By: Arup Maity

 ‘Asamudrahimachal’ (Extending from the ocean to the Himalayas- holistic India) – is an ancient geographical notion that constructs the ambit of the Pan-Indian subcontinent- geopolitically and culturally. “Indian Subcontinent” created itself by its landscape, because it “creates a natural frame” as British journalist Tim Marshall argued in his well-known book ‘Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics’. So, the foreign policy to accomplish the national interest (predominantly security and economic power) is tremendously impacted by its geopolitical location (from northern Indira Col to southern Indira Point- Quadrangular). According to Napoleon “the policy of a state lies in its geography.” So, its diverse and vibrant geography (because India is the 7th largest country in the world) has a dynamic range of impacts on its foreign policy – geo-strategic (border), geo-political and geo-economic.

India’s geopolitical location landed in the ‘Heart of Asia’ because the highest mountain range of the world, Himalayas is in the north and Hindukush is in the north-west, and also India has common border sharing with Afghanistan and Pakistan in the north-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal in the north, Myanmar in the east, Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal and Sri Lanka in the south. Physically, all these countries are not dealing borders with others, but they are linked and united by India in South-Asia. Since independence, its mammoth demonstration has given the quest to become a global power to it; and this aspect is channeling its foreign policy widely (from NAM leadership to UNSC membership).

The Himalayan frontier is a natural border between Sino-India and an enclosure for India’s external security. Countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh played the role of a peaceful buffer state, so India’s broad terrain encouraged India to become a dominant power naturally and to continue it India produced ‘Neighborhood First’ policy. India shares a lengthy border area (around 3917 km) with Asia’s unipolar power- China (in the multipolar world order), and geographical difficulties and technological disadvantages of India give China the chance to ‘occupy’ the Indian land by transgressing the LOC- the Asaphila, Longju Valley, Isu-Razi-Pass, Barahoti Plains, Demchok, Galawan Valley (between Aksai Chin and Ladakh) etc. Difficult areas are the point of the dispute between Indo-China relation (as an example – the Aksai Chin area is India’s integral part and very important for warfare strategy for and China has occupied it). And maintaining sovereignty and integrity are the most crucial for each country, and significantly, India and China became frenemies in businesses and rivals in geo-strategy. Based on it, India maintains ‘reciprocal’ relations with China.

But in the present zeitgeist of hyperrealism and innovation of high-tech technology (and most effective nuclear weapons) and its use in foreign policy and military, are reducing the influence of geography- like, 19,300 feet road, Galwan Valley Bridge in eastern Ladakh, Atal tunnel under the Rohtang Pass etc projects by the Indian government’s ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana’, and bullet trains near the border by the Chinese government. Similarly, the Indo-Pak, geographically, “are tied together within the geography of the Indian subcontinent,” and rivalry (sanctify) relation is moving based on Kashmir; a large area of Kashmir’s is occupied by Pakistan and it can be a gateway (by infrastructure development) of middle east Asia.

The Indo-Myanmar relation originates from India’s geographical and geo-cultural historical similarities. Moreover, International organisations like Non-Alignment-Movement, SAARC, BIMSTEC, Ashgabat Agreement, etc are predominantly led by India- and it happens only by its immense landscape location. Sir Halford Mackinder, the eminent geopolitical thinker, emphasised ‘the power of land for any country,’ and his doctrine suggested that India’s large landscape (2.4% of the world) gives the advantage to process its foreign policy. And geopolitically, the Indian military power is the consequence of its foreign policy and economic growth, but India’s infrastructure development in its border area (geographically) can formulate the military power as the cause for its foreign policy and economic growth.

India is a ‘subcontinent’ not only by land but by ocean manifests too, because the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea are respectively to the south-east, south and south-west. The Indian Ocean named after India – directly signifies its soft power in the Indian Ocean (India’s coastline is around 7516 km including islands). Strategically, Africa and Australia continents and the ASEAN region are intertwined and connected by the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean under India’s influence and democratic practice, because Indian foreign policy has always accepted the “Friendship Across the Seas” policy. American Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan enamored as the ‘Prophet of Seapower’ in geopolitics endorses that India’s presence and position in the Indian Ocean are extensively significant, and to expedite India’s sphere of influence the Indian Government established the ‘Indo-Pacific’ division under the Ministry of External Affairs, which is blending ‘Look East’ and ‘Look West’ Policies. To increase India’s future integrity and economic growths to counter its instantaneous strategic threat from the ‘String of Pearls’ strategy of China, India is intensifying its geopolitical (maritime security) military bases in Karwar under ‘Project Seabird’ (Asia’s largest naval base- internally) etc, and Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka (externally).

Strategically, the sea accessibility is equipping India to be a part of the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ maritime cooperation with the United States, Australia, and Japan. And additionally, India’s geoeconomics is especially driving by its maritime location, like the Indo-Iran Chabahar Port project to connect with middle-east Asia, Indo-ASEAN free trade agreement (total trade of nearly US$ 64.3 billion in 2016), Indo-Arab world relations (UAE and Saudi Arabia are India’s 3rd and 4th largest trade partner), Indo-African relation (India is now Africa’s 3rd largest trade partner). For the future, India has targeted to increase its agricultural production exports by using its maritime geographic location’s advancement and to attain it India is developing its port capabilities under the ‘Sagarmala Pariyojana’.

Contemporary outcomes illustrate that to maintain the present zeitgeist, India is exploring its natural energy and internal production (solar, ethanol fuel, crop, sugar) as an enormous resource of geographic diversity especially by the ‘monsoon’, and utilising it in its foreign policy with ‘higher export’ interests. And theoretically, India being the largest democracy with its diverse geographic nature and consequently, its greater impact in foreign policy elicits democratic values with its interests. The comprehensive geopolitical world order has acknowledged that the ‘21st century is the Asian century,’ and it is becoming verisimilitude with the vehement of Indian economic and foreign affairs power by the impact of India’s diverse geographic location and resources, explicitly.