Volume 9, Issue 2 (May 2025)

Geopolitics examines how geographic features, resources and socio-economic aspects
influence regional politics. Geopolitics also includes the study of real-world decisions
made by politicians, their political alliances, and other leaders in various geographic
settings.1 The recent reestablishment of political order in Bangladesh marks a pivotal
shift in South Asia’s geopolitical terrain. The study aims to analyse the geopolitical
situations between India, Bangladesh, and neighbouring countries. This research
endeavours to elucidate the consequences of Bangladesh’s political instability on
India, focusing specifically on its northeastern states while also scrutinising the
geopolitical challenges that India faces. It also suggests how India should change its
foreign policy in response. The study reveals that India and Bangladesh have deep
historical, linguistic and cultural ties. They have cooperated for regional and sub-
regional development. The research underscores the necessity for India to implement
a comprehensive strategy in response to the evolving geopolitical dynamics in
Bangladesh. Drawing from secondary data sources, this study offers valuable insights
into geopolitical matters, catering to the interests of researchers, geographers, and
policymakers.
Keywords: Geopolitics, resources, regional politics, Political Alliances, foreign
policy

Throughout history, the maritime domain has been a crucial space in establishing
new and emerging powers shaping regional dynamics and the larger security
architecture. The great power competition today is no different. The emergence of the
Indo-Pacific as a new geographic space—bringing together the Indian and the Pacific
Oceans—represents the new strategic reality of the twenty-first century. The Indo-
Pacific, therefore, is a new domain in India’s foreign policy engagements, representing
a shift in New Delhi’s strategic and security environment, expanding its threats solely
from its continental borders to its maritime space.
India’s active involvement in the Indo-Pacific region reflects its recognition
of its increasing significance in global affairs. The region has witnessed significant
geopolitical shifts over the years, characterised by changes in power structures,
economic interdependence, and emerging security challenges. In response to this
dynamic environment, India has recalibrated its approach to regional security. As
New Delhi’s regional influence grows, its approach towards bilateral and multilateral
security mechanisms is a crucial barometer of its strategic priorities. India has
established its evolving role in shaping the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific
through its diplomatic manoeuvring and multilateral engagements.
This article argues that as a rising power with its own ambitions to carve out
a strategic space, India’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific seeks to retain a free, open
and inclusive regional order. This article delves into India’s security position with the
escalation of Chinese involvement, along with threats emerging from Pakistan and
a destabilised Bangladesh, and examines to what degree bilateral and multilateral
arrangements have helped India solve its security concerns in this region. In the short
and medium terms, this means forming soft-balancing coalitions and limited hardbalancing
relationships. The article will identify India’s Indo-Pacific approach and
its direct impact on New Delhi’s security environment. This paper analysis India’s
role in a stable Indo-Pacific by addressing maritime security concerns. It has three
objectives: to understand how the region fits into India’s foreign policy, to identify
the traditional and non-traditional security concerns prevailing in the region, and
to analyse how India deals with these concerns. The author argues that India’s quest
to leverage its geostrategic location to emerge as an Indo-Pacific actor faces multiple
challenges, which create a clear divide between the country’s political rhetoric and
action on the ground. The author critically examines these contradictions to better
situate India’s security role in an increasingly fluid Indo-Pacific region. The article
uses the conceptual framework of Role Theory to map the changes in India’s security
role. Along with that, this article seeks to answer the question of what role India could
play in the region to incentivise the regional security dynamics.
Key words: India, Maritime Security Concerns, Indo-Pacific

Every country in the world is facing the menace of terrorism. Several strategies are
being made to counter terrorism in general but there are very few strategies to counter
urban terrorism. Terrorism in urban areas is different from terrorism in general due
to several reasons. Urban areas are those places where people feel safer than rural
areas because it is considered that urban areas are well-secured, all the prominent
figures of the nation prefer to live in urban centers. So, the common citizen also feels
safe in cities. But when some terrorist incidents happen in cities then it reduces the
sense of safety among people. Apart from safety issues, the economic growth of a
nation is also hindered because all the major financial and commercial activities are
carried out in urban areas. Urban areas are considered cosmopolitan centres, but
unfortunately, due to various reasons, several sections of society are lagging behind
in urban areas; therefore, they feel marginalised and become soft targets for terrorist
recruitment. Countering terrorism in urban areas is so more difficult because security
agencies are often trained to work in war-like environments. Most of the security
forces of the world are not familiar with the urban environment. Targeting terrorists
among citizens is a difficult task. This paper is an attempt to understand this new
phenomenon of urban terrorism and mechanism to counter it.
Keywords: Terrorism, Urban settlement, Slum, Counterterrorism, Economic
growth

India and China stand out as two of the world’s most ancient, continuous, living
geo-civilizational spaces, rightfully claiming historic bilateral association of over two
millennia; an association which had been founded primarily upon profound links of
Buddhist interconnectivity, and regular cultural and trade exchanges. However, with
India and China’s evolution into modern-day nation states, and a contemporaneous
tectonic shift in international political reconfigured tendencies, these former day
‘pre-colonial Buddhist brothers’, soon became ‘post-colonial political neighbours’,
with much of their Buddhist affinity and strong religious sentiments having gotten
dissolved into the dust and dirt of border clashes and skirmishes. Attempts by both
countries in recent times to project an otherwise mutually respectful, good neighbourly
bilateral relation, have often times been outlined by covert elements of trust deficit
and implicit signs of mutual suspicion, wherein issues of serious security concern
with regard to China, have been looming over for long within the physical as well as
psychological space of India. It therefore becomes imperative for India to identify the
crucial possible security challenges posed by the Chinese side in the short and long
run, to enable India to prepare and counter them better, with greater efficacy.
Key Words: Buddhist affinity, geo-civilizational space, border clashes, trust
deficit

The porous and unregulated borders of northeast India serve as the main facilitator
of all the problems faced in northeast India, like insurgency, illegal immigration, and
drug issues. This article aims to find the correlation between border management
efforts and the security threats that are faced in the border areas. Both qualitative and
quantitative data are collected and observed thoroughly by the researcher. It has been
found that there is a general negative correlation between border management efforts
and security threats faced in the border area.
Keywords: Border management, North-east India, Insurgency, Illegal migration,
Drug trafficking