India’s Afghan strategy: revisiting Kautilya

With the deadline for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan getting closer, regional and extra-regional states have indicated pivoting their Afghan strategy. India, being an emerging power, holds much potential to contribute to the stabilisation and reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan by developing strategic partnership with other stakeholders. For this, India’s status in the regional and international system, its economic and military might and its strategy to reach beyond its traditional zone of influence warrant a systemic analysis of its Afghan strategy. The article traces the antecedents of India’s current strategic and foreign policy in classical Indian strategic text Arthashstra and analyses India’s present level of involvement in Afghanistan in the light of that discussion. An attempt is made in this paper to show how India’s Afghan strategy is informed and influenced by its perception of allies, enemies and indifferent big powers. The paper also suggests some policy changes by critically assessing the broader context in which India operates today.