MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#50: 21 JANUARY 2024 New Delhi’s Strategic Challenges in Dhaka BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract New Delhi was among the first countries to endorse the Bangladesh polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sheikh Hasina for her fourth successive victory in the parliamentary elections. The polls, which were boycotted by the opposition, have been described […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#49: 20 DECEMBER 2023 Women’s Rights in Afghanistan under Taliban 2.0: Strategies for a Sustainable Change EKAMPREET KAUR, RATNADEEP CHAKRABORTY & SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA Abstract The capture of power by the Taliban in August 2021 unveiled a regime of regressive policies, grievously impacting the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Despite attempts […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#71: 25 SEPTEMBER 2023 Role of Local Cadres in Militancy in Kashmir: Pattern & Trend Analysis BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Sporadic militancy in Jammu & Kashmir continues to highlight the role played by the local cadres in keeping the region on a boil. While official data points to a declining recruitment pattern and a […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#70: 19 SEPTEMBER 2023 India in Myanmar: Limits of Pragmatism BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Since the mid-1990s, India’s ‘pragmatic’ policy in Myanmar has supported de facto governments in that country to further New Delhi’s strategic objectives. Without much concern for the cause of democracy, India has done business with the dominant Myanmar military. Even […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#68: 20 JULY 2023 Pakistan’s deepening woes in Balochistan SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Pakistan is facing an uphill task in Balochistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is expanding its influence into the restive province and trying to make common cause with the Baloch insurgents against the Pakistani state and China. Islamabad’s […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#46: 06 MAY 2023 Terror attack in Poonch: Chinks in the Armour BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY They planned, infiltrated, attacked, and melted into thin air. The manhunt involving scores of soldiers, drones, and sniffer dogs for the perpetrators of the 20 April ambush on the army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#64: 10 MARCH 2023 Taliban Incapacity and the growing threat of Islamic State-Khorasan Province SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT In the past two years, the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province in Afghanistan has increased its cadre strength from 3000 to 6000. Taking advantage of the ungoverned spaces and the Taliban’s inability to […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#21: 23 JANUARY 2023 Sunken Dreams: Rohingya Refugee Crisis BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT Hopelessly stuck in the wretched camps in Bangladesh for over five years, Rohingya refugees are undertaking perilous sea journeys to Malaysia, across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. While thousands have reached their destination in search of better […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#62: 05 JANUARY 2023 The TTP and the Pakistani State: How Not to Fight an Insurgency BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT After calling off its months-long ceasefire with the Pakistani state in November 2022, the TTP has launched an unprecedented wave of country-wide violence. The bulk of the violence, however, is concentrated in the settled […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#45: 31 DECEMBER 2022 Limits of Pakistan’s Afghanistan Policy SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA ABSTRACT The Afghan Taliban are seemingly breaking free from their former sponsors. They have refused to accept the Durand Line as the international border with Pakistan and have failed to force the TTP to give up its violent attacks in Pakistan. […]