India-Bhutan Relations: The New Dimensions of 21st Century

Abstract

The policy of neighborhood in India‟s foreign policy has been questioning by horizon from the very beginning of her relation towards Bhutan. Recently, the Government of National Democratic Alliance led by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India has put emphasized on “neighborhood first” as a drive to foreign policy of India towards Bhutan proved to be true of this sentiment. This is a great shocking why India after completion of so long historic ties with Bhutan even in absence of any border dispute, unlike Pakistan and Bangladesh, has to bring such an issue towards the former. Is it a India‟s new approach to revive existing policy of reciprocity towards Bhutan in order to combat communist China in Bhutan and establish her hegemony in South Asia. This paper will analyze the evolution of bilateral relations between India and Bhutan in terms of the domain of economy, polity and strategic perspectives along with the possible solutions in strengthening the same in near future. Key word: Foreign policy, bilateral economic relations, security , South Asia.