Raja Mandala: Where geography is destiny

India must pay more attention to the ties that bind it to its neighbours.

Written by C. Raja Mohan | Published: January 2, 2018 12:10 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India, India china relations, India neighbours, India Nepal relations, Indian foreign policy, India Maldives ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Express File Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)

A series of developments in the Subcontinent at the end of 2017 cast a pall of gloom over Delhi’s foreign policy discourse. The lament was about India losing to China in its own neighbourhood. After all, China has just signed a free trade agreement with the Maldives, has won a long-term lease with Sri Lanka for the Hambantota port, and seen the “pro-China” parties win the elections in Nepal.