India’s Eastward Engagement
From Antiquity to Act East Policy

First Edition

S.D. Muni - Professor Emeritus, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Rahul Mishra - Senior Lecturer, Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

Other Titles in:
International Relations | Political Science & International Relations | South Asian Politics

January 2019 | 348 pages | SAGE India

India’s Eastward Engagement: From Antiquity to Act East Policy presents India’s engagement with its extended eastern neighbours from ancient times to the present. It argues that this engagement has been long rooted in India’s geographical location, its civilizational evolution and historical transformations. The book critically examines all the important phases—Nehru and Post-Nehru periods, and Look East and Act East policies. It exposes the widely entertained myths about India’s eastward engagement and also underlines the prospective directions in which the Act East Policy may unfold in the years to come.

Preface

Introduction: India’s Idea of the East

Waves of History: Ancient to Pre-Independence Era

The Nehru Wave (1927–1964): Hopes Belied

After Nehru: Did India Get Distanced?

Look East Policy (1992–2014): Streamlining and Restructuring Engagement

Act East Policy (2014–): How Different, How Successful?

Prospects: Challenges of Deeper and Wider Engagement

Annexure A: Exchange of Visits

Annexure B: India’s Trade with ASEAN and Its Dialogue Partners

Annexure C: India’s Exports to ASEAN

Annexure D: India’s Imports from ASEAN

Annexure E: FDI Inflows and Outflows between ASEAN and India

Annexure F: Military Exercises

Index

I am an admirer of Professor S. D. Muni. He with Rahul Mishra has written an excellent book on India’s deep connections with Southeast Asia.

Tommy Koh,

Ambassador-at-large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Singapore

With rising Chinese power and the emergence of the Indo-Pacific concept reshaping Southeast Asia’s destiny, what is India’s response and role? This well-researched and timely book is indispensable for anyone looking for an answer and for understanding India’s ‘Act East’ Policy.

Amitav Acharya,

Professor, American University; President of International Studies Association; Author of East of India, South of China: Sino-Indian Encounters in Southeast Asia

India’s Eastward Engagement reflects the authors’ intimate familiarity with India’s extended neighbourhood to the east, in both its historical and contemporary contexts. The authors bring to the subject the rigour of an academic and the perspective of a practising diplomat—a rare combination. This book will command a wide audience, given its broad historical sweep and its penetrating political insights.

Shyam Saran,

Former Foreign Secretary; Chairman of Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries

“Managed to focus on issues that are most relevant…a brief for a larger volume to be produced later.”

The Hindu

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S.D. Muni

S. D. Muni is Professor Emeritus at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He is also a member of the Executive Council of the Institute for Defence and Strategic Analyses, New Delhi. He taught and conducted/guided research at JNU, New Delhi; National University of Singapore, Singapore; Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; and Rajasthan University, Jaipur. He was India’s Special Envoy for Southeast Asian Countries for the UN Security Council Reforms (2005–2006) and also served as India’s Ambassador (1997–1999) to Lao People’s Democratic Republic. He was... More About Author

Rahul Mishra

Rahul Mishra is a Senior Lecturer at the Asia–Europe Institute, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at the Foreign Service Institute, MEA, India. Dr Mishra worked as a research fellow with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and as a researcher at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, for eight years. Recipient of the 2015 Asia Fellowship of the East-West Center in Washington, DC, he was a visiting research fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prior to that... More About Author

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India’s Eastward Engagement
From Antiquity to Act East Policy

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S.D. Muni

Rahul Mishra

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