India’s Grand Strategy
History, Theory, Cases
War and International Politics in South Asia Series

As India prepares to take its place in shaping the course of an ?Asian century?, there are increasing debates about its ?grand strategy? and its role in a future world order. This timely and topical book presents a range of historical and contemporary interpretations and case studies on the theme. Drawing upon rich and diverse narratives that have informed India?s strategic discourse, security and foreign policy, it charts a new agenda for strategic thinking on postcolonial India from a non-Western perspective. Comprehensive and insightful, the work will prove indispensable to those in defence and strategic studies, foreign policy, political science, and modern Indian history. It will also interest policy-makers, think-tanks and diplomats.

Foreword Arvind Gupta and Sven G. Holtsmark. Acknowledgements.Introduction:India’s Grand Strategic Thought and Practice. 1. ‘Grand Strategic Thought’ in the Ramayana and Mahabharata Swarna Rajagopalan2. Strategy, Legitimacy and the Imperium: Framing the Mughal Strategic Discourse Jayashree Vivekanandan3. Liberal Thought and Colonial Military Institutions Srinath Raghavan4. Indian Grand Strategy: Six Schools of Thought Kanti Bajpai 5. Nehru’s Advocacy of Internationalism and Indian Foreign Policy S. Kalyanaraman6. Economic Modernisation and the Growing Influence of Neoliberalism in India’s Strategic Thought N.S. Sisodia7. An Elephant with a Small ‘Footprint’: The Realist Roots of India’s Strategic Thought and Policies Bharat Karnad 8. ‘Jiski Lathi, Uski Bhains’: The Hindu Nationalist View of International Politics Rahul Sagar9. Securing India: Gandhian Intuitions Siddharth Mallavarapu10. Indian Strategic Culture: The Pakistan Dimension Ali Ahmed11. China, in Three AvatarsTanvi Madan12. Aberrant Conversationalists: India and the United States Since 1947 Rudra Chaudhuri13. India, Afghanistan and the ‘End Game’? Shanthie Mariet D’Souza14. Collateral Damage: Iran in a Reconfigured Indian Grand Strategy? Sarang Shidore15. Redefining India’s Grand Strategy? The Evolving Nature of India’s Israel Policy Nicolas Blarel16. The Institutional Origins and Determinants of India’s Africa Policy Constantino Xavier. Bibliography. About the Editors. Notes on Contributors. Index

Kanti Bajpai is Professor and Vice Dean (Research), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Saira Basit is Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), Oslo.

V. Krishnappa is Director, Futurestrat Learning Systems Private Limited, New Delhi.