Prof. Harish Kumar Thakur
@hpuniv.ac.in
Professor
Himachal Pradesh University
EDUCATION
BA Hons, MA, M Phil and PhD
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Political Theory, Foreign Policy and Tribal Studies
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Harish K. Thakur
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT India’s foreign policy in South Asia has recently suffered revisions following increased Chinese presence in the region. Since 2007 the Maldives has also witnessed a tremendous change in its foreign policy from the ‘India First’ to the ‘India Out’ campaign. Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in the Maldives and is impacting its foreign policy choices. China has shown great interest in the Maldives. While the Maldives has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China and recorded enormous Chinese investments in various projects, the Indian ground in the island state has shrunk in the last decade. This article discusses how the Maldives has realised its geostrategic significance in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and how India has succeeded in restoring its traditional clout in Malé after the return of President Ibrahim Solih in 2018. It also discusses the Indian role in the Maldives during the pandemic and the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), maritime security understandings and partnerships with the United States in the Indo-Pacific in view of groupings such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Also examined is how the sharing of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision (FOIP) has brightened the scope of India’s relations with the Maldives.
Harish K. Thakur
Richtmann Publishing
Roma, also known as Gypsies, are the people who started migrating from India to West (through West Asian and Central Asian States) long back in the tenth or eleventh century till the late medieval times. The migration took place at different phases of history which is still under scrutiny. It is an established fact now that a good number of them were enslaved by Mahmud Gajni during his raids on India (1000 A.D to 1026 A.D.). There are many theories of Roma origin and migration today but the Kanauj Theory is considered to be more realistic.However, the author contends that since Roma migration is not a onetime exodus as believed by many their origin owes to multiple of movements and kingly acts over the centuries. They are not only from the north-west of India or Kanauj rather from East of India too (Bengal) and also the result of sale of slaves by the kings in medieval times to the land of their origins. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p22