The Great Game continues: India’s role in a new Afghanistan
The Great Game continues: India’s role in a new Afghanistan Recent months have seen a dramatic turnaround in Afghanistan—the two decades-long Afghan war, embroiling the world’s sole superpower, has now come to an abrupt end. With the final withdrawal and tacit surrender of American forces in the war, the Islamic Republic collapsed, giving way to the takeover by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate. Needless to say, governments, along with NGOs and intergovernmental organisations across the world are now scrambling to figure out what the situation on the ground is and what is to be done. As the situation becomes clearer with each passing day, it is worth observing the stance which the Indian government will take in the face of the new reality. Understandably, there is much confusion and conflict amongst discussion circles as to what India’s reaction to the new Taliban regime should be, essentially boiling down to the fundamental question: to engage or not to engage? In this article, I intend...