Contiguity, Connectivity and Access

Suranjan Das is currently the Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University and Honorary Director of Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata. Professor Das is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter. He specialises in South Asian History and Politics, especially on issues relating to nation-building and Indian Foreign Policy. He has authored six monographs, co-authored four books, co-edited seven volumes and published 30 articles in refereed journals and edited volumes, which are widely cited.Anita Sengupta is an area studies specialist engaged with the study of the Eurasian region. Her areas of interest include issues of identity politics, migration, gender, borders, critical geopolitics and logistics. She has been Director, Calcutta Research Group. She is currently Director, Asia in Global Affairs, Kolkata and Senior Fellow Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi.

• Section 1: Imagining a Bay of Bengal Community: History, Literature and Diasporas 1. ‘Convergence’ across the Bay: Early Interactions and Exchanges between Regions of Eastern Sea-Board of India and Regions of Southeast Asia 2. Forging New Friendships through Oceanic Travels: Cosmopolitan and Nationalistic Ideas in Bengali Journals (late 19th and 20th centuries) 3. Locating the Bengali Revolutionaries in Burma (1923–33): As Reflected in the History and Literature of the Wider Migratory Culture of Bay of Bengal Section 2: The Contemporary Factors Shaping the Emergence of the Bay of Bengal Region as a Critical Strategic Theatre in Indian Foreign Policy 4. Projection of the ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative’ as a Strategic Endeavour: A Critical Survey 5. The Bay of Bengal as a Strategic Theatre: Trends in Narratives 6. India’s Bay of Bengal Strategy: Programme and Predicaments Section 3: The Importance of Oceans to Strategy 7. The Strategic Significance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Assessing Anti-Access Area Denial Potential in the Bay of Bengal 8. India’s Littoral Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region: Partnership and Beyond 9. Piracy and Armed Robbery in Indian Ocean Region: Assessment, Challenges and the Way Forward Section 4: Globalisation, Regionalism, and Indian Alternatives 10. Globalisation, Asian Regionalism and BIMSTEC: An International Political Economy Perspective 11. The Bay of Bengal and the Politics of Strategic Geographies 12. Power Projection in the Bay of Bengal: Comparing India and China’s Naval Strategies