim for a permanent seat on the United Nations (UN)Security Council. Thus, till the 1962 Sino-Indian war atleast, India's soft power especially among Third Worldcountries was tremendous and India was the rallying pointfor many of these countries.

8. Non-aggression - Despite possessing one of the world'slargest armies and its location in a hostile and troubledneighbourhood, India has not threaten another country; wehave not launched a war. The five wars that it has beenengaged in have been in reaction to aggression from Pakistanand China.

9. Unlike the US, it has never sought to perpetuate itshegemony, either in the neighbourhood or elsewhere in theworld.

10. India don't interfere in other’s internal matters.

ForeignPolicies

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Notes11. Instead we help them to restructure e.g. in Sri lanka andAfghanistan. We see Indian personnel working closely inthe rehab of war-torn countries such as Afghanistan andIraq to rebuild or create new infrastructure-often atconsiderable personal risk to themselves.

12. As compared to china's economic penetration which is seenas a threat to the local economy, India's investment iswelcomed and is seen as beneficial

13. After the 1990s, India has tried to play down its 'big brother'image in South Asia by taking initiatives to resolve disputeswith its neighbours and scrupulously avoiding interferencein the internal affairs of its neighbours. One example ofthis is the 'Gujral doctrine' which introduced the principleof non-reciprocity, emphasising that India not only had abigger responsibility, but should give more to the smallerneighbours than she would receive.

14. With globalization and liberalization of the economy, ascountries became more interdependent, any country couldnot afford to antagonise other countries by stressing on itshard power capabilities.

15. India's participation in UN peacekeeping operations can beinterpreted as an attempt to increase its soft power incountries around the world.

16. Even the Indian Army has also attempted to use soft powerin militancy-affected states like Jammu & Kashmir to winthe 'hearts and minds' of people in places where there isinsurgency. 'Operation Sadhbhavana' in Jammu and Kashmirand other operations in which the Indian army has builtinfrastructure, refugee camps and given medical aid to peoplein militancy-infested regions are good examples for this.

17. The best example of India's successful use of soft powercan be seen in its relations with Afghanistan helping it steala march over its traditional rival, Pakistan in the hearts ofthe common Afghans. Since the fall of the Taliban, Indiahas focussed on the reconstruction of Afghanistan throughaid for building infrastructure like dams and roads andproviding scholarships for Afghan students. Indian televisionoperas and Hindi movies have become the primary sourceof entertainment for Afghans, particularly those in citiesand towns.

18. Our neighbors do not see India as a threat in the way thatmany of Russia or China's neighbors view those powers.

19. When it came to humanitarian intervention, over the last25 years India's opposition or support was directly relatedto the level of intrastate violence entailed in intervening.This was true regardless of who was intervening in whom,for what reason, and whether there were strategic gains init for Delhi. This included interventions in Iraq, Libya andSyria. India's opposition to intervention was compoundedby its pluralistic worldview, with acceptance of all regimetypes.

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NotesSteps Taken to Realize this Potential

1. It is only over the past decade or so that India has begun to play its softpower cards more systematically.

2. Besides setting up a public diplomacy division within the Ministry ofExternal Affairs in 2006 and expanding the Indian Council for CulturalRelations (ICCR) worldwide, it has roped in the Ministry of Tourism,which is behind the “Incredible India” campaign, and the Ministry forOverseas Indians “to showcase its social, political, and cultural assetsabroad,”

3. These government actors are working to leverage India’s soft power “byusing it to support larger foreign policy initiatives such as the Look EastPolicy (now Act East), the Connect Central Asia policy, and developingstrategic aid and trade partnerships in Africa,” he said, adding that in eachof these initiatives, “official diplomacy has been buttressed by culturalexchange and efforts at increasing public knowledge and appreciation ofIndia in foreign countries.”

4. Opening learning of Sanskrit institutes.

5. India’s continued soft power in the Asia–Pacific can be seen in the proposalby India to revive the once world famous Nalanda University in partnershipwith China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. This initiative is an exampleof the convergence of the soft power agendas of five different countries.

6. India has Creating a Public Diplomacy Division in India’s Ministry ofExternal Affairs in 2006. This new institution’s main objective has beento intensify the dialogue on foreign policy issues with all segments of thesociety at home and abroad. However, it is a fairly new and smalldepartment and its ability to formulate and implement policies remainsto be seen.

7. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has set up 22 culturalcentres in 19 countries whose activities ranging from film festivals tobook fairs and art exhibitions, aim to present an image of India as a pluralmulticultural society.

8. The Indian government has also encouraged the use of Hindi abroad byorganising an annual and rotating World Hindi Conference and by offeringHindi classes in its different centres.

9. India has also begun to emphasise its democratic process. In 2005, Indiajoined the UN Democracy Fund and contributed $25 million to it, makingit the second biggest donor after the US ($38 million). India’s activitiesmainly include electoral assistance and programs to strengthen the rule oflaw and to fight corruption.

10. In Afghanistan, India has deliberately refused to send any military missionand instead pursued a soft power strategy to gain Afghan goodwill bydelivering $1.3 billion in economic and logistical assistance. Since 2001,India has concentrated on the reconstruction of Afghanistan through aidfor building infrastructure like dams and roads and providing scholarshipsfor Afghan students. Ordinary Afghans seem to have appreciated India’s‘soft’ involvement in their country and majority of them have a favourableimage of India.

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Notes11. Also write about steps taken at bilateral level in general especially economicassistance to each country.

12. India has also progressively tried to include its diaspora into its foreignpolicy strategies.

Recent Steps Taken by NDA Government

1. Religion

a. Religion especially Buddhism is a key components of Modi’s missionin shaping the future of the subcontinent and Asia. On the occasionof Buddha Purnima, Modi said, “Without Buddha, the 21st centurywill not be Asia’s century.”

b. During his travels over the last year, Modi has put shared religiousheritage with neighbours at the centre of his regional engagement,whether it was

i. Offering prayers to Lord Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, Nepal;

ii. Meditating at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan; or

iii. Visiting the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.In sri lanka he also met the Mahanayakas. Engaging withMahanayakas was important as they wield political influenceover the Buddhists in Sri Lanka.

c. Religious tourism infra – Modi has talked about the possibilities ofrestoring historic Buddhist sites in the subcontinent and promotingtourism by integrating them across borders through moderntransportation facilities.

• During budget 2015, 100 crore provided for National Missionon Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and SpiritualAugmentation Drive(PRASAD). It was also announced that Sarnath-Gaya-VaranasiBuddhist circuit to be developed with world class touristamenities to attract tourists from all over the world.

d. In march 2015, An Indian government-supported NGO organised arare dialogue on vinaya between high-ranking monks of the Theravadatradition in Sri Lanka and the Nalanda tradition in New Delhi inmarch 2015 — a dialogue at this level between the two traditionswas last held in the 7th century AD.

• Besides Sri Lanka, Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religionin Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, while the Nalanda traditionhas a Himalayan perspective, which includes Nepal and Bhutan.By reaffirming India’s historical leadership of the Buddhist worldand projecting its Buddhist links in the region, Delhi is evidentlytrying to counter efforts by China to extend its sphere ofinfluence.

e. As governor of Fujian province, President Xi Jinping had activelyplayed the Buddhist card and Beijing continues to further its agendathrough the world fellowship of Buddhists. Of course, Chinese claimsof promoting Buddhism are ironic because Beijing represses thereligion in the country, violently so in Tibet which India shouldhighlight.

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Notes2. Yoga

a. On June 21, the world will observe International Day of Yoga for thefirst time ever. A United Nations resolution to this effect that Indiamoved in the General Assembly last year was co-sponsored byan unprecedented 170 countries. It “reflected yoga’s immensepopularity worldwide, underscoring its richness as a soft powerresource.”

b. Yoga is among the themes that figured during the recent visit ofIndia’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China, Mongolia, and SouthKorea.

3. Nepal earthquake – Humanitarian aid extended to the people affected bythe devastating earthquake that hit Nepal (and those impacted by previouscalamities in South Asia).

4. Social Media –

a. On his visit to China he leveraged social media to reach out toordinary Chinese citizens by debuting on Sina Weibo, China’sadaptation of Twitter. In couple of days his account recorded 11million hits. (Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister andBritish Prime Minister David Cameron are also on it).

5. Bollywood

a. On his visit to China he leveraged bollywood to reach out to ordinaryChinese citizens. Bollywood movie PK was also released in chinawhich grossed 100 crore there (earlier 3 Idiots was released whichwas also very popular).

b. The Indian and the Chinese film industries are also coming togetherin celebration of the Hein Tsang’s (Xuan Zang’s) China-India connect.An MoU was signed between Eros group and China Film Groupwho will collaborate for the making of the film on him. Already amovie titled “Kung Fu Yoga” featuring Hollywood star Jackie Chanis being made under the joint production.

6. Steps taken by Modi to pay homage to world war veterans to tell theworld that they stood with them in those difficult days.

Challenges –(What Erode’s our Soft Power, Neglected Areas)

• In practice, India’s soft power remains weak for two primary reasons:

a. First, Indian diplomacy has neglected soft power as an importanttool of statecraft and has only recently understood the relevance of‘cultural diplomacy’. Goodwill for India abroad has largely beengenerated in an unplanned manner.

b. Second, soft power cannot really exist without some initial hardpower achievements. A country will only be able to realistically tella ‘better story’ if it has material power to build its soft power on.

• Foreign Policy

a. Myanmar operation and above all chest-thumping. But recentincidents like chest-thumping after the Myanmar incident can senda wrong signal. Do it but don’t shout.

b. Supporting terrorism to counter – terrorism – this gives credence toPakistan claim that india is a hypocrite country.

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Notesc. Big brother attitude to neighbours who are using the chinese card.

d. Need to give more aid and thus in this aspect were not able competewith china which is giving aid in billions.

• Programs of ghar wapsi and failing to take steps to prevent minoritiespersecution send a wrong signal to whole world esecially the Muslimworld.

• Human rights violations by instruments of the State like the Police andthe Army reflect badly on a country which has a very liberal Constitution,thus eroding its soft power. The use of torture to extract confessions andcontinued use of the capital punishment (though used very rarely) whenmost countries have abolished these practices also affect the country’s softpower negatively.

• India’s dismal ranking in UN Human Development Report for 2009 whichseriously affects India’s soft power bringing back the earlier images of the1950s of an overpopulated, poor country with underfed people. Economicreforms have led to high growth rate.

• Unresolved disputes with its immediate neighbours also affect India’s softpower potential. India needs to resolve these disputes reasonably if itwants to be seen as a global power deserving a seat on the UN SecurityCouncil.

• The lack of success in sports and a non-existent sporting culture are alsoimpediments in the growth of India’s soft power. No other aspect ofculture has the capacity to bring together powerful tool for internationalengagement as sports does. For instance, China, having held an extremelysuccessful Olympics and having topped the medals tally, has gained new-found respect from countries across the world.

Way Forward

• Learn from the Beijing Model

a. As China raced to become one of the leading economies, culturaldiplomacy became an important complement to Beijing’s “go out”strategy.

b. Over the last decade, Xinhua, once the classic example of a “staidsocialist news agency”, acquired global reach and influence.

c. China’s state-owned CCTV network launched international TVchannels in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. Beijinghas also set up nearly 500 Confucius Centres to teach Mandarin andpresent Chinese culture to international audiences.

d. But Delhi should learn to stay out of the business of “promoting”it. Much like propaganda, which works best when it’s not seen assuch, soft power strategies are most effective when they are subtleand indirect.

• Soft power can be increased by augmenting funding for cultural activitiesin embassies, promoting India aggressively and starting India study centresall over the world on the lines of British Council, American InformationResource Centers, Alliance Francoise and the Confucius Institutes startedby China. These institutes increase their respective countries’ soft powerby projecting a favourable image of their countries to the outside worldthrough public relations exercises.

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Notes• The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) should give more emphasis to publicdiplomacy and more initiatives like friendship years with different countriesshould be started. More funding should be given for public diplomacy.

• India should also hold more cultural festivals abroad showcasing differentaspects of its culture.

• The doors of Indian universities should be opened to foreign studentsthrough scholarships and student exchange programmes so that theyunderstand Indian culture, interests and values by the time they go homeand propagate a favourable image about India.

• For this, more funds should be allotted to the Indian Council for CulturalRelations (ICCR).

• Tourists must be welcomed to India so that more people see the beautyand varied culture of India. Indian tourists abroad also convey the imageof a new, rich and confident India. They must also be advised to be politeand to respect the traditions of the countries they visit.

• There should be more focus on sports infrastructure development in schoolsso that the world gets to know India as a sporting nation.

• The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas initiative by the Indian government is alaudable attempt to tap into the economic and political resources of theIndian diaspora all over the world. But India needs to do more so that thediaspora feels welcome and wanted by India.

• India needs to ensure that the benefits of democracy and economic reformsreach the needy. This would help bring those fighting the Indian State intothe mainstream. It has certainly taken some steps towards this byencouraging those fighting against it in Kashmir and the North East toengage in the political process. This effort seems to be working and mustbe encouraged.

Concluding Remark

12. India, at various points in its history, has used both hard power and softpower. However, a reliance on one or the other exclusively would not helpin achieving foreign policy objectives. Soft power cannot be used in allsituations just as hard power cannot be used in all circumstances. But ifused effectively in conjugation with hard power, it can yield better resultsthan if only hard power is used. This use of a judicious combination ofsoft and hard power has been termed as ‘smart power’ by some scholarslike Suzanne Nossel. India has a lot of potential for this ‘smart power’,blessed as it is with abundant soft power as well as hard power.

Central Asia

A. SCOs Expansion

1. Founded originally as Shanghai 5 in 1996 by 5 nations. Then Uzbekistanwas included in 2001 and thereafter it became SCO. In 2015, it wasdecided to include India and Pakistan as new members.

2. Its members are China, Russia, central asian countries except Turkmenistan,India and Pakistan.

3. Functions:

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Notesa. Its core aim is security cooperation. i.e. It’s a security block. It issometimes also tagged as Asia’s NATO.

b. Energy and water resources have emerged as focal areas ofcooperation.

c. Cultural cooperation - E.g. people to people contact, festivals, showsetc.

4. Reasons for including new members –

a. Each of the six original members, though, have varying geostrategicreasons for wanting India on board — a sign of how complex thechallenges of shaping the new Asia are.

b. The four Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,and Uzbekistan — want a counterweight to the dominance of Russiaand China.

c. Moscow wants a counterweight to China’s growing power in its CentralAsian backyard and a new partner to show its adversaries in Europeand the US that it is not without friends.

d. For its part, China sees expansion as a step towards giving theorganisation heft — especially since its ally, Pakistan, is also joiningup.

e. The SCO has been cast as the institutional heart of a new Asianorder — an emerging counterweight to a world with US and Europeanpower at its core. That billing hasn’t been matched by anything theSCO has actually done since it was founded in 2001, but there’s littledoubt that full membership will give New Delhi a real say in shapingAsia’s geostrategic powers.

f. Four of the eight nations which have tested nuclear weapons, anindex of military power, will be part of the new alliance once Indiaand Pakistan are on board next year; so, too, will three of the world’smajor economies, along with territories that house some of the world’slargest hydrocarbon reserves.

5. Importance of SCO membership to India –

a. India’s membership of the SCO is significant. To begin with, it opensup trade, energy and transit routes between Russia and China thatpass through Central Asia, that were hitherto closed to India.

b. Iran’s observer status will ensure the SCO serves as a platform forIndia to discuss trade through the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas andChabahar, and link them to the Russian proposal for a North-SouthTransport Corridor. This circumvents India’s situation of beinghemmed in owing to lack of access to markets through Pakistan.

c. While the SCO charter disallows bilateral issues being taken up, thesecurity grouping provides a platform for India and Pakistan to discussthem, as it will be when Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif meet.

d. With Russia and China taking the lead, the SCO could even provea guarantor for projects such as the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) pipelines that India hasheld off on security concerns.

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Notese. The SCO summit will provide a valuable interface to engage withAfghanistan’s neighbours at a time when so much is changing in itssecurity outlook, between the international troop pullout and talkswith the Taliban.

f. Finally, the SCO is an important counter-balance to India’s perceivedtilt towards the U.S. and its allies on security issues. In a politicallypolarised world, with the U.S. and Europe pitted against Russia andChina and where all the powers are economically interlinked, India’sbest hope to emerge a leader lies in its ability to bridge the two.

6. Way Forward –

a. For New Delhi, the challenge will be to ensure the two great powersalready at the table do not undermine its own interests.

b. In 2005, for example, the SCO called for a timetable for the US toshut down bases in Central Asia — bases that India, however, saw asimportant elements in stabilising Afghanistan.

c. New Delhi, moreover, is seeking an enhanced partnership with EastAsian states like Japan, which view China with suspicion. New Delhihas now gained entry to the halls where the Great Game is beingplayed — but must beware that it does not gamble more than it canafford to lose.

B. PM’s Visit to Central Asia

1. In July 2015, PM Modi visited the 5 Central Asian countries.

2. Main highlights of the visit –

a. The prime minister’s visit had a strong cultural connotation thoughthe past links with Central Asia have not yet given the desired results.Importantly, he touched upon the shared Islamic heritage and Sufitraditions. Modi gifted a reproduction of Khamsa-i-Khusrau to IslamKarimov. Hopefully, the Uzbek dictator liked the gift. Linguistic linkswith the Tajiks were also invoked by Modi. Clearly, the visit entaileda strong joint socio-cultural rhetoric – references to Yoga, Hindi, Sufism,IT, among others, added substance to India’s soft power.

b. Nazarbayev’s daring decision to sign a major contract for a renewedlong term supply of 5,000 Metric tonnes (MT) of uranium to Indiaduring the next five years is the most significant takeaway of thePrime Minister’s visit. This is in fact proving more promising thanachievements on the hydrocarbons side.

c. Then India’s ONGC-Videsh Ltd (OVL) has finally made its firstbreakthrough when Modi launched the drilling operations for oilexploration in the Satpayev block on 7 July, 2015.

d. The Ufa Summit and Modi’s visit to Turkmenistan may also havepossibly shown the way finally even for the TAPI pipeline to see thelight of day. In Ashgabat, the Prime Minister called the TAPI projecta “key pillar” and pushed for its realization “quickly”.

e. Combating terrorism, cementing defence, economic and energy tiesand enhancing connectivity were recurring themes in the PrimeMinister’s discussions with the leaders of these countries. In all, the21 bilateral agreements signed with the five countries were desirable.

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Notesf. Inking of a MoU for co-operation between the Indian and KyrgyzElection Commissions is significant, though the Kyrgyz have beenlooking to Western countries for democratic experience.

g. The contract with Uzbekistan for the supply of 2,000 metric tonnesof uranium signed in 2014 is important, but it needs to be seen howit gets implemented finally.

3. Significance –

• Of course, there were no big ticket items to turn the spotlight, but thePrime Minister’s own strong presence seems to have created a hugeexcitement. Modi has become a factor in Central Asia and this isimportant. In fact, it has been decades since any popular Indian leadervisited these countries and they felt nice about it. Such a visit waslong desired; as one friend of this author put it, we needed such athing because Indian leaders have always appealed to everyone inCentral Asia.

4. Challenges –

a. India has already missed the bus and it has a lot of catching up to do.

b. India faces financial limitations when it comes to competing withother powers in Central Asia. Indian investment is dismal and thecurrent engagement policy does not have vitality for spurring economicinterdependence with these countries.

c. Connectivity : The connectivity issue, i.e., the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor (INSTC), has been discussed since 2000.Crores have been spent on Bandar Abbas and now on the ChabaharPort option. But accessing Central Asia via the Indian Ocean is aflawed approach that has proved unviable and has not worked so far.During the visit, Modi mooted the idea of bypassing Afghanistan tolink with Central Asia through surface, digital and air connectivity.Many wonder whether his visit was linked to India’s growingdisenchantment with Afghanistan’s increasing closeness with Pakistan.

d. Apart from geography, a lack of understanding and scholarship isanother handicap. India does not have the depth of knowledge on theregion’s historical, political, linguistic, and above all the intricate socio-tribal structural underpinnings, for instance, the function andrelationship among Kazakh zhus (hordes) that ultimately regulate thedecision making process. As a result, the official and diplomaticchannels often used do not necessarily yield the desired results. Thisstyle of approach over a period of time has led to a distortion inoverall relations –the reason why the depth of India-Central Asia tieshave always remained in question.

e. Central Asians had high expectations from New Delhi from thebeginning, but India lacked sufficient efforts and skill to understandthe importance of Silk Route dynamics as compared to the focusedattention paid by China and others. China’s trade with the region isover USD 50 billion compared to India’s paltry USD 1.4 billion.China is transporting energy from the region.

f. The flurry of agreements on defence and security are largely symbolicand they have been there for quite some time though without much

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Notessignificance. Take the case of Ayni airbase in Tajikistan that Indiaacquired post-Kargil and IC-814 hijacking.  India refurbished the baseat a cost of USD 70 million in 2007, yet we do not know whetherit is really using the base. Defence co-operation with Kyrgyzstan hasbeen going on for a few years but with little benefits to India.Kyrgyzstan has far closer military ties with China.

g. Combating terrorism especially the threat posed by the Islamic Stategained prominence, suggesting that it is a “threat without borders”. But Central Asia, despite being located in the proximity of the mainsource of terrorism, is not a hotbed of terrorism. There are no recordsof the Taliban and Al Qaeda having set gained a footing in the region.

h. Russia is and will remain an important factor for India’s ability to dobusiness in Central Asia. The countries of the region are still integratedwith Russia. They do not have complete freedom of manoeuvre toconduct foreign relations without having a concord with Russia. Russiastill favours India as a countervailing measure against China’smonopoly on Kazakhstan’s uranium exports. As long as India’s fuelimports remain modest and ties with Kazakhstan do not get deeper,a major hurdle is unlikely. But, given growing Russia-Chinaconvergence, India’s nuclear ties with Kazakhstan will be conditionedby changes in the geopolitical climate just as geopolitics decisivelyundermine the import of hydrocarbons from Central Asia.

i. Central Asians undeniably consider India to be a reliable, trustworthyand predictable partner. But at the same time they do not considerIndia to be a good performer. Many have argued that New Delhi’sindecisiveness always influenced Nazarbayev against energy dealswith India. Even though Kazakhs realize the importance of engagingIndia, they also know well that it is only China that can fit the billultimately.

5. Way Forward

a. Hopefully, the SCO can provide India with the opportunity of workingtogether with Russia and the Central Asian republics. It could helpresolve at least some problems.

b. India should find other innovative ways such as joining internationalenergy consortiums for exploration, opting for LNG purchases fromthe region, etc. Central Asia could become another Middle East forIndian engineers, management experts, and skilled and semi-skilledworkers to find employment. They could earn huge amounts of foreignexchange from the region’s energy service sector. Indian companiescould participate in the ancillary and drilling sectors of the oil and gasindustry, which is rapidly growing in the Caspian region. 

c. We can conclude by saying that Prime Minister Modi’s visit hasprovided a momentum which needs to be sustained. For this connectcentral Asia policy, 2012 needs to be taken up seriously.

C. Connect Central Asia Policy, 2012

1. India has come up with a “Connect Central Asia policy”, 2012 which wasdeclared in 2012.

2. It includes elements such as:

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Notesa. High level visits,

b. Comprehensive economic engagement,

c. Partnership in the development of energy and natural resources, (i.e.energy),

d. Strategic partnerships, (i.e. security related aspect),

e. Development of potential in medical field, education, e-networks,(i.e. soft power),

f. Ensuring land connectivity, etc.

3. The implementation of the policy needs to be speeded up and for this dothe following –

a. Firstly, this will require allocation of definite resources for theimplementation of the policy.

b. Secondly, there must be an institutional mechanism forimplementation.

West Asia

A. Sectarian Divide (Sunni – Shia Conflict)

1. Meaning of Sunni and Shia

a. After the death of Prophet Muhammad, there was debate amongthe Muslims on who will take over the leadership of the Muslimnation.

b. One group believed that new leader should be elected on the basisof his capability. These are Sunni (This is what was done, and theProphet Muhammad’s close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, becamethe first Caliph of the Islamic nation).

c. Other group believed that the next leader should be from the prophetsfamily. These are Shia. They wanted that leadership should havepassed directly to his cousin & son-in-law, Ali.

2. Now the Shia – Sunni sectarian divide in West Asia

Shia Axis : Iran is the Leader of the group; itsallies are Iraq, (Shia majority), Syria (Sunnimajority, Shia ruler), Bahrain (Shia majority,Sunni ruler), Hezbollah in Lebanon (a socio-political-military group), Houthis in Yemen.

Sunni Axis : Except Bahrain The 5 GCCCountries Are Sunni Dominated i.e. Saudi,UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman.

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Notes3. So the two axis (esp. Iran and Saudi) and fighting for the dominance in theregion, GCC countries in present scenario are more anti – Iran then anti–Israel.

4. Consequences/ Implications:

a. Proxy Wars –

• Has led to regional stability as Saudi and Iran are involved inproxy wars in Yemen (Houthis), Syria (Bashar-al-asad) and Iraqwhere different groups and factions have been supported by

them. during Arab spring (when Iran tried to overthrowmonarchies in sunni countries.

b. IS –

• Has contributed to rise of IS as sunnis in Iraq and Sryia who

were discriminated in Iraq and Syria joined it.

• Due to this divide they haven’t been able to tackle the priority

threat-IS.

c. Oil –

• Instability over there can lead to oil supply shocks.

• Iran has on many occasions threatened to block strait of

Hormouz which is the main channel of oil supply from Gulf

to the outside world.

d. A tough balancing act for India’s foreign policy; proximity with one

side raises eyebrows in other camp; our reluctant attitude towardsIran was due to Saudi’s pressure.

B. Syrian Civil War

1. Started In 2011.

2. Reasons:

a. It was part of the larger Arab Spring that started in 2011 i.e. protest

against dictatorship and demand of democracy.

• Assad family is ruling Syria since 1970. Present president –Basher Al-Assad.

b. It acquired a Sectarian conflict. Rulers (Assad family) belongs tominority Alwaites group (an offshoot of shia islam) whereas 75% ofSyrians are Sunni.

c. This is complicated by :

• Other ethnic conflicts like kurds, Christians, etc.

• Foreign intervention i.e. Iran and Hezzbollah group being Shiaare supporting the Syrian govt, whereas Saudi and other Sunnigroups supporting the rebels.

• Emergence of IS (a sunni group), it originated in Iraq but takingadvantage of chaos entered Syria.

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Notes3. Present status:

a. The civil war is still going on.

b. Humanitarian loss – as of March 2015, 2-3 lakh killed, 9 milliondisplaced and thus migrating to Europe; use of chemical weaponsconfined by UN.

c. Present map of Syria – which part is under control of whom.

4. Russia’s involvement in civil war –

a. In September, 2015 Russia got involved in Syrian conflict when itsent its fighter plains to assist Syrian president Basher Al-Assad.

b. Why –

i. To protect its ally president Basher Al-Assad.

ii. To gain strategic influence in West Asia which it has lost to US.

iii. To secure itself against IS.

iv. At present US and NATO forces don’t have a concrete strategy;failed to tackle it.

c. Implications

i. Needs coordination between Russia and NATO otherwise itcan strain relations further.

ii. It is Russia’s first major military operation outside itsneighborhood since involvement in Afghanistan in 1980s.

C. Operation Rahat

Overview

1. It was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces in April 2015 toevacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen duringthe 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen.

Red – govt (controls around 40% ofterritory)

Grey – IS

Green – rebels

Yellow – kurds

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Notes2. Details of operation:

a. Saudi had enforced a no-fly zone in Yemeni airspace which made itdifficult to evacuate Indians by air. But India successfully requestedSaudi Arabia to allow foreign nationals to go to Sanaa and Aden.

b. India then created a base in Djibouti. Air India flew passengers fromAden and sanaa to Djibouti and from there Air Force C-17 transportersflew evacuees back home.

c. Indian Naval Ships (Mumbai, Tarkash and Sumitra) were also deployedto flew back the Indians.

d. In this VK Singh (minister of state, external affairs) led from thefront.

3. How many evacuated?

a. Around 4,800 Indian citizens and 2,000 foreign nationals of 48countries including 12 Americans and 3 Pakistanis.

b. It was not the biggest ever rescue operation : India evacuated 2,280persons during the 2006 Lebanon War; 15,000 during Libyan crisisin 2011 and the biggest one was during the Iraq-Kuwait crisis in1990 when India evacuated 1.7 lakh people.

4. Comment:

a. Our efforts were very professional and appreciated all over the world;it was the first time Western nations asked for and acknowledgedIndia’s help in evacuating their citizens.

b. This crisis provided a rare occasion for India and Pakistan to cooperate(11 Indian’s were rescued by Pakistan and 3 Pakistani’s by India).

c. Government was issuing advisories since January 2015, but still theystayed there due to economic reasons (lack of jobs in India).

D. Diaspora and Conflict Region

1. Middle East (where around 6 million Indians reside) is prone to conflictand ensuring the security of Indians there is a recurring challenge.

2. In the recent past, India has done a commendable job in evacuating itscitizens from conflict-hit countries. (1.7 lakh evacuated in Iraq & Kuwait(1990), 2.300 in lebanon (2006), 15,000 in Libya(2011) and and 6,500 inyemen(2015)).

3. But its track record in rescuing its citizens from kidnappers has been amixed one. While it managed to bring back some 100 nurses who wereheld by Islamic State in Iraq a year ago, the fate of 39 other Indiansabducted by militants in June 2014 from Mosul is still unclear. Indiacannot afford to leave such cases unresolved.

4. So what should be done:

a. Use past experience to develop permanent institutional capabilitiesin this regions to protect Indians abroad.

b. Review the early warning systems to anticipate a crisis quickly, updatecitizens through advisories and ensure their early departure.

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Notesc. Maintain neutrality with West Asian nations so that Indians caughtin conflict are not harmed.

d. Cultivate ties with influential actors in the region, to help solve issuessuch as kidnappings.

e. It was seen that many Indians stayed back in Yemen inspite ofadvisories being issued way back in January. One reason was job.But in some situations, the problem is that their employers hold theirpassports and wages. For this India together with SAARC nationsshould collectively negotiate with Gulf countries for better workingconditions.

E. Houthis (Yemen)

1. Who are Houthis –

a. Houthi is a Shia group; belonging to Zaidi school of thought.

b. The group takes its name from Hussein al-Houthi, who launched anin 2004 in the background of US invasion of Iraq. At present it isbeing led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

2. Aim – They are not against the present republican system (Yemen is arepublic with a bicameral legislature), rather it’s aim is:

a. Preservation of their religion; ending their persecution (Yemen is a

mix of Shia and Sunni with rulers being sunni who are discriminating

Shias),

b. Ending western influence, and

c. End to corruption, government accountability, Job opportunities for

ordinary Yemenis.

3. To achieve these aims they are fighting since 2004. But the trigger even

was when in 2014 there was disagreement between houthis and president

Hadi over the constitution to be formed. Government wants Yemen to be

a federation but houthis rejected it. They also demanded the removal o

sacking of the corrupt govt. In Sept 2014 they took control over the

capital city Saan’a and in january 2015 occupied the presidents palace

which it controls. President Hadi has been forced to relocate to Aden

which has been declared as provincial capital.

4. Implications – use all points of sectarian conflict:

a. It can end up like Syria, being in a long civil war.

b. Provides another battleground for Saudi-Iran to fight. Iran is supporting

the Houthis rebel; Saudi is backing president Hadi. It launched a

military operation against the Houthi rebels under Operation Decisive

Storm followed by operation restoring hope.

c. Oil – although not a major oil supplier but instability here can threaten

oil supplies as Bab el-Mandab strait between Yemen and Djibouti

(along with Strait of Hormuz) is a major choke points for global oil

supplies.

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Notesd. Internal security.

i. Has increased stability and has allowed al-Qaeda to gain astronghold; Yemen is the HQ of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula(AQAP).

ii. Has shifted focus on Iran and Saudi to deal with IS.

iii. Yemen is a member of the IOR-ARC and its cooperation indealing with piracy in the Gulf of Aden has been significant.

e. With respect to India – India’s main concern in Yemen was the safetyof more than 5,000 citizens. It was able to evacuate themunder Operation Rahat.

F. UAE

1. Context – PM Modi visited UAE in August.

2. Cooperation:

a. Economic/energy –

i. Trade – UAE is India’s third largest trade partner (after China

and the USA), with bilateral trade standing at over USD 59

billion in 2014-15; have agreed to boost it by 60% in next 5

years during PMs visit.

ii. Investment : During the visit, UAE promised to invest $75

billion in India via UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund.

iii. India needs it for energy security and UAE also needs to diversify

market due to slow-down in Europe and discovery of shale gas

in USA; in recent visit UAE agreed to help India develop

strategic petroleum reserves (which is impt due to fear of

disruptions in production and supply).

b. Strategic –

i. During visit, the Relations between the two were elevated to a

comprehensive strategic partnership.

ii. Collaboration on issues like piracy and Terrorism (AQAP HQ

in yemen and IS are a threat to both).

iii. Defense engagement –

• Under defence cooperation agreement, two sides are

cooperating in training, joint exercises, information sharing

etc, but not in equipments.

• In recent join statement, the two sides agreed to cooperate

in joint manufacture of defence equipment in India.

iv. UAE backs India for UNSC seats.

v. It’s a Gateway to Muslim world (OIC, Arab league) who

have a negative image of India due Kashmir problem, Tensions

with Pakistan, India’s image as a Hindu-majority country,

Communal riots.

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Notesc. Cultural –

i. UAE agreed to allot land for a hindu temple in Abu Dhabi.

ii. 6 million Indian migrant workers are in overall Gulf(constituting 35% of our Diaspora); Remittances by them aremajor source of forex.

d. It lies in our “immediate neighbourhood”, with only the Arabian Seaseparating the two.

3. Challenges:

a. Tough Balancing act for India on two religious axis.

i. Muslim and Jews (Israel) – India’s government is tilted towardsIsrael.

ii. Sunni-Shia (Iran) axis – after US-Iran nuclear deal, India’srelation with Iran will improve.

b. Pakistan continues to portrays India as anti-muslim.

c. Diplomatic –

i. Excessive non – intervention by India. Gulf countries feel thatIndia has been over-cautious about its involvement in thepolitical and security affairs of the region.

ii. Modi’s visit was 1st visit by an Indian PM in last 30 years; lastwas in 1981.

iii. Lack of institutional mechanism.

d. Investment is below potential due to problems in India’s investmentclimate.

e. Anti-minorities activities by administration; Kashmir issue has thepotential-pakistan has recently again raised the issue at UN.

4. Way forward :

a. Launch an Act West Policy on the lines of Act East Policy.

b. Increase cultural contacts by having cultural exchange, holding inter-faith dialogues. Establish India Culture Centers throughout the region.

5. Some steps in recent years to boost relations with West Asia:

a. Under the Riyadh declaration signed in 2010 we declared strategicpartnerships with Saudi Arabia in 2010.

b. With Oman strategic partnership declared in Oman in 2008.

c. Agreement on defence and security cooperation with Qatar in 2008.

G. Israel - Palestine

1. In 2015, the relations between the worsened further due to

a. Palestinian’s frustration over Israel’s increasing occupation and Stepstowards statehood at stand-still.

b. Controversy over Al-aaqsa mosque.

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Notesc. Re-election of Benjamin netanhayu to power.

2. Due to this in October 2015, there was an increasing demand of 3rd

Intifada (Intifada means Palestinian attempt to shake off Israeli powerand gain independence).

3. Is two state solution possible? The two-state solution  calls for “twostates for two peoples” i.e. an independent State of Palestine alongsidethe State of Israel. Chances are bleak due to following reasons –

a. Lack of unity among West Bank (governed by Fatahs) and Gaza

Strip (governed by Hamas).

b. By way of peace talks with Israel not possible.

• Israel especially under Benjamin Netanhyu will in no way are

united on the long-term game plan to annex most of the West

Bank and Jerusalem. An independent Palestine will give a base

the radical Islam to attack Israel.

• Also there are no agreements on areas like Boundary (Palestine

wants pre-1967 border; Israel wants 1967 border), water rights,

status of Jerusalem and freedom of access to religious sites.

c. By way of UN –

i. Yes, global opinion is tilting towards it due to genuine grievances

of Palestine (increasing illegal settlement, Attacks, human rights

violation and Socio – economic conditions).

• UN granted Palestine a non-member status, in 2012. In

January 2015, International Criminal Court accepted

Palestine as a member, Parliaments of several European

nations voted to ask their governments to recognise the

state of Palestine.

ii. No, because granting permanent membership of UN to Palestine

can be vetoed by US which enjoys a special relation with US.

This can be seen by the fact that no sanctions has been imposed

by UN on it.

d. By way of Intifada – chances are mix

i. Earlier Intifadas (1987-93 and 2000-5 didn’t yielded result).

ii. Israel will resort to brute force so that will crush their demand

brutally and that can lead to Israel’s further isolation and will

make the case of Palestine more stronger.

Oslo Accords, 1994

1. The accords included the first formal mutual recognition between Israeland the Palestine Liberation Organization, and specified that bilateralnegotiations were the only viable path to Palestinian statehood.

2. Created the Palestinian Authority as a provisional government.

3. Laid out a five-year timetable for resolving all areas of conflict betweenthe Palestinians and the Israelis.

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Notes4. Divided the West Bank into three sections:

a. Area A: The major cities where Palestinians were to have full control.

b. Area B: Where Israel would be in charge of security while Palestinianshandled civilian matters.

c. Area C: Areas to be under full Israeli control.

5. Why are they the cornerstone of ties?

Intifada

1. An Arabic word literally means shake.

2. It refers to a concerted Palestinian attempt to shake off Israeli power andgain independence.

3. In Oct, 2015 there has been an increasing demand for 3rd Intifada (earlier2 intifadas were 1987-93 and 2000-05).

H. India – Israel/Palestine Relations

1. India’s policy on Palestine has slowly changed over time (from solidarityto non-alignment to closeness with Israel)

2. How can we say that/reasons –

a. Zionist forces in Israel and hindutva forces in India share similarviews on following:

i. Both of the forces are extremely nationalistc & conservative intheir prospective and ideology and

ii. The method of dealing with neighbours and threats, includingterrorism.

b. This can be seen by our voting. In July 2015, India abstained froma vote against Israel at the UN Human Rights Council over the gazastrikes in 2014.

c. Kashmir issue – If India votes for independence of Palestine thenworld will ask the Indian government to do the same for Kashmir;it will make case for Kashmir strong.

d. India being a major buyer of Israel’s defence exports.

e. India also needs Israel in Science and technology especially areas ofDrip irrigation and Agriculture.

f. Even Israel is getting isolated in world due to its continuous humanrights violation in Palestine.

3. Challenges for India:

a. Palestine vis-à-vis Israel – even western countries are going in favourof Palestine, but with NDA government at centre, India is movingcloser to Israel.

b. West asia especially Iran vis-à-vis Israel – we need Iran forhydrocarbons + it is a regional power but Israel and Iran are not ongood terms.

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Notes4. Way forward:

a. Such cooperation had existed during the earlier regimes, but Indiahad consistently sought to maintain its position on the Palestineissue, which was in line with that of nearly every country in theworld, considering the brazen ways of Israel with respect to Palestine.

b. This does not behold well for India’s stature as a nation committedto a just international order.

Mongolia and India Relations

• India was the first country outside the socialist bloc to establish diplomatic

relations with Mongolia in 1955. Nehru fought for Mongolia’s status at

the United Nations. But inspite of this relations remained weak.

• The demise of Communism (it’s the 25 the year of its democracy) and

the revival of Buddhism have added a new dimension to Indo-Mongolian

relations. (This point has been mentioned at many places).

• In this background, in May 2015, PM Modi visited Ulaanbaatar (during

his 3 nation tour – other 2 being china and South Korea) to commemorate

the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

• He was India’s first Prime Minister to visit Mongolia.

Importance of Mongolia and India to each other –

Consists of only 3 million people; landlocked between Russia and China.

Inspite of this she is important for:

1. Economic; energy –

a. Has huge reserves of natural uranium and other valuable minerals

for India. During the visit it was decided to cooperate civil nuclear

sector.

b. Need Mongolia for safeguarding its interest in Russia’s resource-rich

trans-Siberia and Far East.

c. A potential destination for Indian investment.

d. During the visit

i. India announced on Sunday a $1-billion credit line to Mongolia

for infrastructure development.

ii. Decided to cooperate in renewable energy.

2. Strategic/geopolitical importance –

a. China is engaging in peripheral diplomacy by upgrading its ties inIndian subcontinent; new Delhi should reciprocate. Visit to Seoul andUlaanbaatar, the 2 democracies is in right direction.

b. Mongolia wants a measure of “strategic autonomy” from its neighborsRussia and china. China’s deep economic forays is opposed by theMongolian public. In this background Mongolia has diversified itsrelations under the “third neighbour” policy.

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Notesc. Defense cooperation has grown:

i. Militaries of the two countries conduct Exercise “NomadicElephant” regularly.

ii. National Security Councils are consulting since 2006 on issuessuch as cyber security.

iii. India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is helping Mongolia’s GeneralAuthority of Border Protection (GABP) to manage its vastborder with China.

iv. During the visit, ties were upgraded to “strategic partnership”and Agreed to cooperate in surveillance, air services, cybersecurity.

d. During his visit, PM announced that the 2 shades will work for stabilityin the Asia Pacific region (he said this amid China’s push for increasingits regional influence).

e. Strategically, Indian and Mongolian interests in China and CentralAsia coincide.

3. Spiritual Neighbor:

a. Buddhism travelled to Mongolia from India and is the dominantreligious faith over the last two millennia.

b. Thus the two sides are also spiritual neighbor.

c. Buddhism is a key part of Modi’s cultural diplomacy and thus travelledto restore religious ties.

d) Challenges – There are Limits to any Indian Powerplay in Mongolia.

1. Demography – Its population is only three million (inspite of being halfof India’s territorial size).

2. Geography – Land locked; its difficult to and costly to transport Mongolia’smineral resources to India. Should work on completing the north-southcorridor.

3. With just two neighbors Ulaanbaatar has no interest in provoking eitherRussia or China by undertaking activities hostile to them.

4. Its difficult to match China’s economic presence in Mongolia. In 2000,Mongolia’s trade with china was USD 300 million in 2000. India’s trade ismerely USD 25 million.

5. Has been ignored till now; momentum needs to be sustained.

North Korea & India Relations

1. Relations between the two in the past have remained cold. No ministerialcontact. Relations confined to food aid to North Korea.

2. Due to following reasons:

a. Pakistan – with whom North Korea has close relations; it also helpedPakistan in nuclear reactor development.

b. South-Korea – North Korea and South Korea are enemy nations andwe are close to South Korea.

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Notesc. Its nuclear program which is opposed globally; US has imposed aneconomic blockade.

3. But now we are taking steps for improving the relations

a. Sitaram Yechury, who in July, 2013, led a three-member parliamentarydelegation to Pyongyang.

b. In April, 2014 North Korea send his Foreign Minister to India.

c. In Sept, 2105, India sent Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju toparticipate in an event marking the North Korean nationalIndependence Day to North Korean embassy.

4. Reasons:

a. North Koreas willingness to expand ties as it is facing isolation.

b. Indian side reason

i. Part of peripheral diplomacy.

ii. North Korea is estimated to have one of the largest global

deposits of minerals and rare earth metals necessary for India’s

IT industry and electronic majors.

iii. Diplomats are not ruling out the possibility that a dramatic

change in bilateral ties like what the U.S. achieved with Iran

and Cuba could possibly also occur in case of North Korea. If

ties improve then there will a rush to North Korea and India

should be an early bid.

Indo-Japan Relations

a) Importance:

1. Why we need Japan –

a. Highly developed nation. An important source of investment andtechnology.

b. As a part of our Look East Policy.

c. Area of skill development (80% of labour is skilled).

d. India can learn from Japan in disaster management especiallyEarthquake.

2. Why Japan needs us

a. Huge market for Japanese products.

b. Japan has surplus capital to invest and India needs investment.

3. Mutual reasons

a. China

i. Part of peripheral diplomacy for India.

ii. Japan needs India to counter China; becoming assertive in EastChina Sea too.

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NotesPositives –Steps Taken

1. Regular contacts

a. Narendra Modi recently visited Japan in August, 2014.

2. Area of cooperation

a. Economic

i. Investment

• Projects fuded by it : Delhi Metro Project, WesternDedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), DMIC (DelhiMumbai Industrial corridor).

• During Modi’s visit in 2014, Japan promised to invest$35 billion in India over the next five years.

• It is the largest provider of Official DevelopmentAssistance to India.

ii. India is supplying rare earths to Japan (after China decided tocut export).

b. Security front

i. In 2014 our strategic relations were upgraded to Special Strategicand Global Partnership.

ii. Since 2011 holding the defence and foreign affairs dialogue inthe “2+2” Format at secretary level.

iii. Japan and India have held naval exercises in the Indian Ocean.

c. Both are members of G – 4 (group aspiring to be member of UNSC).

d. Soft power

i. Buddhism; During WW-2 INA of SC Bose and the JapaneseImperial Army fought together in battles against the Britishforces.

ii. Japan is involved in reconstruction of Nalanda.

iii. Modi wants to develop rejuvenating Indian cities on the linesof Kyoto. A partner city affiliation agreement betweenVaranasi (Kashi) and Kyoto was signed in 2014, which willsee cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation, citymodernization and culture.

c) Challenges

1. Economic

a. Trade : below potential;(Bilateral trade at $16.29 billion in 2013-14accounted for just 2.13 per cent of India’s total trade; our trade with SouthKorea > Japan)

b. Investment faces hurdles due to complex regulatory environment;language barrier.

c. Japan like South Korea argues that the content of the Indo-JapanCEPA needs to be upgraded to match with other FTAs which Indiahas with other countries.

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Notesd. Subsequently Japan plus cell was setup in DIPP (department of

industrial policy & promotion).

2. Security

a. Strategic relationships are symbolic, jut confined naval exercisesinspite of China’s assertiveness.

b. Reasons

i. No one wants to provoke China which keeps a close eye onevolving India-Japan ties.

ii. Japans pacifist constitution; that’s why coulddn’t secure thesupply of Japan’s world class US-2 amphibious aircraft.

3. Civilian nuclear deal hasn’t been negotiated because of Japan being theonly victim of a nuclear attack and after the Fukushima radiation disasterin 2011 it has become more apprehensive of nuclear power.

4. People to people contact is less.

Oceania

A. Australia

1. Positives

a. Regular contacts:

i. Bilateral : PM of Australia visited India in September 2014,Modi visited Australia in Nov, 2014.

ii. On sidelines of summit : Commonwealth meet, G – 20, IORA,East Asia summit.

b. Economic:

i. Trade : Annual trade is worth nearly AU$16 billion in 2014.

ii. Investment : Indian investment in Australia was AU$10.9 billionin 2014 (mainly in field of energy), and Australian investmentin India was AU$9.8 billion.

c. Investment:

i. India and Australia have also launched the CEO Forum.

ii. Negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation

Agreement (CECA) expected to be concluded by December2016.

d. Energy:

i. Australia is an “energy superpower” having abundant coal, oil,natural gas and uranium.

ii. Adai group is developing the Carmichael coal mine projectwhich will provide coal to India.

iii. Reliance has entered into a partnership agreement with Uranium

Exploration;

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Notese. Nuclear energy – In Sept 2014, both sides signed a civil nuclearagreement with Australia. Australia has about third of world’srecoverable uranium resources and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes of itin a year.

f. Strategic:

i. Cooperating in Indian ocean;

ii. During Modi’s visit India-Australia strategic frameworkannounced which ensures annual meetings between the leaders,defense ministers and regular exchanges between the armedforces related to piracy, terrorism and changing foreignmaritime presence in Indian ocean, cyber-security.

iii. Defence Minister of Australia visited India in September, 2015.

• Australia acknowledge that India’s partnership is essentialto sustaining the U.S-led push to maintain the strategicbalance in East Asia vis-à-vis China.

• During Modi’s visit, Australia had formally requestedfor a “quadrilateral dialogue” with the intent of joiningthe “India-U.S.-Japan” trilateral talks as part of the “Asiadialogue”.

• In Sept, 2015, navies of two sides conducted their firstBilateral Maritime Exercise — Exercise AUSINDEX.

• Also planning to improve our bilateral Air Forcerelationship as we use common platforms such as theHawk, C-17, C-130 aircraft.

g. Culture:

i. The English language is an important link.

ii. Sporting diplomacy:

• In cricket and hockey, the two countries have strongties.

• Sachin, Laxman, Warne, Gilchrist are popular in theeach other country.MRF Pace Foundation training pacebowlers in India. Many play in IPL.

iii. 3 Lakh strong diaspora as teachers, doctors engineers.

iv. New Colombo Plan announced in 2014 to enhance studentexchange and collaboration between the universities of the twocountries.

2. Challenges:

a. Diplomatic: PM Modi was 1st PM in 8 years to visit Australia; longgap.

b. Trade:

i. Below potential; actual trade languishes at just $15 billion in2014, against a $40 billion target by 2015.

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Notesii. Bilateral trade between Australia and China is about $160billion.

c. Strategic

i. Still vague and symbolic.

ii. Australia is reluctant to join India-Japan-Australia-U.S.quadrilateral so as not to provoke China.

d. Attacks against Indians in Australia have recurred.

B. Pacific Island Nations

Context –In 2014, India Launched Forum for India Pacific Cooperation (FIPIC)for engaging with the 14 Pacific Island countries. India hosted its 2nd summitin Jaipur in August 2015.

1. Who are they?

a. The small Pacific island countries belong to three ethnically distinctsubregions: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

b. Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is the forum for coordinating the activitiesof these 14 nations.

2. Importance:

a. The Pacific Ocean is the earth’s largest ocean covering 46 per centof water surface.

b. It is rich in marine resources and accounts for 71 per cent of theworld’s ocean fishery catch; blue economy.

c. Huge hyrdocrabon reserves.

d. Though these countries are relatively small in land area and distantfrom India, they are important as many have large Exclusive EconomicZones (EEZs).

e. And that’s why all major powers like US, Japan, China, Russia,Australia are competing for influence in the region. Xi Jinping visitedFiji in 2014.

3. India’s engagement with them

a. We have focused only on Indian Ocean and ignored pacific especiallythese pacific islands except Fiji with whom we have a long historyof cooperation; it has a large population of Indian origin.

b. Even pacific nations want to diversify its external relations. Atpresent PIF is dominated by Australia and New Zealand (they arenot member of it).

c. NDA government has tried to correct it last year when:

i. PM visited Fiji (the first by an Indian premier to the countryin 33 years after Indira Gandhi in 1981).

ii. Launched Forum for India Pacific Cooperation (FIPIC) forengaging with the 14 Pacific Island countries. India hosted its2nd summit in Jaipur in august 2015. The Summit is to be heldregularly every year.

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Notesiii. Steps taken till now under the two summits:

1. Climate change

a. Their key priority is threat threats from global warming inducedrise in sea levels, thus cooperate on climate change.

b. Set up a special USD one million fund for clean energy,

c. India will set up an Institute for Sustainable Coastal and OceanResearch in the region.

2. Pan Pacific Islands e-network to improve digital connectivity,

3. Extending visa on arrival at Indian airports,

4. Offered it capability in Space technology to help in coastal andocean studies; weather and climate change; and, disastermanagement support.

5. Provided training slots and scholarships for college education

6. IT labs to be setup in each Pacific Island country to improvelocal IT infrastructure, provide tele-medicine and tele-education

7. Plans to set up a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant forproviding generic drugs

d. The FIPIC initiative marks a serious effort to expand India’sengagement in the Pacific region.

4. Challenges

a. Regime changes are frequent, thus engage with all stakeholders.

b. Need to develop close relations with all pacific nations, don’t focusexclusively on Fiji.

c. Indian diplomatic representation is weak; many of the PIF membersare covered by small non-resident Indian missions which are not ableto make frequent visits. More frequent visits are required

d. Time and budget overruns are common, so implement them

e. Maritime boundary disputes among these island nations which needsto be settled

5. Specific to Fiji

a. Fiji has a influential voice in pacific region.

b. Modi also addressed Fijian parliament, the first bya foreign leaderduring his visit.

c. 37 5 of its people are of Indian-origin. Many Indians arrived in Fijias indentured labour in the 19th century.

d. Formal diplomatic relation established in 1970.

e. India has extended $75 million credit line to Fiji

f. India played an important role in return of democrac.y in the electionsof 2014.

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Notesg. The Chinese now have a firm foothold in the South Pacific, but withthe kind of soft power it enjoys in the region, India can resist theexpansion of Chinese influence in the South Pacific.

USA – Cuba Reapproachment

1. Strained Relations:

a. In 1959 Fidel Castro seized power by disposing off US-Backeddictator and established a communist state.

b. In 1960 US broke its diplomatic relations with it; imposes tradeembargo.

c. in 1961 in “Bay of Pigs invasion”, U.S.A attempted to depose FidelCastro but failed.

d. In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis took USA and USSR to the brinkof nuclear war.

2. The Cuban Thaw is a warming of Cuba–United States relations that beganin December 2014, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between thenations.

3. Steps taken –

a. In December 17, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama and CubanPresident Raúl Castro announced the beginning of a process ofnormalizing relations between Cuba and the United States. Thenormalization agreement was secretly negotiated in preceding monthswith the assistance of Pope Francis. Meetings were held inboth Canada and the Vatican City. Under the agreement it was decidedto lift some U.S. travel restrictions, fewer restrictions on remittances,U.S. banks’ access to the Cuban financial system, and the reopeningof the U.S. embassy in Havana and the Cuban embassy in Washington,which both closed in 1961 after the breakup of diplomatic relationsas a result of Cuba’s close alliance with the USSR.

b. On April 14, 2015, the Obama administration announced that Cubawould be removed from the United States State Sponsors ofTerrorism list. This marked a further departure by the United Statesfrom the Cold War conflict and its strain on Cuba–United Statesrelations.

c. On July 20, 2015, the Cuban and U.S. “interests sections” inWashington and Havana respectively were upgraded to embassies.

4. Reasons for reapproachment –

a. For USA, the reasons are more obvious. America’s long-standingattempt to isolate Cuba both commercially and diplomatically hasbeen an utter failure. It has failed to dislodge the Castros, hurt theCuban people, and stoked anti-Americanism in the rest of LatinAmerica.

b. Those who most vociferously back the trade blockade are Cuban-Americans of a similar generation to the Castros who have nowbecome a grumpy minority.

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Notesc. Polls indicate that the majority of Cuban-Americans younger than 65not only support Mr Obama’s efforts to improve relations, but alsowant to end the embargo. That suggests that the president’s outreachto Cuba may partly be a way of repaying young Hispanic Democratswho helped bring him to power.

d. It also improves America’s stature across Latin America. It helps theObama administration recuperate influence lost to the late HugoChávez before he died and left Venezuela’s socialist economy in atailspin, unable to bankroll his so-called Bolivarian Revolution acrossparts of the hemisphere.

e. Cubans have been deeply affected by the US embargo, and while itslifting is not on the cards at present, President Obama announced aseries of measures that will make a difference to the lives of manyCubans.The amount of money which can be sent in remittances willquadruple from $500 (£320) to $2,000 per quarter.Telecom providerswill be allowed to improve Cuba’s infrastructure so that more Cubanscan access the internet. Currently Cuba has one of the lowest internetpenetration in the world and what little there is unaffordable formany. Travel restrictions to Cuba will be relaxed, making familyvisits and cross-border humanitarian projects easier.

Indian Ocean

A. Indian Ocean Diplomacy

Context – PM’s visit to Indian ocean nations (Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles)

1. Importance:

a. Trade –

i. The major routes connecting east and west part of the worldpass through Indian Ocean and India is a mid-destination forthese routes. (rest other pass through Pacific Ocean).

ii. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum

products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia.Thus our energy security depends upon security of Indian Ocean.

b. Natural resources –

i. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshoreareas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India and Western Australia. Anestimated 40% of the world’s offshore oil production comes

from the Indian Ocean.

ii. Beach sands are rich in heavy minerals.

iii. It is rich in marine life which is exploited for fisheries.

2. Challenges India facing dealing with Indian Ocean Nations:

a. India’s biggest challenge is not about countering China. Beijing is faraway and India is right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. In the nearterm, the tyranny of geography will limit the scope and intensity ofChinese presence in the Indian Ocean. China’s Silk Road initiatives,for example, did not emerge from some clever foreign policy strategy;

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Notesthey are an extension of Beijing’s domestic initiatives on infrastructuredevelopment.

b. PM’s real problem is in Delhi, afflicted by a condition calledcontinentalism, which has proved rather difficult to overcome.Continentalism, marked by an obsession with land frontiers and asea blindness, has deep roots in Delhi’s political history. A numberof factors made independent India even more vulnerable to theaffliction. Partition created new boundaries within the subcontinentand turned Delhi’s political energies inward. The emergence of astrong China to the north and the contestation with it along theIndo-Tibetan border has long drained most of India’s strategicattention.

c. Its continentalist mindset was reinforced by Delhi’s inward economicorientation in the 1950s. If India’s economic footprint spread allacross the Indian Ocean under the British Raj, it steadily diminishedthanks to the policies of self-reliance and import substitution in thefirst decades after Independence.

d. To make matters worse, Delhi’s foreign policy reveled in chasingquixotic ideas rather than play to its inherited strengths in the littoral.On the trade and investment front, India chose high-minded rhetoricat the United Nations on building a new international economicorder rather than strengthen economic ties with the ocean neighbours.

e. In the realm of security, Delhi’s focus was on turning the IndianOcean into a “zone of peace”, whatever that meant. While manylittoral countries sought a major Indian security role, Delhi was areluctant partner and declared quite cheerily that talk of a powervacuum was outdated in a post-colonial world.

f. The problem for Modi is that the change in Delhi’s Indian Oceanpolicy has been too limited and incremental to cope with the maritimechallenges staring at India. Delhi has not been good at tying different,new policy strands into a coherent strategy for the Indian Ocean.Worse still, its political leadership has not had the will or energy toshake the bureaucratic establishment of its continentalist mindset.

3. Change in approach:

a. Delhi’s approach began to change in the 1990s.

b. As India embarked on globalisation and trade, economic connectivitywith the Indian Ocean littoral began to come back on Delhi’s agenda.

c. India also inched away from the military isolationism of the non-aligned era.

d. At the multilateral level, it started to de-emphasise the UN andfocused on regional institutions.

e. Over the last few years, Delhi has sought to revive the moribundIndian Ocean Rim Association, set up in the late 1990s to promoteregional cooperation.

f. Delhi has expanded bilateral and multilateral naval exercises withmany of its neighbours in the Indian Ocean. It launched the Indian

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NotesOcean Naval Symposium, which brings together the chiefs of thenavies every two years to discuss naval cooperation.

g. India has also set up a joint mechanism with Sri Lanka and theMaldives for shared maritime domain awareness. The Indian navy

has also focused on maritime capacity building, especially in theisland states that occupy critical locations in the Indian Ocean.

4. In March 2015, PM visited the Indian ocean nations of Sri Lanka, Mauritiusand Seychelles in which he:

a. Invited Seychelles and Mauritius to join the existing maritime securitycooperation arrangement among India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

b. India received in return the use of two islands, one each in theSeychelles and in Mauritius, for India to build military bases on.

c. Launched the offshore patrol vessel MCGS Barracuda in Mauritius

5. To realise India’s full strategic potential in the Indian Ocean, Modi willneed to focus on following things.

a. One is to boost India’s own civilian maritime infrastructure, which

has become terribly creaky and utterly inadequate for a country so

dependent on the seas for its economic life.

b. Second, India needs to ramp up its capabilities to take up major

maritime projects in other countries. China has stolen a march over

India in this area. Beijing’s projects in the neighbourhood have given

India a wake-up call, but Delhi does not have the capacity or a policy

framework to bid for and execute major infrastructure projects in the

Indian Ocean littoral.

c. Third, India needs to lend some vigour to its defence diplomacy in

the region. Although Delhi talks the talk on being a “net security

provider”, the ministry of defence is not ready to walk the walk. The

MoD is a long way from developing the capabilities, systems and

attitudes to make India a productive security partner for the countries

of the region.

d. Finally, Delhi is aware of the need for a big idea to frame the

government’s plans for a more purposeful maritime engagement in

the Indian Ocean.

IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association)

1. Earlier it was called as IOR – ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for

Regional Cooperation).

2. It was first established as Indian Ocean Rim Initiative in 1995 and formally

launched in 1997.

3. Secretariat in Mauritius

4. Main body is the council of ministers which meets every year.

5. Members 20

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Notes

IORA member states; IORA dialogue partners

6. Functions

a. Core aim economic aspect i.e. to remove barriers for increasingtrade in Indian ocean.

b. In 2011, six priority areas of cooperation were identified for IOR-ARC. These include:

i. Maritime Safety and Security,

ii. Trade and Investment Facilitation,

iii. Fisheries Management,

iv. Disaster Risk Management,

v. Academic and Science & Technology Cooperation, and

vi. Tourism & Cultural Exchanges.

7. Importance

a. Has abundant human resources (comprises some 2 billion population).

b. Brings diverse nations on a single platform – nations of 3 continents;diverse in size, areas and economic strength and culture (language,religion).

c. Here continental sized nations interacts with island nations.

8. Criticism

a. No tangible achievements.

b. Reason

i. Lack of interest shown by the key members.

ii. Very small size of its secretariat in Mauritius.

iii. Countries are too diverse to work together effectively.

Refugee Crisis

A. Overview of global refugee crisis

1. Present scenario

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Notesa. In the past two years, the world has witnessed a growing refugeecrisis.

b. In 2013, for the first time since World War II, the number of thoseforcibly displaced from their homes exceeded 50 million. Millionsmore have since then been displaced as a result of conflict and crisesaround the globe.

c. More than half of Syria’s population is displaced. Some four millionwomen, men and children have fled the country and are refugees,making this one of the biggest refugee crises in history. The vastmajority - 95% - are living in the countries neighbouring Syria. InLebanon - Syrian refugees now account for one in every five people.

d. While Syria is the world’s biggest refugee crisis, it is by no means theonly one. In Africa people fleeing conflict and persecution in countrieslike South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria andBurundi, have added hundreds of thousands to the longstanding refugeepopulations from countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There are more than threemillion refugees in sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya is home to Dadaab -the world’s largest refugee camp, set up in 1991.

2. Neglect by international community

a. The global refugee crisis may be fuelled by conflict and persecutionbut it is compounded by the neglect of the international communityin the face of this human suffering. In the aftermath of World WarII, the international community came together to create the UnitedNations Refugee Convention to protect people being returned tocountries where they risked persecution and human rights abuses.The Refugee Convention has been an important mechanism, providinga framework for the protection of tens of millions of people. TheRefugee Convention also established the principle of responsibilityand burden-sharing - the idea that the international communitymust work together to address refugee crises so that no one country,or a small number of countries, has to cope by themselves.

b. This fundamental principle is now being ignored, with devastatingconsequences: the international refugee protection system is broken.

i. 86% of the world’s refugees are in developing countries. Someof these countries host hundreds of thousands of people. Turkey,Lebanon and Pakistan each host more than one million refugees.There is a clearly disproportionate burden on a small numberof countries;

ii. Nearly one million refugees need resettlement or other formsof humanitarian admission – whereby the most vulnerablerefugees in a country are offered residency in another countywhere they would receive better assistance. Yet, global annualresettlement commitments are less than a tenth of this number;

iii. Although 145 countries have ratified the Refugee Convention,there are regions of the world in which very few countries haveratified the treaty, including most of the Middle East, SouthAsia and South East Asia. In these countries refugees generallyenjoy limited rights and in some cases can’t even be legallyrecognized as refugees;

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Notesiv. Xenophobic and racist discourse has been normalised in many

countries, with certain media outlets and politicians blaming

refugees and migrants for economic and social problems. Too

many refugees and migrants have faced discrimination and

abuse in host states. The xenophobic attacks that took place in

South Africa in April 2015, for example, left thousands of

refugees and migrants displaced in that country.

v. Some have resorted to deeply troubling measures, including

denying desperate people entry to their countries and pushing

people back into the conflict.

1. In April 2015, more than 1,000 people died within

ten days while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

As of 31 May 2015, the number of people who

drowned making the boat journey from North Africa

stood at 1,865, compared to 425 deaths recorded

during the same period in 2014. The dramatic increase

in the number of lives lost in the Mediterranean in

2015 is partly due to the decision by Italy and the

European Union (EU) to end the Italian navy

operation Mare Nostrum at the end of 2014 and

replace it with a much more limited EU operation.

2. In South East Asia in May 2015, the world witnessed

harrowing scenes as fishing boats crammed with

refugees and migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh

were pushed back to sea by Thailand, Malaysia and

Indonesia. Desperate children, men and women were

left without food, water and medical care for a week,

before the Philippines and later Indonesia and

Malaysia offered to take them in.

3. The Mediterranean and South East Asia crises exposed

governments’ willingness to ignore legal obligations

and humanitarian imperatives.

vi. In both Europe and South East Asia, people smugglers and

human traffickers have – rightly –been blamed for sending

thousands to their deaths. Effectively combating the criminals

who prey on desperate people is vital, but it does not absolve

governments of their responsibility to provide refugees with

protection. The global refugee crisis cannot be re-cast as a

trafficking and smuggling issue by governments desperate to

deflect attention from their failures.

vii. Despite the huge influx of refugees, the host countries have

received almost no meaningful international support. The UN’s

humanitarian appeal for Syrian refugees was only 23% funded

as of the 3 June, 2015. Calls by the UN for the international

community to resettle refugees from Syria have largely fallen

on deaf ears. The total number of places offered to refugees

from Syria is less than 90,000, only 2.2% of the refugees in the

main host countries.

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Notes3. The global refugee crisis will not be solved unless the internationalcommunity recognizes that it is a global problem and deals with it as such.

4. Eight pronged strategy by amnesty international –

a. An international summit on the global refugee crisis focused onincreasing international responsibility and burden sharing;

b. Global ratification of the Refugee Convention;

c. Develop robust domestic refugee systems: States must have fair domesticprocedures to assess refugee claims and must guarantee fundamentalrights and access to services, such a education and healthcare, torefugees;

d. An absolute commitment to saving lives first: States must prioritize savingpeople in distress over implementing immigration policies. In situationswhere people are in danger of death, including – but not limited to– people attempting sea crossings, states should invest in search andrescue operations and immediately come to the rescue of people indistress. This imperative should never be trumped by any bordercontrol objectives;

e. Combat trafficking: States must take effective action to investigate andprosecute trafficking gangs. States should offer protection and assistanceto victims of trafficking and ensure they have access to refugee statusdetermination procedures and/or resettlement opportunities;

f. Fulfill all resettlement needs identified by UNHCR: Nearly one millionresettlement and humanitarian admission places are required forrefugees who need resettlement and this number will increase everyyear. Amnesty International estimates that, 300,000 annualresettlement and humanitarian admission places will be needed everyyear over the next four years;

g. Combat xenophobia: Governments must refrain from engaging inxenophobia themselves, for example by implying or directly claimingasylum-seekers and migrants are to blame for economic and socialproblems. Governments must also have effective policies to addressxenophobic violence;

h. Establish a global refugee fund: Such a fund should fulfill all UNhumanitarian appeals for refugee crises. This fund should also providemeaningful financial support to countries hosting large numbers ofrefugees to help them provide services to refugees and their hostcommunities. This should be additional to existing development aid.

B. International Refugee Protection Regime

1. UNHCR – Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

a. UNHCR was established in 1950 and succeeded the earlier UnitedNations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

b. Task

i. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate internationalaction to protect refugees and resolve refugee problemsworldwide.

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Notesii. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being ofrefugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise theright to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, withthe option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or toresettle in a third country.

iii. UNHCR’s mandate has gradually been expanded to includeprotecting and providing humanitarian assistance to whom itdescribes as other persons “of concern,” including internallydisplaced persons (IDPs) who would fit the legal definition ofa refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relatingto the Status of Refugees

c. To achieve its mandate, the UNHCR engaged in activities both inthe countries of interest and in countries with donors. For example,the UNHCR hosts expert roundtables to discuss issues of concern tothe international refugee community.

d. UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes (once in 1954 and againin 1981)

2. UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

a. The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, also known asthe 1951 Refugee Convention, is a United Nations multilateraltreaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights ofindividuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nationsthat grant asylum.

b. Article 1 of the Convention, as amended by the 1967 Protocol,defines a refugee as: “A person who owing to a well-founded fear ofbeing persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membershipof a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the countryof his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling toavail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not havinga nationality and being outside the country of his former habitualresidence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear,is unwilling to return to it.”

c. Responsibilities of parties to the Refugee Convention:

i. Cooperation with the UNHCR: Under Article 35 of theRefugee Convention and Article II of the 1967 Protocol, statesagree to cooperate with United Nations High Commissionerfor Refugees (UNHCR) in the exercise of its functions and tohelp UNHCR supervise the implementation of the provisionsin the Convention.

ii. Information on national legislation: Parties to the Conventionagree to inform the United Nations Secretary-General aboutthe laws and regulations they may adopt to ensure the applicationof the Convention.

iii. Exemption from reciprocity: The notion of reciprocity- where,according to a country’s law, the granting of a right to an alienis subject to the granting of similar treatment by the alien’scountry of nationality- does not apply to refugees. This notion

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Notesdoes not apply to refugees because refugees do not enjoy theprotection of their home state.

d. Principle of non-refoulement – under this “No Contracting Stateshall expel or return (‘refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoeverto the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would bethreatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membershipof a particular social or political opinion”.

3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 –

a. Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rightsrecognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution inother countries.

C. Rohingyas

1. Rohingyas are a Muslim minority in Myanmar (Concentrated in westernRakhine state).

2. According to United Nations they are “the most persecuted minority” inthe world.

a. Persecution in home country –

i. Rohingya being Muslims are facing religious persecution inpredominantly-Buddhist Myanmar.

ii. Not recognized by the Myanmar government as an official ethnicgroup and are denied citizenship (as they settled in Myanmarafter 1823; the cut-off date for citizenship).

iii. They have limited access to education and medical care.

iv. They cannot move around or practice their religion freely.

v. They have faced many violent attacks (including sexual violence)led by a radical Buddhist monk Wirathu.

vi. Even nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has sidesteppedRohingya migrant crisis for political pragmatism.

b. Due to this they are freeing their homeland and seeking asylum inneighboring countries. According to the United Nations, 120,000 ofthem have been forced to flee Myanmar in the last three years.

c. According to UNHCR, in the first quarter of 2015, some 25,000people (predominantly Rohingyas along-with Bangladeshi nationals)attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal . This is approximately doublethe figure for the same period in 2014.

i. All this gained global attention in May 2015 when while gettingentry to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia via Bay of Bengal,they were denied entry and pushed back to sea (for reasons likebeing overburdened, human trafficking, internal security threatslike these people being poor are more prone to engage in criminalactivities, fear of smuggling) and didn’t wanted to sour relationswith their neighbor.

ii. Thousands (including small children’s) were left without food,water and medical care in overcrowded boats for a week, before

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Notesthe Philippines and later Indonesia and Malaysia offered totake them in. This led to many preventable deaths.

3. What should be done

a. Prevent their persecution at the first place – global leaders like USA(with whom its relations are improving) & China (its neighbors) andASEAN should pressurize it to stop their persecution, if it doesn’tstop then ASEAN should consider suspending its membership

b. Till the meantime neighbors should allow them entry, but since itwill put an additional burden on them so global community shouldmonetary support these countries in arranging food, shelter and workfor Rohingyas.

4. India and Rohingyas

a. Approximately 10,500 Rohingya Muslims have taken shelter in India(as reported in Parliament in July 2015).

b. Our response has been muted and haven’t criticized their persecution.Reason

i. In 1990’s we suspended our relations with Myanmar when anti-democratic Military Junta came to power. During this period

we lost ground to China and other South-East Asian nations.Only from last couple of years are relations are on upswing and

the government doesn’t want to sour its relations with Myanmaragain due to its internal issues.

ii. Rising Islamphobia; In last couple of couple years anti-Muslimrhetoric has normalized.

D. Mediterranean Crisis – Migration from MENA (Middle East and NorthAfrica) to Europe via Mediterranean sea

1. How many have migrated – According to UNHCR, 1.4 lakh people whocrossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.

2. Reasons for migration to Europe:

a. Poverty in their native country;

b. Political turmoil and religious persecution in countries likeLibya, Nigeria (Boko Haram), Yemen (Houthis) and most importantly

Syria and Iraq due to rise of IS; and

c. Their neighboring countries like Turkey and Lebanon are alreadysaturated with refugees and it’s difficult for new refugees to findshelter, health, work.

3. Woes of the migrants

a. Not able to reach Europe due to death by drowning in Mediterraneansea – In 2014, ~ 3,500 people died while crossing the Mediterraneanillegally, In 2015, till April 20, 2015, 1,750 people died leading to a“genocide in seas”. (800 people died in april when a boat capsized

near Lampedusa island).

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NotesReasons:

i. Boats are small and overcrowded.

ii. EU’s failure to take on the human trafficking gangs that

ferrying people illegally to southern Europe.

iii. Italy’s Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue program saved almost1,60,000 lives in a year. But it was discontinued in November,

2014 due to budgetary cuts and complaints from other EUstates that it was encouraging migration to Europe. Instead itwas replaced by EU’s Operation Triton on a third of the budgetand lesser number of vessels and surveillance aircrafts.

b. If reaches then are facing xenophobic attacks.

5) Refugees in India

1. How many in India – according to UNHCR and Home Ministry, in 2014India was home to 2 lakh + refugees.

a. Sri Lanka : 1 lakh

b. Tibetans : 1.1 lakh 

c. Afghan : 10,340 

d. Myanmar : 4,621 

2. Pushed by political turmoil, religious and political persecution,overwhelming poverty, and lack of opportunities in their countries, peoplefrom our neighbourhood have been migrating to India illegally for decades.

a. At the time of partition 7 million people came from Pakistan toIndia). They were granted citizenship.

b. From Tibet – in 1960’s some 80,000 Tibet led by present DalaiLama sought asylum in India to escape persecution.

c. Hindus from Pakistan and Bangladesh to escape persecution by radicalfundamentalist Islamic groups.

d. Tamils from Sri Lanka in 80’s and 90s during the civil war led byLTTE.

e. Rohingyas from Myanmar (~10,000).

3. Challenges to India by refugees:

a. Foreign relations

• Our foreign relations soured with China in 1950s due to Indiagiving asylum to Tibetans and was one of the factor for 1962war; China argues that India is allowing them to cause unrestin Tibet.

b. Internal Security Crisis

• Given the harsh economic conditions in the countries fromwhere they come, chances of they getting indulged in illegalactivities to earn easy money is also greater.

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Notes• The influx of refugees from Sri Lanka had given a fillip to thesmuggling activities along the Tamil Nadu coast.

• Also terror operatives could sneak into the country in the guiseof migrants and refugees remains.

c. Puts an addition burden on land and our resources of india (alreadyone of the most dense and 2nd largest population in world)

4. Problems faced by refugees in India:

• As India is a not a signatory to UN Refugee Convention of 1951 sothey enjoy limited rights (in some cases can’t even be legallyrecognized as refugees).

• Problems of poverty, lack of proper health an education services,problem in accessing services.

5. Our policy towards refugees:

• India has long-standing policy of not turning away refugees who arelooking for safety. We have opened our doors for all be it Afghans,,Tamils or Tibetans or from Myanmar.

6. Legal framework for dealing with refugees:

a. India is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention onthe Status of Refugees.

b. There is no national law on Refugee at present. (Security considerations(presence of extremist groups in some neighboring countries) are oftencited to argue against the desirability of a refugee law)

c. Only Standard Operating Procedure are issued by Ministry of HomeAffairs to deal with foreign nationals in India, who claim to berefugees. Under this genuine cases of refugees (those escaping armedconflict or religious/racial persecution) are granted a Long TermVisa (LTV) under which he can undertake studies in academicinstitution or any employment in the private sector.

7. Steps taken by NDA government towards hindus and sikh refugees fromAfghanistan-Pakistan and Bangladesh.

a. There are about two lakh Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan living in India.

b. In 2014 election manifesto BJP called India as a ‘natural home’ forpersecuted Hindus (similar to Israelis’ policy towards jews).

c. In this step it has done following:

i. In its 1st year of power, granted citizenship to about 4,300Hindu and Sikh refugees from Af-Pak region. It is also planningto grant citizenship to hindu refugees from Bangladesh whohad crossed over into India after 1971. 

ii. Simplified the processing of Long Term Visa (LTV) application;granted LTV application to 35,000 refugees in its 1st year.

d. Way forward

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Notesi. Challenge is to distinguish between illegal migrants who cameto India seeking work opportunities and a better life, and thosewho fled Pakistan or Bangladesh fearing persecution.

ii. Government should make its refugee policy religion-neutral.Infact it India must remain open to all those seeking refuge, andnot just those fleeing religious persecution.

iii. Although not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention(which talks of no-refoulement), but India cannot escape itsresponsibilities under the Article -14 of Universal Declarationof Human Rights (which states “everyone has the right toseek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”)

Diplomatic Immunity

Context – In September 2015 when a Saudi diplomat Majed Hassan wasaccused of raping two Nepalese women, left India without facing trial lastweek.

1. Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity that ensures diplomats aregiven safe passage and are considered not susceptibleto lawsuit or prosecution under the host country’s laws, although they canstill be expelled.

2. Originally, these privileges and immunities were granted on a bilateral, ad-hoc basis, which led to misunderstandings and conflict, pressure on weakerstates, and an inability for other states to judge which party was at fault.An international agreement known as the Vienna Conventions codifiedthe rules and agreements, providing standards and privileges to all states.

3. Why given

a. Diplomatic immunity as an institution developed to allow for themaintenance of government relations, including during periods ofdifficulties and armed conflict.

b. When receiving diplomats—who formally represent the sovereign—the receiving head of state grants certain privileges and immunitiesto ensure they may effectively carry out their duties, on theunderstanding that these are provided on a reciprocal basis.

4. Abuse

a. On some occasions, diplomatic immunity leads to some unfortunateresults; protected diplomats have violated laws (including those thatwould be violations at home as well) of the host country.

b. Violation of the law by diplomats has included espionage,smuggling, child custody law violations, tax evasion, making terroristthreats, slavery, preying on children over the Internet forsex, and murder: In London in 1984, police woman YvonneFletcher was killed on the street by a person shooting from insidethe Libyan embassy. The incident caused a breakdown in diplomaticrelations until Libya admitted “general responsibility” in 1999.

5. Arguments for revisiting the diplomatic immunity

a. Using its provisions to save diplomats facing charges of heinous

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Notescrimes such as drug trafficking, enslavement, rape and murder ofwhich there are various instances cannot be justified. In 2014 aMalaysian diplomat was accuse of assault with intent to rape a 21year old woman.

b. Only options before an aggrieved government is to expel the diplomatand to declare him “persona non grata” under Vienna Convention’sArticle 9 – thus a denial of justice to victim.

c. The Vienna Convention is explicit that “without prejudice to theirprivileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying suchprivileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of thereceiving State.”

6. Way forward

a. It is time for the international community to revisit the ViennaConvention, which offers a high degree of legal protection todiplomats.

b. Till that time States have to work together to ensure the credibleprosecutions of diplomats accused of crimes.

South Korea & India Relations

1. The two sides share historical ties. Relations between India and SouthKorea stretch back to 48 AD, when an Indian princess is said to havecome to Korea from the historical city of Ayodhya in India, and, aftermarrying King Kim-Suro, came to be known as Queen Hur Hwang-ok.

It was an Indian, K P S Menon, who was the Chairman of the UnitedNations Commission in 1947, tasked with holding elections in Korea. Inaddition, it was an Indian-sponsored resolution which led to a ceasefirebeing declared between the two warring sides.

2. However, it is unfortunate that the two countries only established consularrelations in 1962, in spite of the long association between theirpeople.During the Cold War era, India and South Korea were aloof fromeach other as South Korea was a strong ally of the United States, whileIndia had inched closer to the erstwhile Soviet Union, though still not anally.

3. Post cold war – an upswing in relations

a. Relations have improved by leaps and bounds in the aftermath of theend of the Cold War. India’s improving relations with the UnitedStates have also contributed to better relations with South Korea inthe post-Cold war era. In addition, the liberalization of the Indianeconomy and the launch of India’s “Look-East Policy” (now renamedas the “Act East Policy”) were also major drivers of the improvingties between the two nations. South Korean companies have madebrisk business in India.

b. As the Indian economy grows, more and more people are beingelevated to the middle-class, thereby creating a huge market for Koreancompanies.

c. In order to improve people-to-people ties, India has announced a visa-on-arrival facility for tourists from South Korea. Buddhism spread to

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NotesKorea from the land of its birth, India, and many Korean touristsvisit places in India like Bodh Gaya, associated with Buddhism.

d. It was during the then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’smomentous visit to India as the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Daycelebrations in January 2010 that bilateral ties were elevated to aStrategic Partnership.  

e. The two countries also signed an agreement for civil nuclear energycooperation during the visit of the then Indian President PratibhaPatil to South Korea in July 2011. Increasing nuclear energy outputis crucial for India in order to ensure that its economy continues togrow. As India has a huge population, it cannot afford big dams asthey would displace millions of people. On the other hand, coal-firedpower plants are hugely damaging to the environment.

f. A bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)was signed between the two sides in August 2009. Trade betweenIndia and South Korea stood at $ 17.57 billion in 2013. Koreancompanies have invested nearly $2.93 billion up until September2013 while Indian investment in South Korea stood at nearly $3billion.

g. Supports our candidature to UNSC and membership of the fourmultilateral export control regimes - the Nuclear Suppliers Group,Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and WassenaarArrangement

4. Modi’s Recent Trip to South Korea – May 2015

a. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to South Korea inthe month of May this year. During this visit, the relations wereupgraded to a Special Strategic Partnership under which

i. Annual summit meetings to be held;

ii. Annual Joint Commissions led by the their foreign ministers tobe held;

iii. Regular consultations between National Security Council;

iv. Hold the defence and foreign affairs dialogue in the “2+2”Format. Japan is the other country with which India holds sucha dialogue;

v. Boost cooperation between their defense education institutions;

vi. Boost cooperation between their shipyards for defence needs

vii. Both sides are to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific Region to ensurefreedom of navigation and security of sea lanes ofcommunication.

b. It was also agreed to “establish annual Summit meetings, in eithercountry, or on the margins of multilateral events” and a joint “viceministerial-level defense and foreign affairs dialogue in the 2+2format.”

c. As India is one of the biggest arms importers in the world, there areample opportunities for Korean weapons manufacturers to sell their

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Noteswares to India. During PM Modi’s visit, it was agreed that SouthKorea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries would be collaborating with anIndian public sector company to manufacture warships in India, thoughthe details are yet to be worked out.

5. Challenges

a. Trade imbalance : It is highly in favor of Korea; our generic and ITcompanies are facing hurdles in accessing their market.

b. Negotiation of CEPA : South Korea like Japan argues that potentialof CEPA is underutilized. Its not at the same level as with othercountries. During Modi’s visit in 2015, Decided to begin negotiationsto amend the CEPA by June 2016.

c. Investment is stuck due to procedural delay esp. land acquisitiondelay and taxation. ($12 billion investment by the Korean steelmakerPOSCO in Odisha has been stuck since 2005). During Modi’s visitin 2015, a dedicated channel (Korea plus) for Korean investment hasbeen announced.

d. Nothing much has moved at the nuclear energy level.

e. Soft power is underutilized. India should grant ‘Visa on Arrival’ toKoreans to facilitate tourism.

2. Way forward

a. As part of the “Made in India” initiative, there are plenty of otheropportunities too for Korean manufacturers to manufacture in Indiaand then sell to other parts of the world.

b. There are immense prospects for the India-South Korea bilateralrelationship. In addition, there are many avenues for cooperationbetween India and South Korea in multilateral forums like the EastAsia Summit (EAS), the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank),besides in organizations like the G-20. When all is said and done,relations between the two countries are now set to move to a highertrajectory.

Defence Diplomacy

Defence Cooperation Between India and USA

1. Defence relationship has emerged as a major pillar of India-U.S. strategicpartnership with the signing of ‘New Framework for India-U.S. DefenseRelations’ in 2005 which has been renewed recently.

2. Ways of cooperation –

a. Defence trade – as of December 2014, aggregate worth of defenceacquisition from U.S. Defence has crossed over US$ 10 billion.

b. Co-production

i. Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) has beenestablished to simplify technology transfer policies and exploringpossibilities of co-production to implement Make in India.

ii. In September 2015, Pentagon established India Rapid ReactionCell (IRRC) to pursue all aspects of the India-U.S. Defence

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NotesTrade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). It’s a first country-specific cell.

iii. During the visit of Defence Secretary in June 2015, both Indiaand the United States have finalized two project agreements forjoint development of Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Sourcesand the Next Generation Protective Ensembles.

iv. It was also decided to expedite discussions to take forwardcooperation on jet engines, aircraft carrier design andconstruction, and other areas under ‘Make in India’.

c. Joint exercises – Indian navy ship participated in Rim of the Pacific(RIMPAC) exercise in 2014; Malabar in 2015

d. Personnel exchanges,

e. Collaboration and cooperation in maritime security and counter-piracy,and

f. In June 2015 the ‘2015 Framework for the US-India defencerelationship’ was signed. It reviews the 2005 agreement and willguide the bilateral defence and strategic partnership for the next tenyears. The new Framework agreement provides avenues for highlevel strategic discussions, continued exchanges between armed forcesof both countries, and strengthening of defence capabilities.TheFramework also recognizes the transformative nature of the DefenceTechnology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

g. Institutional mechanisms for dialogue like Defence Policy Group(DPG), Defence Joint Working Group (DJWG), etc.

3. Reasons

a. India’s need for upgraded defence equipments due to threat of twofront-war and US need of market.

b. Due to our common interests like stability, counter-terrorism andensuring free flow of commerce and resources through the vital sealanes of Indian Ocean.

c. Probably US desire to counter China via India, for that India has tobe strengthened; a part of pivot to Asia.

4. Challenges

a. One of these is India’s longstanding refusal to sign the two agreementsthat US law deems necessary for certain aspects of technologytransfer: the Communications Interoperability and SecurityMemorandum of Agreement and the Logistics Support Agreement. 

b. India’s defence ministry still remains wedded to its old bureaucraticmindset.

c. The Indian defence manufacturing industry — both private and publicsector — lacks the capacity to absorb and use these technologies.

d. Technology sharing is still less as India is not a member of fourinternational  export control   regimes. India’s membership wouldfurther facilitate technology sharing.

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Notes5. Implications

a. Russia is upset; now it is even exploring defence relations withPakistan.

b. China is upset which sees this a US strategy to contain it.

Russia – (Decline in Indo-Russia Relations)

1. Period of upswing

a. As strategic relations go, few countries can match the enduringpartnership that India and Russia have shared since the 1960s. Forclose to half a century Russia has been New Delhi’s foremost militarysupplier.

b. In fact, defense trade became the raison d’être for strategic relationsbetween the two nations – particularly in the post-Cold War era.

2. Decline in military relations

a. Yet Russia’s share of military sales to India is now in steady decline.In consonance with India’s enhanced geopolitical status and strategicrapprochement with the U.S., New Delhi has found new partners inthe West. And what was once the defining aspect of the bilateralrelationship with Russia is threatening to become a heavy burden forboth partners.

b. This shift has been a decade in the making and can be traced backto the 123 Agreement that India signed with the U.S. What followedwas a reversal of a decades old non-proliferation policy thatculminated in the signing of the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement in2005. America’s strategic rapprochement with New Delhi marked awatershed moment in India’s defense engagement with the world.Sanctions against many Indian defense entities were lifted and hightechnology export controls were slowly eased.

c. Foreign aerospace and defense majors were given expanded accessto Indian markets and within the space of a decade Indo-Israel defensetrade rose to $10 billion, while India’s defense trade with the U.S. hassince topped $9 billion.

d. All this has had an adverse impact on Indo-Russian defense trade.Despite robust numbers in absolute terms, Russia’s share of India’sdefense pie will continue to fall, at least in the short term. In recentyears, the Kremlin has lost out to other emerging export hubs forbig-ticket Indian defense contracts. These include, amongst others,the 36 MMRCA contract worth $7 billion to France; 10 C-17Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft worth $4.1 to the U.S.and eight P-8I maritime patrol aircraft worth $2.1, again to theU.S.

e. At present, Russia’s defense industry is sustaining its considerableties with India on the strength of the execution of contracts alreadyin place. Barring the upcoming $11 billion contract for the jointdesign and development of the Fifth Generation FighterAircraft (FGFA) program with Russia, there are no specific plansto purchase new Russian arms.

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Notes3. Pakistan-Russia military relations

a. Already there is trouble brewing on the horizon; all signs point toRussia downgrading its military-technical relationship with India fromthat of an exclusive partner to a preferred partner. Such pragmatismshould come as no surprise given that India has diversified its ownmilitary import portfolio and no longer considers Russia as its exclusivetrading partner. Russian military export overtures towardsPakistan are now perceptible. In a noteworthy development, Russiarecently decided to supply Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters to Pakistan.

b. Prior to this, Moscow had refrained from supplying lethal militaryequipment to Pakistan on account of New Delhi’s strained relationshipwith Islamabad – the legacy of this Indo-Russian military exclusivitycan be traced all the way back to the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship,Cooperation and Peace of 1971.

c. This shift is significant, and is driven by Moscow’s “compulsive”need to sell weapons. One of the most important issues followingthe dissolution of the Soviet Union was the distribution of its externalstate debt. However, Russia did not inherit an equally robust economy.

4. Sino-Russia military relations

a. The recent upsurge in Sino-Russian military cooperation has also notgone unnoticed in India.

b. By selling the advanced Su-35 fighter aircraft to China, Russia ispotentially creating a conflict of interest for itself. With every saleof military equipment to China, Russian military hardware becomesless appealing in the Indian market; this is particularly true for theaerospace sector, where a major portion of the Indian Air Force fleetis made up of Russian imports.

c. Some argue that the configuration of equipment supplied to Indiasurpasses that which is supplied to China.

5. Going forward, a period of dissonance is to be expected, before India andRussia can adjust to the realpolitic of the present.

Indo – USA Nuclear Deal

Critical Evaluation

1. Under the 123 Agreement concluded between India and US in 2005. Itwas agreed that:

a. US will facilitate India’s access to global nuclear commerce,

b. In return India will aim for non-proliferation and will harmonize itscivilian nuclear programme with the norms of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

2. Rationale behind the deal

a. Nuclear non-proliferation

• Bush administration justified a nuclear pact with India arguingthat it is important in helping to advance the non-proliferationframework by formally recognizing India’s strong non-

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Notesproliferation record even though it has not signed the NPT. Itwould also bring India closer as an important partner in the nonproliferation regime.

b. Economic considerations

• Financially, the U.S. expected that such a deal could spur India’seconomic growth and bring in $150 billion in the next decadefor nuclear power plants, of which the U.S. wants a share. 

c. Nuclear technology

• US also thought that it might benefit from access to Indiannuclear technology. In the words of their administration - “Whilemuch of the world’s approach to India has been to limit itsaccess to nuclear technology, it may well be that today welimit ourselves by not having access to India’s nuclear technologydevelopments.”Because India’s nuclear program was developedmostly indigenously, the country used unique techniques thatother countries can learn from.

d. Strategic

• The United States also sees India as a viable counter-weight tothe growing influence of China.

3. At present the deal is facing various hurdles, and as sceptics note, has notresulted in a single commercial nuclear transaction between India and theUS. The hurdles are:

a. Debate on nuclear liability under the Civil Liability for NuclearDamage Act (CLNDA) of 2010 – ‘what should be the liability andunder whom’. India wants to revise it to meet the internationalconventions;

b. Delhi’s concerns about administrative arrangements for monitoringthe sensitive parts of India’s civilian nuclear cycle; and

c. Facilitating India’s early membership of global non-proliferationregimes such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

4. Still the deal has significance because

a. Nuclear

i. This ended India’s nuclear apartheid following its nuclear tests

in 1974 and 1998.

ii. Increased the flow of uranium from other countries – India has

signed dual supply agreements with various countries having

huge reserves like Australia, Kazakhstan and more recently a

$ 350 million worth deal with Canada’s largest uranium producer,

Cameco Corp.

b. Indo-US relations

i. It gave momentum to indo-US relations. US is now India’s

largest trade partner; a major supplier of defence equipment to

India.

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Notesc. In April 2015, Canada signed an agreement. It was recognition ofIndia‘s ability to act as a responsible regional and global power.

d. With the NSG waiver, India became the only non-NPT state that canmaintain its military and civilian nuclear program even while accessingglobal nuclear trade, thus giving it near-parity with nuclear-weaponstates.

e. Further, the NSG wavier has opened the possibility of India’s entryas a full member in the NSG as well as other export control sub-regimes like the Wassenar Arrangement, Australia Group and MissileTechnology Control Regime (MTCR). This will imply India’smetamorphosis from a recipient state to a supplier.

5. Conclusion – Full potential hasn’t been realised, but still has yielded manyresults, now both sides should work together to implement it fully.

CLND Act, 2010 – (Civil Liability for NuclearDamages)

1. Liability limit

a. Till $ 300 million SDR – Liability is capped at $ 300 million SDRs(Rs. 2,610 crore)

i. NPCIL (operator) will pay upto Rs. 1,500 crore;

1. For this an insurance pool will be created of equivalentamount. It will be funded by the government andgovernment owned insurance companies in a 50:50 ratio.

ii. Union government will pay the balance 1,110 crore.

b. Above $ 300 million SDR

i. Any damages above this will come from an international fund,once India ratifies the “International Convention onSupplementary Compensation for Nuclear Liability (CSC)”.

2. Who will pay (be liable) – supplier or operator

a. Operator is liable, not supplier (section-4)

i. As we saw above that NPCIL (operator) will pay up to 1,500

core, till 2,610 crore government and thereafter an international

fund. Supplier or manufacturer are nowhere involved.

b. But, yes the supplier can be made to pay money. (right to recourse

against supplier u/s-17)

c. But the issue is who will sue it’.

i. Only operator can sue them. (and that too only if it is mentioned

in contract between NPCIL and supplier under section – 6a.

thus there is no mandatory right to recourse)

ii. Victims cannot sue them (cannot file class-action suits)

1. According to Section 46, victims and even operators

cannot bring claims for compensation for nuclear

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Notesdamage under statutes other than the CLND Act; i.e.

they cannot go to foreign courts also.

3. Time limit

a. Clause 18 of the Nuclear Liability Bill limits the time to make aclaim within 10 years. This is considered to be too short as theremay be long term damage due to the nuclear accident.

4. Criticism

a. Liability limit

i. This amount is only a small fraction of what victims need (inFushikama disaster damage was to the tune of $ 200 billion).It is very low compared to other countries.

b. Who is liable

i. Supplier not held accountablegovernment

ii. Liability to be paid by NPCIL (government owned money) andgovernment in short tax payers will pay the money.

c. Victims cannot sue them. Victims rights are not being upheld.

Pivot To Asia

1. Over the last two decades, Washington has remained stuck in Afghanistanand Iraq, thus paving way for China to advance its political influencewithin the Asia-Pacific. “Pivot to Asia”, or more specifically “USrebalancing”, demonstrates the realization of American strategic thinkingtowards the threat which Beijing poses to Washington not onlydiplomatically but also economically.

2. Objectives

a. Counter China : The central intention is balancing and counteringChina’s rise in the Asia-Pacific region while the other objectivesrevolve around it.

b. Asian Century:The significance of Asia Pacific lies in the geopoliticalinterests of the key powers of the global politics. The years followingthe financial predicament of 2009 have witnessed some crucial politicaland strategic changes since the region has become the centre ofattraction driving the global politics.

c. Constructing a Sense of Justification: Since Washington is currentlypreoccupied in War-on-Terror, it requires a good reason to pull out itsresources from the other regions to Asia-Pacific. The recentphenomenal boom of China has provided US that justification whereit feels itself bound to balance and to defend the land from anyaggression.

d. Strengthening Alliances: Another objective places the strengtheningand reinforcing the strategic alliances as the foremost goal of the US.The idea is to reassure the Asian partners its presence whenever theyfeel threatened especially by China.

e. Peaceful Resolution of Regional Disputes: The non-violent resolutionof Asian disputes is in the American core interests. The US is very

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Notesmuch concerned regarding the solution of China-Taiwan tension andKorean Peninsula. It is keen to imply diplomatic efforts to ensureregional security. Another objective involves the denuclearization andnon-proliferation of North-Korea in order to guarantee peace andprotection.  

f. Incorporating Rising Powers: Another objective involves theintegration of emerging China into contemporary global order. Keepinginto consideration China’s economic and military boost, it is vital forthe US to make Beijing act as a mature and responsible regionalstakeholder.

g. Multilateral Commitment and Tackling Non-TraditionalDangers: The strategic alliances are the building-blocks forcollaboration against security threats faced by the region whether itbe extremism, dangers from climate change, infectious diseases, nuclearproliferation or natural calamities. Such an alliance provides a basisfor trust-building and cooperation to tackle Chinese rise.  

3. Steps under it: Politically speaking, three elements of US rebalancingstrategy have been figured out that includes defence, financial and diplomaticaspects

a. Security Aspect: The recent adjustments in the US defensive posturereveal the importance of the element of security for the only global

hegemon. Washington is aggressively shifting its extensive militarypotentials from other targets to one platform that encompasses theentire Asia-Pacific region thus, reshuffling its defensive arrangements

to ensure a much broader presence of the US armed forces to counterany possible belligerence. This incorporates the highly sophisticated

military dispersion in Philippines and Australia and also to otherregional allies, thereby guaranteeing an enhanced coerciveamalgamation within the region.

b. Financial Aspect: The rebalancing strategy also involves an intentionto enhance trade and economic schemes amongst the US and itspartners in-order to foster a trustworthy environment. For this purpose,

an idea of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free-trade accord, hasbeen put forward that currently contains US and eleven other players

but excludes China. Moreover, the financial aid to Asia-Pacific allieshas also been doubled.

c. Diplomatic Aspect: The pivot has witnessed heightened diplomaticand military engagement of US high-profile officials in Asia-Pacific.

The agenda involves reinforcing the strategic partnerships, engagingmultilateral organizations, controlling US-China hostility andpromoting trust-building cooperation amongst the two global giants.

4. China’s reaction to it

a. Russia and China have become closer; Russia in August 2015 releaseda new naval doctrine that singles out China as its core partner in thePacific.

b. China has launched various projects like one belt one road initiative;AIIB.

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Notes5. India

a. Has been a tough balancing game for India,

b. On one hand it is becoming a part of Asia pivot (2 visits in 2 years,

increasing defence relations and recent conclusion of Malabar

exercise);

i. China’s increasing presence in Indian ocean and thus we need

US.

ii. Complimentarity exists between US Asia’s pivot and India’s

Act East Policy.

c. But to counter the tilt, India has also sought membership of SCO.

6. Conclusion 

a. Keeping in consideration the current political scenario within Asia-

Pacific, it is high time to resolve the tensions in SCS region since the

focus of the core powers remains in the very region and even a small

skirmish could usher the world towards a global war.

b. The peaceful future of China and America lies in the clarification of

mutual misunderstandings, however, the analysts have observed their

future relationship in two entirely different perspectives:

i. One is extremely pessimistic, focusing on realism where there

would be a serious power struggle and a zero-sum battle amongst

China and US.

ii. The second view incorporates optimism, focusing on Liberal

stance where its advocates believe that cooperation amongst

the two giants would ultimately become inevitable.

c. Since the two would, diplomatically and economically, rely on each

other, therefore, conflicts would be de-escalated and wars could be

eschewed. Hence, only time will tell what lies ahead but one thing

remains evident that Asia-Pacific would decide the fate of the world.

New Constitution of Nepal

1. The Constitution of Nepal 2072 has been passed recently by the

Constituent Assembly. The new constitution will formally take the country

towards a federal structure from the existing unitary structure that remained

rooted in the country for 240 years. The new statute has proposed to

federate the country into seven federal units, which will be one of the

significant changes to take place on the basis of the new constitution. 

2. The preamble of the constitution also mentions people’s competitive multi-

party democratic system, civic freedom, fundamental rights, human rights,

period election, voting rights, full press freedom, independent, fair and

competent judiciary, building of a prosperous nation with the commitment

to socialism based on rule of law, and democratic norms and values, and

durable peace, good governance, development through the federal

democratic republic. 

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Notes3. Highlights of Nepal constitution 2072 Features:

a. Nepal is a federal state which means there will be no unitary structure.For now, leaders have proposed seven federal states.

b. Nepal is an equitable state and the Nepalese society will be governedaccording to the principle of proportional inclusion and participationwhich is a significant step towards economic equality and social justice.

c. Nepal is a competitive multi-party democratic system.

d. Full rights have been given to people including Civic freedom,fundamental rights, human rights and voting rights.

e. Full press freedom and independent, fair and competent judiciary isguaranteed.

f. Nepal is a secular state. Everybody has right to adopt the religionthey want.

g. Executive rights of the country are vested on the Council of Ministers.

h. President is the ceremonial head-of-the-state.

i. New Constitution of Nepal 2072 2015 ensures a bi-cameral federalparliament.

j. There is an end of Monarchy in Nepal. President is the head of statewhile prime minister that is appointed by constitution assembly holdsexecutive power.

4. Reasons for the protests against the new Constitution:

The Madheshis and Tharus who constitute 70 per cent of the Terai populationrevolted against the new Constitution.

The major reasons are:

a) The new Constitution has a provision for a 165-member Parliament, butthe constituencies have been demarcated in such a way that the people ofthe hill and mountain region would get 100 seats, despite the fact thattheir share in Nepal’s total population is less than 50 per cent. On theother hand, the Terai region constituting over half of the country’spopulation has been allocated only 65 seats.

b) Only eight districts in the Terai region, from Saptari in the East to Parsain the West, have been given the status of a province (State 2, see Mapbelow); the remaining 14 districts are to be joined with the hill districts,with the sole purpose of converting the local people into a minority. TheMadheshis and Tharus were sidelined in the entire constitution makingprocess due to prevailing distrust towards them among the mainstreampolitical parties. 

c) The new constitution of Nepal defines Nepal as a secular country, despitewidespread protests for it to be declared a Hindu state. Many Nepalis,particularly the Madhesis, have been angered by a clause in the newconstitution which talks of “religious and cultural freedom, with theprotection of religion and culture practiced since ancient times”.

d) The new constitution has made proselytising illegal, reflecting fears ofgrowing numbers of low-caste and other marginalized groups converting toChristianity.

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Notese) The constitution discriminates against women in terms of grantingcitizenship. The constitution says men can pass on their Nepali citizenshipto their children. But women married to foreign nationals can’t pass ontheir Nepali nationality and their children can only become Nepalese bynaturalization. Any foreign woman married to a Nepali national will alsoget naturalized citizenship. The constitution’s provisions on citizenship bynaturalization have been criticized by gender rights activists asdiscriminatory. The people in the country’s south, called Terai, who sharea close cultural relationship with people from India, are also protestingagainst some of these citizenship provisions because the constitution saysthe naturalized citizens can’t take up high political and security offices.

5. A forward looking Constitution must take adequate care to accommodaterather than leave out the genuine aspirations of a substantial cross-sectionof people. If such aspirations remain unmet, as the persisting movementby the people of the Terai region would indicate, the ongoing crisis maydeepen causing trouble for one and all in Nepal.