Description
The paper is an attempt to understand the historical evolution of Indian grand strategy towards Himalayan states since 1947. We will use the archival sources and employ an amalgamation of historical and conceptual tools in order to decipher its grand strategy. In this process, we will decipher what are the means employed by India in the region historically in order to achieve its grand strategic ends. Among the Himalayan states, we will look at the cases of Nepal and Bhutan. Most of the studies use the foreign policy perspectives in order to understand the Indian policy towards the region. We will depart from this traditional approach and use the conceptual framework which is developed by employing the works and concepts on grand strategy. In the process, we portray the shortcomings of Indian posture and argue that with the changing regional security environment; with a more prosperous and assertive China, Indian state's strategic posture actually harms its core security interests in the region. We then argue why India will be better off by employing the strategy of 'defensive accommodation' towards the small states in the region which don't pose any direct military threats.
Keywords:
Grand Strategy
India
Nepal
Himalayas
South Asia
China
Regional Security
Archival Sources
