ABOUT THE BOOK
fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:Description
The world’s youngest mountain
range, the Himalayas, is home to two of the world`s oldest civilizations that
are contemporary Great Power aspirers – India and China. These two Asian
Giants are the world`s fastest growing economies and hold over one third of
global population, giving them the necessary clout to impact global politics.
In the last few years, Himalayan Region, which influences and dominates a large
part of Eurasian land mass has seen jostling for space between these two
emerging powers as well as various extra-regional powers.
For India, the Himalayas symbolise physical
strength, spiritual elevation, cultural diversity and strategic advantage and
forms the basis of India’s national consciousness. The Himalayas act as a
natural divide between the Indian subcontinent on the one hand and Central Asia
and China on the other. In fact, the boundaries of South and Central Asia
converge along the Himalayas, lending unique geo-political and geo-strategic
significance to this region that represents diverse identities, ecology and,
yet finds a common civilizational and cultural tradition that binds it
seamlessly.
This book is truly ambitious, as it attempts to
take a holistic look on all the three key dimensions impacting the region –
Cultural, Political and Strategic – making it a pioneering effort in studying
the region beyond the myopic prism of bilateral relations. Elucidating
contributions on various critical issues from practitioners and experts par
excellence lends greater credibility and efficacy in understanding the immense
possibilities that the region offers – from being the hotbed of intense
competition to an exemplar of political and economic cooperation, supported by
a complex web of religio-cultural and civilisational linkages.
ABOUT Author
fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:aboutAuthor
Alok Bansal is Director India Foundation. He is also an
Adjunct Professor at New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) and Secretary
general of Asian Eurasian Human Rights Forum (AEHRF). A former naval officer,
he served in Indian Navy for almost 32 years, where he commanded two warships
and participated in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka. He was also the founder
Executive Director of South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs (SAISA) and a
Visiting Professor at the Pakistan Studies Programme of Maulana Mohammed Ali Jauhar
Academy of International Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia. He has been the
Executive Director of the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and has worked
with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and Centre for Land
Warfare Studies (CLAWS). He has authored two books titled Balochistan in
Turmoil: Pakistan at Cross Roads and Gilgit-Baltistan and its Unending Saga of
Human Rights Violations.
Aayushi Ketkar is an Author, Educationist and Corporate Trainer.
She currently teaches International Relations at Gautam Buddha University,
Greater Noida. She is also a Senior Research Fellow with AEHRF. She is
presently working as a core member of an ICSSR Project on Jammu and Kashmir.
She has worked with the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre (JKSC) as the Director
(Research). She was the Ford Scholar with the Institute of Peace and Conflict
Studies (IPCS) where she authored the Governance section of the Monograph on
Alternative Approaches to Security. She has secured the President`s gold medal
during her post graduation at the University of Hyderabad. She has authored two
books and numerous articles on Defence, Governance & National Security
Issues and has contributed to Scribner`s Encyclopedia of India.