India and South Asia: October 2017 Dossier

Policy Study

This Dossier highlights various aspects of the domestic scene, particularly the current economic situation and the forthcoming election in Gujarat. The 14th India-EU summit will hopefully contribute to improve the relations and speed up the overdue Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India. The visits of President Ramnath Kovind to Djibouti and Ethiopia underlines India’s role in the Indian Ocean and in Africa. The visit of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has also to be seen against the backdrop of India’s steady and even increasing engagement with Afghanistan.

Part I  India – Domestic developments

·   The Current Economic Situation

• Environment: Inability to learn?
• Defeats for the Congress in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh?
• 2017-19: Double strategies of BJP and RSS

Part II  India – Foreign Policy Development

·     14th India-EU Summit: A quiet affair

·     President Ram Nath Kovind’s State Visit to Djibouti and Ethiopia

Part III South Asia                      

·     CEO of Afghanistan Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in India

Press Articles on major domestic and foreign policy issues

Pakistan’s ISI thwarts US plans in Afghanistan

C. Uday Bhaskar

South Asia Monitor, October 06, 2017

Pakistan and Trump: Ready for a bargain?

C. Raja Mohan

The Indian Express, October 08, 2017

Next Door Nepal: Red versus rest

Yubaraj Ghimire

The Indian Express, October 09, 2017

The shifting sands of West Asia & the Gulf

Shyam Saran

Business Standard, October 10, 2017

Closing up the Gulf

KC Singh

The Tribune, October 12, 2017

Election time is here

S Nihal Singh

The Tribune, October 14, 2017

Shunning Rohingya Refugees Is a Bad Geopolitical Strategy for India

Manoj Joshi

The Wire, October 15, 2017

Trump’s latest mollycoddling of Pakistan defies all logic

Kanwal Sibal

Economic Times, October 17, 2017

Xi wants to become the most powerful leader on earth

Srikanth Kondapalli

Rediff.com, October 17, 2017

Has the US promise ‘to help India to become a world power’ gone stale?

Manoj Joshi

Daily Mail, October 22, 2017