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41. Finding a Way Out of Festering Conflict in India’s Manipur

Author:
International Crisis Group
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
What’s new? After close to two years of violence, the Indian government has imposed President’s Rule in Manipur, putting it directly in charge of the troubled north-eastern state’s affairs. New Delhi should seize the opportunity to quell an ethnic conflict that has killed more than 260 people and displaced some 60,000. Why does it matter? Insurgent groups have resurfaced in Manipur over the past year. Failure to resolve the conflict could not just lead to more bloodshed and displacement, but also derail dialogue with the militants. It also risks destabilising other parts of north-eastern India, upsetting the hard-earned peace in neighbouring states. What should be done? Now that it has imposed President’s Rule, the central government should disarm the two sides and re-establish law and order. Finding a sustainable way out of the crisis will be difficult, but New Delhi should initiate negotiations by urgently creating a peace committee acceptable to both communities.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Government, Insurgency, and Civil Violence
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

42. Military Humanitarianism: A case of India´s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations

Author:
Aashriti Gautam
Publication Date:
05-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
The current global scenario, wherein states are increasingly inclined to deploy military force to defend their national interests at the cost of human lives, often overlooks the military's constructive role in safeguarding and reinstating fundamental democratic values, such as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, through its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations (HADR). Within this contextual framework, the article adds an important dimension to the existing scholarship on the relationship between democratic values and the military, examined through the lens of military humanitarianism. To further substantiate this assertion, the author posits that the global humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces serve as a compelling case study. The analytical findings reveal that India’s HADR efforts reflect its commitment to democratic values, emphasizing transparency, inclusivity, and equitable aid distribution, while strengthening governance, resilience, and strategic influence in global crisis management.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Armed Forces, Democracy, Military, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

43. Militant Violence in Jammu and Kashmir Post-Abrogation of Article 370

Author:
Animesh Roul
Publication Date:
09-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This article presents a chronological and thematic analysis of militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir from the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in August 2019 to July 2025. It traces three distinct phases: an initial decline in attacks due to lockdowns and security restrictions (2019-2020); a resurgence marked by hybrid militancy, targeted killings, and intimidation of civilians (2021-2023); and a lethal escalation involving high-profile and audacious assaults, intensified counterterrorism operations, and cross-border tensions (2024-2025). The April 2025 Pahalgam massacre—which killed 26 people, mostly Hindus—marked a turning point, prompting India’s limited military offensive Operation Sindoor against militant bases in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, followed by Operation Mahadev to track and eliminate the militants involved in the violence. The article examines these developments to assess the evolving threat, highlighting how militancy has shifted toward hybrid façade units backed by Pakistan-based legacy terror groups.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, Territorial Disputes, Violence, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Pakistan, India, and Jammu and Kashmir

44. India: Strategic Partner or Global Challenger?

Author:
Keith McCormick
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
This article provides the highlights of the discussions at this year’s DACOR (Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired) conference on how the US should deal with a rising India. The participants—academics, retired diplomats, and current government officials—participated on the basis of no attribution. The three panels discussed whether India can be a new strategic partner for the US in containing China; how the US. should respond to the Modi government’s increasing use of Hindu chauvinism to undermine democracy and tolerance; and what is ahead for India’s economy, including whether it will become the leader of the Global South in challenging the current, Western-dominated international trading order.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economy, Trade, and Strategic Partnerships
Political Geography:
China, South Asia, and India

45. The Maldives’ Development-Focused Foreign Engagements and India’s Security Interests

Author:
Athaulla ("Atho") Rasheed
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA)
Abstract:
India’s role in the Maldives’ security is indispensable. By aligning its external partnerships with India’s regional strategy, the Maldives can ensure mutual security without compromising its sovereignty.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Sovereignty, Partnerships, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Maldives

46. How Does China’s Rising Defence Budget Affect India?

Author:
Neeraj Singh Manhas
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA)
Abstract:
China’s 2025 defence budget increased by 7.2%, totalling $245 billion, continuing military modernisation under Xi Jinping. Over the past decade, spending has doubled, focusing on advanced tech. This escalates challenges for India in border security and regional balance.
Topic:
Modernization, Xi Jinping, Defense Spending, and Military
Political Geography:
China, South Asia, India, and Asia

47. How Indian Domestic Politics Impacts Regional Arms Controls

Author:
Muhammad Shahzad Akram and Moneeb Mir
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
The interaction between domestic politics and arms control policy is a critical yet often underexplored dimension of strategic stability in South Asia. This paper examines how internal political dynamics in India influence its approach to arms control, disarmament, and strategic restraint. Traditionally viewed through the lens of regional security competition particularly with Pakistan and China, India's arms control posture is also entrenched in domestic factors such as political ideology, bureaucratic interests, civil-military relations, electoral compulsions, and the influence of strategic elites. Using a qualitative methodology and process-tracing approach, this study analyzes key policy decisions from successive Indian governments especially under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and investigates how nationalist rhetoric, public opinion, and the political utility of strategic technologies (e.g., missile tests, nuclear modernization, and space militarization) have shaped India's arms control behavior. The paper argues that India's reluctance to embrace formal arms control mechanisms is not solely a response to external threats, but also a reflection of internal political incentives to project strength, technological autonomy, and strategic assertiveness. By contextualizing India's withdrawal from multilateral arms control forums, its strategic ambiguity regarding the No First Use (NFU) policy, and its modernization of conventional and nuclear forces, the paper highlights the challenges such domestic-political linkages pose to regional arms control dialogues. The study contributes to the broader discourse on how democracies particularly rising powers steer the tension between strategic responsibility and domestic political gain. It also accentuates the necessity for regional and global arms control frameworks to account for internal political pressures when engaging states like India. Ultimately, this research seeks to enhance understanding of the domestic drivers of arms control policy in India and their implications for regional security, crisis stability, and the future of arms control in South Asia.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Domestic Politics, Ideology, and Regional Security
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

48. The American Dream and Social Mobility in Indian American Diaspora Literature: Education as a Key Factor in The Namesake

Author:
Khalil Ur Rehman, Tahir Jamil, and Abbas Jan
Publication Date:
07-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study explores the role of education as a key factor in achieving the American Dream and social mobility within Indian American diaspora literature, with a particular focus on Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. Using concepts of social and cultural capital espoused by Pierre Bourdieu, this research takes an examination of how education works, on the one part, as a pathway to socio-economic advancement for immigrant communities, on the other, as a barrier. Subsequent analysis includes some socio-economic data regarding Indian American educational attainment and economic mobility. Findings suggest that education acts as the primary channel by which the society is integrated and the upwardly mobile created. Primarily, however, it entrenches conflicts of identity linked with culture. It serves diaspora studies by demonstrating intersections between literature, sociology, and immigrant aspiration.
Topic:
Education, Diaspora, Literature, Social Mobility, and American Dream
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

49. Post-pandemic shifts in medical electronics GVCs and changing value dynamics amidst new digitalisation: An analysis based on Indian subsidiaries of EU-based corporations

Author:
Smitha Francis
Publication Date:
09-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:
Realignments of global value chains (GVCs) are occurring at a time when the technological dynamics in manufacturing industries, including in healthcare-related industries like medical electronics, is undergoing significant changes due to the wave of new digitalisation. This study examines post-pandemic changes in global medical electronics value chains through industry-level trade analysis and the GVC participation of selected Indian subsidiaries of medical electronics companies based in the European Union (EU), focusing on the implications of digitalisation and data-centric strategies for capturing value. The study finds that post-COVID-19 realignments in the industry proceeded gradually until 2023. Meanwhile, digitalisation is leading to a gradual expansion in operations by EU-based medical device multinational corporations (MNCs) in India. This is shown to be due to the increased role of software for product design and process optimisation in digitalising value chains. Leading EU-based medical device MNCs are found to be leveraging India’s strengths in software design and data-analytics capabilities for co-developing their software-embedded ‘health systems’ and ‘solutions’. However, even when software and services exports from India went up with increasing digitalisation, the shares of the EU-based lead firm groups in total revenue of the Indian subsidiaries were found to increase. This occurred through imports of software-embedded medical devices and equipment along with imports of higher-valued proprietary software platforms, health systems and the like, which are patented and marketed by the EU-based lead firms or their foreign subsidiaries back to India.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, European Union, Manufacturing, Global Value Chains, Digitalization, Medical Devices, and Value Distribution
Political Geography:
Europe, South Asia, and India

50. Climate Change and Livestock in India: Impacts, Adaptation, and Policy Needs for Marginalized Communities

Author:
Shouvik Chakraborty, Debanjana Dey, and Anjana Thampi
Publication Date:
05-2025
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:
This study examines the complex relationship between climate change and livestock holding patterns in India, focusing on coastal regions and marginalized communities. The research investigates whether landless and marginalized households, who constitute the majority of livestock holders in rural India, are adequately equipped to adapt to climate uncertainties. Analyses of Livestock Census data reveal a significant shift in livestock holding patterns in coastal India, with a 2.7 percent decline in the bovine population and a 22.1 percent increase in the sheep and goat populations between 2012 and 2019. This trend indicates an emerging adaptation strategy as farmers shift toward smaller ruminants, indicating greater resilience to heat stress and extreme weather conditions. We find that while large and medium landowners possess the financial resources to implement advanced adaptation strategies, marginal and landless households remain highly vulnerable due to their limited resources and heavy dependence on bovine livestock. The research concludes that region-specific livestock policies supporting indigenous breed development, traditional adaptation practices, and direct economic assistance are urgently needed to protect the livelihoods of these communities and prevent a rise in food insecurity among already undernourished populations. Furthermore, effective adaptation requires integrating local knowledge systems with scientific approaches to develop climate-resilient livestock management practices suitable for India’s diverse agro-ecological regions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Political Economy, Adaptation, and Livestock
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia