Introduction As against the initial decades of the 20th century which saw a sharply divided world, the first two decades of the new millennium are witnessing a coming together of people and nations increasingly due to factors such as economic interests, political ideologies, common civilisational values and mutually shared concerns for global challenges.

Relations between India and China are poised to affect and influence the global economic and strategic aggregates, which would significantly determine peace, security and stability in Asia in the coming decades. History denotes that interaction between two emerging powers is a contrasting blend of harmony and discord; India and China are no exception. The expanding economic and trade engagement between the two countries on one hand, and concomitant muscle flexing on the other, is a representation of this contrasting dyad.

The advent of the 21st century marked a unique era for Afghanistan. Presumably, an end was put to the wearisome conflict in late 2001, and a new chapter full of unprecedented and complicated pages was opened. Surviving every hardship in the last moments of the 20th century, the education sector of the country, like the other sectors, became the focal point of the international communities and aid agencies. In other words, following the immediate installation of the new government in 2002, high priority was given to the education sector.