Mapping India’s (Re)Сonnection to Eurasia

Abstract

Why does India have a vested interest in Eurasia? How feasibile is non-Western Eurasia’s future? In this paper, the term ‘Eurasia’ refers to non-Western Eurasia, that is, excludes the EU. Indian policymakers and scholars believe that the Eurasian region’s strategic location, culture and civilization offer great opportunities for the development of energy resources, trade, and other fields. However, the enormous Eurasian landmass, covering China in the east to Europe in the west, and the Arctic in the north to India in the south, embraces various powerful countries that are facing serious security and strategic challenges. The strategic importance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) intended to build a link to Eurasia pushes India to get more involved in the Eurasian region. This articles aims to explore India, China and Russia’s connections in the region by analyzing Eurasian geopolitics and using Mackinder’s Heartland theory as the conceptual framework. It studies the Old Silk Road connections, reviews the links provided by BRI and Asian Highway projects, and analyzes India’s current approach to re-connecting with Eurasia via the Connect Central Asia, the INSTC, the Far East, and other initiatives.