MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#18: 01 AUGUST 2019 The Afghanistan-India Drug Trail Bibhu Prasad Routray & Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract Proximity to the Golden Crescent, steady rise in domestic demand, and the thriving illicit networks’ ability to exploit the ungoverned spaces and porous borders are among the factors that are making India a new destination of […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#29: 23 JULY 2019 Left-wing Extremism in India: Revisiting the ‘new’ Strategy Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in New Delhi, in its second term, is making renewed attempts to end left-wing extremism (LWE). The broad parameters of the new strategy consist of plans to target the extremists […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#38: 10 JULY 2019 ‘Negative Peace’: Conflict Economy of Naga Insurgency Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract How does an insurgency movement engaged in peace talks with the government generate its finances? Should the government attempt to curb its extortion activities that retains not only its structural violence instrumentalities, but also the options of indefinitely […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#37: 26 JUNE 2019 Islamic State Returnees: India’s Counter-Radicalization vs Deradicalization Approach Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Punitive measures have been integral to the Indian approach towards people who have joined the Islamic State. The security establishment, however, adopts a much softer approach towards potential sympathizers and even towards those who have been prevented from […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#17: 07 JUNE 2019 Emerging Human Trafficking Networks of Rohingya: A Symbiotic Nexus Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Over a million Rohingya refugees live in camps located over 6000 acres in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar area. Most of these refugees face a bleak future and have given up hope of ever returning to their […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#28: 24 MAY 2019 Zakir Musa: Death of Kashmir’s loneliest Militant Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Contrary to media headlines, Zakir Musa was not the ‘most wanted militant’ in Kashmir valley. With an aim to set up a caliphate, Musa led an immensely forgettable militancy, which had no stakeholders. His death, however, is a blow […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#36: 05 MAY 2019 Changing India and Iran Relations in the age of US Sanctions Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract The recent Trump administration’s refusal to extend the waiver it had granted to eight countries including India and China from stopping the import of crude oil from Iran, has yet again put New Delhi’s […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#16: 11 APRIL 2019 Patron-Client Relationship: Pakistani Deep State and the Jaish-e-Mohammad Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract In the complex jihadi landscape of South Asia, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) , since its origin in 2000, has served as an instrument of Pakistani military’s policy vis-à-vis India and Afghanistan. The deep state within Pakistan nurtured it in […]
MANTRAYA MONOGRAPH#01: 08 APRIL 2019 Red on Red in Nepal: Maoist Insurgency Redux Thomas A Marks, Ph.D. – Abstract Recent political violence in Nepal by the radical Chand aka Biplav faction should not have come as a surprise. Behind the national self-congratulation concerning termination of the insurgency in November 2006, all Maoist factions have ignored […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#35: 19 MARCH 2019 Cattle Smuggling from India to Bangladesh: Scale, Nexus & Prevention Attempts Pallavi Banerjee – Abstract According to a 2016 estimate, 3000 cows are smuggled across the Indo-Bangladesh border each day. It is a trade that is estimated to be worth US$500 million. Since the BJP government came to power in […]