MANTRAYA BRIEF#26: 08 MARCH 2018 India’s Maldives Policy: Is it a ‘Grenada moment’? Sanjay Kapoor – Abstract Maldives, which is famous for its high-end Indian Ocean resorts, has become a scene of strategic contestation between India and China. This situation has been leavened by Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who is trying to extricate his […]
MANTRAYA BRIEF#25: 23 FEBRUARY 2018 Stock-taking China Pakistan Economic Corridor Sayantan Haldar – Abstract The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project under China’s emergent Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Hailed as one of the most investment heavy projects that China is undertaking as a part of its BRI, CPEC has received immense […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#21: 19 FEBRUARY 2018 State of Play: Insurgencies in India’s Northeast – Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Amid relative tranquility, little rebellions are continuing in India’s northeastern region. Headed by recalcitrant rebel leaders, some of whom have no inhibitions in aligning their ambitions with that of the anti-India policies of neighbouring […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#20: 17 JANUARY 2018 State of Play: Left-wing Extremism in India in 2017 – Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Another year went by. The problem of Left-wing Extremism (LWE) in India, however, continues to persist. In 2017, the left-wing extremists, belonging predominantly to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) carried out more […]
MANTRAYA BRIEF#24: 01 DECEMBER 2017 Islamic State’s Foreign Fighters: India’s Achilles heel? Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract It is the season for home coming. With the Caliphate of the Islamic State collapsing in Iraq and Syria, the surviving among the outfit’s 40,000 foreign fighters are now faced with three options-to die fighting, to move into […]
MANTRAYA BRIEF#21: 15 AUGUST 2017 The ‘al Qaeda’ stream of Kashmir Militancy Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract A segment within the Kashmir militancy has turned global. Declaring itself a branch of the al Qaeda, this small team of militants are not just posing new challenges to the Indian security establishment, but also to the Pakistan […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#10: 22 MAY 2017 Intelligence and Counter-intelligence in India’s Maoist theatres – Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract A single big extremist attack can reverse the narrative of optimism regarding India winning the war on left-wing extremism (LWE). Such an attack can lead to a barrage of charges and counter charges on the range […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#13: 24 APRIL 2017 The Fantastic as Strategy: India’s Game in Kashmir – Madhumita Das – Abstract There has always been a gulf between Kashmiri aspirations, the compulsions of India, and to a lesser extent, Pakistan. The ongoing revisionism in India’s body politic, led from the highest echelons of State power, however, […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#12: 30 MARCH 2017 Future trajectory of Left-wing extremism in India – Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Declining ability among the left-wing extremists (LWE) to orchestrate attacks and the state’s purported capacity to find support among the traditional recruitment base of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) are the primary reasons […]
MANTRAYA BRIEF#19: 08 AUGUST 2016 Assam’s NDFB: A battered militancy that refuses to die Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract What enables a weak militant outfit with less than 50 cadres to be the most lethal in Assam? Is it due to complacent security forces or the enabling conditions that make even numerically insignificant armed formations […]