A trilateral conference ‘China, India, the UK and Afghanistan- A Partnership for Stability’ was held in Beijing from 24 to 26 November 2014 under the auspices of VIF, Royal United Services Institute of UK (RUSI) and China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). A four member VIF delegation led by Gen.
On 25 Nov 2014, a ten-member Parliamentary delegation from Bangladesh held wide ranging interaction with the VIF faculty on ‘India-Bangladesh relations and the way forward’. The interaction kicked off on a positive note, with former Ambassador Satish Chandra highlighting the upward spiral in India-Bangladesh relations in recent years. He complimented Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking the momentum forward, appreciating, in particular, the extremely supportive stance adopted by her government in tackling terrorism.
Pakistan's former Ambassador to USA, Hussain Haqqani, delivered a talk on “Pakistan: Democracy, Modernism, Jihad” before a distinguished gathering at Vivekananda International Foundation on August 13, 2014. Ambassador Haqqani who is currently the Director, South and Central Asia, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said that Pakistan's foreign policy is a function of the state of insecurity whose roots can be traced back to the origins of the demand for Pakistan and the worldview of the leaders of the Muslim League.
A five-member delegation from Nepal Transition to Peace-Institute (NTTP I) visited the VIF on July 24, 2014 for interaction on a variety of issues of mutual interest. The delegation was led by former Speaker of the Nepalese Parliament Mr. Daman Nath Dhungana, Senior Facilitator and Chairman of the Institute and included, among others, distinguished personalities such as Mr. Padma Ratan Tuladhar and Mr. Vidyadhar Mallik, both former ministers. The VIF delegation was led by the Director, Gen (Retd) N C Vij and included Mr. C D Sahay, Lt.Gen (Retd) Ravi Sawhney and others.
Dr Moeed Yusuf, Director, South Asia Program at the United States Institute of Peace, visited VIF on August 6, 2014 for an interaction with the VIF faculty. In a frank and candid exchange of views, Dr Yusuf presented his assessment of the current state of relations between India and Pakistan and the prospects for normalization of ties. He spoke about the challenge posed by terrorism to Pakistan and the state of civil-military relations in that country.
A Diligent Field Report on Illegal Migration and its Impact on India’s Unity and Integrity Bangladesh Migrants: A Threat to india by Mr. Pavas Kumar Mishra , retired Additional Director-General of the Border Security Force, is a rare book that provides deep insights into border management across the 4097 Km Indo-Bangladesh border and then goes on to discuss the grave concomitant problems like illegal immigration and cross-border terrorism and their implications for India’s unity and integrity.
American scholar and academic Dr C Christine Fair presented her latest book “Fighting to the end: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War” before a distinguished gathering of scholars, soldiers and diplomats at the Vivekananda International Foundation on July 14, 2014.
Preface Nepal has experienced some catalytic political changes in the recent decades. The Maoist insurgency, the monarchy’s assertion to direct rule, the reinstallation of democratic rule through the second democratic movement and the polarization of the Maoists and the other political forces of the country to restructure the Nepalese state, etc have been some of the significant developments.
A Wonky State Behaving Like Warrior State
‘Bangladesh Migrants - A Threat to India’ authored by P K Mishra, Senior Fellow of the Vivekananda International Foundation, was released at the VIF on 13 May 2014, by Shri Prakash Singh, IPS (Retd) and former Director General, BSF and a member of the advisory board of VIF. Lt General (Retd) Ravi Sawhney, chaired the session.