VIF Papers
Unblocking of NATO Supply Routes By Pakistan: Logistics or Plain Politics?

The flow of oil through NATO's Pakistani supply lines is due to resume soon, one year after the attack by NATO troops on the Pakistani outpost at Salala. The decision comes after the first two test-run tankers passed safely through the Torkham crossing in the beginning of November, 2012. Earlier the logistical supply lines, but not the oil supply lines, were opened in July, 2012.

Political Analysis of Election Possibilities in Pakistan

Yet Another Turning Point? Every general election in Pakistan has been viewed with a mixture of trepidation and hope and hence invariably touted as a critical turning point in that country’s history. Full Paper in pdf format is available here

Sino-Indian War: Fifty Years On

Fifty years ago this month China and India went to war. Historically, the conflict that began on October 20 was a blip, lasting only a month with hostilities confined to their disputed border and even limited to the use of both countries’ armies with a minimal role for their air force and navies. On the world stage the conflict was overshadowed by a superpower stand-off between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Full Paper in pdf format is available here

India - China Relations: Problems and Prospects

Rise of China: Challenge or Opportunity? China’s extraordinarily rapid rise in the hierarchy of global power is raising concerns about its future policies. Opinion is divided whether China will increasingly assert its power in disruptive ways or will act more responsibly as its own stakes in the international system grow. Arguments can be made for both views, though emerging signs suggest that China’s self-assertion is becoming an unpleasant reality, whereas the expectation that it will work for and within a global consensus remains more a matter of hope.

Health Infrastructure in India: Critical Analysis of Policy Gaps in the Indian Healthcare Delivery

Today the health infrastructure of India is in pathetic condition, it needs radical reforms to deal with new emerging challenges. On the one hand the role of private players is continuously increasing in healthcare sector, but simultaneously healthcare facilities are getting costly, and becoming non-accessible for the poor. The government hospitals are facing the problem of lack of resources and infrastructure; there are inadequate number of beds, rooms, and medicines. In this research paper the authors have discussed the present scenario of healthcare facilities and personnel.

Amarnath Yatra: Occasion to Revisit the Indian Institution of Tirtha

Pilgrimage – tirtha – is a unique Indian civilisational institution that has fascinated and propelled people over the ages. The current issue of further curtailing the period of pilgrimage to the sacred shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir is an occasion to revisit this institution of pilgrimage and to see it within the Indian spiritual, cultural and civilisational framework.

Military Aspects Af-Pak Situation: An Appraisal

It is axiomatic that military aspects can not be discussed in isolation as many other factors have a direct impact on the given military situation. In the current Af-Pak scenario political and economic compulsions have a direct bearing on the behaviour of many players in the evolving Af-Pak imbroglio. Clausewitz opined that ‘war is a continuation of politics’ which in effect means that war or for that matter any military action can not be separated from political activity. Further, to execute any kind of national or military strategy adequate resources are required.

A Vibrant Indian Military Industrial Complex for Self Reliance

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), today India is world’s largest arms importer with country’s spending on defence hovering between 2.3% and 3% of GDP.

Towards A Stable Afghanistan: The Way Forward

(A report of Joint Working Group of Vivekananda International Foundation and RUSI, the UK) The experts from the two think tanks met in New Delhi and London during October and November 2011 to deliberate on peace and stability in Afghanistan. Both the countries have stakes in the emerging situation in Afghanistan and have contributed to peace and stability in Afghanistan in many ways. The report also took into account the opinions of a wide array of strategic analysts, many government officials, and academics.

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