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'India's Grand Strategy in the 1971 War'

'India's Grand Strategy in the 1971 War'

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'India's Grand Strategy in the 1971 War'
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<strong>SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, ORGANISATION AND DISARMAMENT</strong> a seminar on <strong>'India's Grand Strategy in the 1971 War'</strong> By the end of the 1960s, Indian policymakers knew that there was a very real possibility of a secessionist struggle in East Pakistan. Contrary to popular belief, New Delhi did not want the break-up of Pakistan. It pinned its hopes on a transition to democracy in a united Pakistan and the formation of an Awami League-led government in Islamabad. New Delhi believed that this offered the only possibility of a breakthrough in Indo-Pakistan relations. At the same time, Indian policymakers recognised that, in the event of an outbreak of a secessionist insurgency, India's national interests demanded that she assist the liberation struggle to win an early victory. A prolonged armed struggle, it was feared, would pass under the control of pro-China communists linked to Naxalites in West Bengal. The brutal military crackdown launched on March 25 extinguished all hopes of a transition to democracy in a united Pakistan. Despite public demands, Indira Gandhi ruled out an immediate military intervention, not merely because the army was unprepared but, more importantly, because her principal advisers warned that it would be politically counter-productive. P.N. Haksar pointed out that the principles of territorial integrity of states and non-interference in internal affairs were strongly established in current international law and practice. An Indian military intervention would be condemned by the international community and all the sympathy and support for Bangladesh would be 'drowned in Indo-Pakistan conflict'. An immediate military intervention, without preparing the political ground, would fail to serve the overall political aim of securing international recognition for an independent Bangladesh. In April, Indian policymakers drew up the outline of a grand strategy integrating military, diplomatic and domestic policies. It encompassed training, equipping and assisting the Mukti Bahini; plans for Indian military intervention before the end of the year; mobilising international sympathy and support for Bangladesh, providing shelter to the refugees while preserving harmony between them and severely stressed host communities; as early as in April, India realised the importance of securing Soviet support in the impending struggle. The grand strategy involved the coordinated employment of the full range of policy instruments available to the state - military, diplomatic, political and economic. SPEAKER: <strong>AMBASSADOR CHANDRASHEKHAR DASGUPTA</strong> Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (b. 1940) was an Indian Foreign Service officer from 1962 to his retirement in 2000. Among other posts, he served as Ambassador to the European Union (1996 – 2000) and as Ambassador to China (1993 – 1996). Dasgupta is presently a Member of PM's Council on Climate Change, and Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Geneva. He is the author of War and Diplomacy in Kashmir, 1947-48, and numerous essays and articles on international affairs and global environmental issues. Dasgupta has been awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India. <strong>Wednesday, 16 November 2016</strong>  

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.