In the current issue of National Security journal we have put together articles and reviews on varied subjects, ranging from history to current developments. Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty in his lead article, captures the ongoing debate on history writing in India. After examining the characteristics of British colonial historians and the post-independence pro-Marx writers of history, the author concludes that new voices are challenging the established narrative with confidence. Ajay Singh in his article examines the key battles that left a lasting impression on the course of India’s history. The author laments that India never could develop as a military power commensurate with its economic prowess throughout its millennia-long history. This was because Indian rulers lacked a grand strategy, military technology and internal coherence. The result was that external invaders could exploit Indian fault lines and subdue local rulers who often enjoyed numerical superiority over them.
Anil Rawat and Priscilla Edward in their article examines the civilisational connect between India and Japan. The authors break the popular myth that India and Japan are linked only by Buddhism. Their research shows that Japanese civilisation was impacted by the Hindu Vedic value system in the Yayoi pre-Buddhist period. Edwin Joy Mariya’s article discusses China’s growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The author contrasts China’s growing influence in the region with India’s less than optimum presence there. He argues that India should step up its engagements with this region. In her article on Pakistan, Shalini Chawla examines that nation’s foreign policy in the backdrop of the multidimensional crises it is facing. The author asserts that with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2022, the salience of Pakistan for the United States has decreased and American aid to Pakistan has dried up. China’s influence in Pakistan, on the other hand, has grown.
The increasing protectionism and trade fragmentation in the world are the subject of analysis in Anil Kumar Kanungo’s article. The author analyses the impact of the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the US-China trade war and decoupling, the supply chain disruptions following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on global trade. Saroj Bishoyi, in his review essay scans the writings of leading scholars and experts and explains that “Aatmanirbharta” does not mean shutting off from the rest of the world. This issue of the journal also carries two book reviews. While Dammu Ravi reviews Ruchita Beri’s book, India-Africa: Building Synergies in Peace, Security and Development, Purnima M. Gupta reviews Vyoma Jha’s book, ‘The Making of the International Solar Alliance: India's Moment in the Sun’.
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CONTENTS: Volume VIII Issue I | January - March 2025
Editor’s Note
Articles
Indian Historiography – Contradictions, Controversies and Contestation | Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty
Abstract: When history is written it inevitably has to deal with authenticity of sources, interpretation and ideological factors. Archaeological remains are the most authentic factual sources of history. India’s long history is a contested arena because of its ancient sources that are both a mix of facts and mythology. Muslim kings have left behind contemporary accounts by their court historians who also mixed up facts with eulogy, overlaid by religious zeal to subjugate a conquered people. The British brought their own brand of writing history from the European tradition, underpinned by their colonial mentality, prejudices and the imperative to dominate. Post-independent India witnessed a new debate on the new school textbooks which had ideological foundations. This led to a contest that continues to pit historians belonging to the Leftist-Marxist camp and those who are labelle Right-Wing. The debate, per se, is not unwelcome because it generates a better understanding of India’s history. In this article, these aspects of contestations have been discussed with this objective in mind.
An Overview of Indian Warfare: The Shaping of Indian History | Ajay Singh
Abstract: The article covers an overview of Indian warfare and its most significant battles - including the battles of Kurukshetra, Tarain, the Three Battles of Panipat, Palash and others. The post-independence wars too have been covered in significant detail, especially the wars of 1962, 1965, 1971 and the Kargil war. The author aims to bring out the battles in the correct perspective — without embellishments— so that we can derive the right lessons from them and get a clear concept of the evolution of Indian warfare down the ages.
Abstract: Buddhism is considered to be the principal factor in the development of the India-Japan relationship. However, in our research, we have found that the Japanese perception of India has been more deeply influenced by the pre-Buddhist-Vedic civilisational value system since the Classical Period. A unique theoretical framework has been developed to explain this civilisational expansion and content of India-Japan relations, which eventually evolved into the “Tenjiku Conception” of India. “Tenjiku” was a cultural cognitive construct, comprising of those civilisational values that people imbibed in the early years of Japanese civilisation. The Japanese began to develop civilisational characteristics from the Yayoi Period and imbibed Indian Vedic values during their interactions with China. The kind of Buddhism adopted by the Japanese was enmeshed deeply within Vedic philosophical thought. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to describe it as “Brahmanical-Buddhism.” Furthermore, the Japanese found Indian spiritualism and attitudes towards nature very encouraging. The Vedic value system is attributed for the intimate relationship it nurtured among the Japanese people and their speedier expansion throughout Japan’s main islands. The core values of spiritualism and their analysis of nature provided decisive underpinnings of the “Tenjiku” Conception, which became the abiding basis of Japan’s perception of India.
China’s Growing Role in Latin America | Edwin Joy Mariya
Abstract: There have been 220 foreign visits by Union Ministers between January 2020 and November 2023, but only six to Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Foreign visits by government delegations are one of the most visible manifestations of diplomacy that helped India to enhance its standing across the globe. That is why India should focus on enhancing its ties with LAC nations. Though India and LAC countries are similar in many ways and have great affinity, the former’s presence, apart from diaspora, is limited when compared to the Chinese presence in the region. In 2023, India’s trade with the LAC countries accounted for around USD 50 billion, whereas Chinese trade was USD 489 billion. So, how has the People’s Republic of China (PRC) become so influential in the LAC? Why is China so keen to enhance its grip in the Atlantic? What are the factors that have helped the PRC to develop its ties with the LAC countries?
That is why it has become essential to assess Chinese foreign policy. This article also analyses the economic and military presence of China in the LAC region vis-à-vis land, sea, air and space. In an emerging multipolar world, the LAC countries do not want to be squeezed in between the West and China. It is, therefore, important for their national interests to diversify their relations with other major powers. That is where India, the “Voice for the Global South”, can offer much.
Evolving Dynamics of Pakistan’s Foreign Relations | Shalini Chawla
Abstract: For decades, Pakistan has leveraged its geographic location and benefitted in the bargain with major powers and Muslim nations. Its association with the United States and China have helped its military to get modern military equipment and assistance, and achieve nuclear weapons capability. One of the most critical challenges for the newly elected regime of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is to revive and strengthen Pakistan’s foreign relations, which suffered a blow during former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure. There has been a decline in Pakistan’s strategic relevance owing to the US exit from Kabul in August 2021, and continued instability within Pakistan on varied fronts. Since Khan’s exit, Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership has been focused on strengthening its bilateral relations to support economic growth, attract investments, revive its strategic relevance and to continue to modernise its military. Pakistan seeks to derive both strategic and economic dividends by maintaining a delicate balance between Washington and Beijing.
Geo-Economic Trends in World Trade: India’s Policy Options | Anil Kumar Kanungo
Abstract: Since the onset of the Sino-US trade war, global economic integration has faced challenges increasingly. Disillusionment over uneven benefits of free trade, the fragility of highly specialised global supply chains following exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and geo-political frictions heightening the advent of the war between Russia and Ukraine, have all contributed to an insecure and volatile world order. The global economy has been beset by multidimensional crises such as trade fragmentation, unilateral industrial policies, a reversal of multilateralism and threats to green transition. The world economy is witnessing new partnerships and alliances. Geo-economic trends are increasingly inward looking and not based on principles of multilateralism, or free and fair trade. The share of world trade has not significantly declined but if current trends continue, lesser economies risk being more marginalised. For India, stronger multilateralism remains its best bet, though it needs fresh policy options to cope with emerging challenges.
Review Essay
AatmaNirbhar Bharat: Key for Realising Goal of Developed India by 2047 | Saroj Bishoyi
Abstract: India was once a pioneering contributor of ideas, products and services to the world, which were lost with the onset of colonial rule, and then, through the wrong policy decisions introduced and applied in India post-independence. Faced with several challenges arising out of the post-Covid era, that was a combination of health, economic and national security crisis, the AatmaNirbhar Bharat, a visionary initiative, was announced. It is an attempt to rediscover India’s intrinsic strengths and capabilities, and rekindle the lost pride of what India was once. In this setting, this review essay provides the context, definition and origin of the concept AatmaNirbhar Bharat. It analyses the significance of making India AatmaNirbhar in critical sectors amid the evolving geopolitical landscape and shifts in the global distribution of power, influence and resources. Highlighting major challenges and policy recommendations, the author argues that AatmaNirbhar Bharat is key for achieving the goal of developed India by 2047.
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