University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

Political Science

Round Table

Radical Islam and the Threat of Terror in Bangladesh

In the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US and the subsequent war on terror, the Afghanistan–Pakistan region has emerged as a safe sanctuary for various terror groups like Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba. This article focuses upon the close linkages between the legacy of the anti-Soviet jihad inside Afghanistan in the 1980s and the insurgency that later began in the Indian-administered part of Jammu and Kashmir, which from its inception has been aided and abetted by the Pakistan army and its Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate (ISI). Despite international pressure, the infrastructure of terrorism directed against India from Pakistan-controlled territory remains intact due to inaction of the Pakistan government for political and strategic reasons. So long as the symbiotic relationship between sections of the Pakistan government (particularly the army and the ISI) and the various anti-India terrorist groups remains intact, there will be no meaningful progress in any kind of bilateral dialogue between the estranged neighbours. © 2011, ICSAC. All rights reserved.

South Asian Survey

India, Pakistan and Dialogue under the Shadow of Terror

This article focuses upon India's Look East Strategy, which has been a cornerstone of the country's new foreign policy orientation after the end of the Cold War. It reflects a newfound inclination on India's part to play a pre-eminent role in the affairs of the East and the Southeast Asian region. In this great game, competition and rivalry with China has become a significant component. Although relations between India and China have improved considerably over the years, long-standing mutual suspicion and animosities continue to persist over a large number of issues. A critical review of India's Look East strategy as part of her overall foreign policy in Asia reveals that one of the important objectives behind this strategy is to play a new balancing game against China in the Southeast Asian and the Asia-Pacific region. Though China has greater economic integration with the Southeast Asian region, there is still apprehension over the strategic role it will play in the future. A close scrutiny of India's Look East strategy reveals that in spite of both India and ASEAN refusing to admit so openly, the rise of China has been one of the significant factors behind the evolution and consolidation of this policy. Look East strategy is part of a grand vision in which India gets to play a prominent role in Asia and world affairs. Lord Curzon, former British Viceroy to India was the inspiration behind this vision. (The neo-Curzonians among the Indian elite are in favour of implementing a larger strategic vision for India under the present context by taking into account the new realities). In a way, the prospect of expanding Chinese power, particularly in the Southeast Asian region, seems to propel India's Look East strategy. This is part of an overall Forward policy in Asia based on the Curzonian legacy that India has embarked upon since the culmination of the Cold War. It is quite apparent that strategic competition with China is an undeclared element of India's Look East strategy. This becomes clear if one carefully evaluates recent Indian efforts to improve relations with the military regime in Myanmar, its attempt to forge sub-regional cooperation in the form of BIMSTEC, its effort to promote the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation forum, the reasons behind its inclusion in the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) and in the recently concluded East Asian Summit as well as the evolving strategic linkages with countries like Japan in the Asia-Pacific region.

China Report

Balancing China in Asia: A realist assessment of India's Look East strategy

The first section of this article focuses upon how Realism has emphasized the impact of material factors like balance of power in explaining the limitations of ASEAN's role in shaping the regional order in south-east Asia. The second section highlights how the Constructivist scholars have stressed on the behavioural and procedural norms of ASEAN as the primary determinants in explaining the behaviour of member states. The section explains the uniqueness of the ASEAN norms as the basis for the emergence of a collective identity among the ASEAN member states. The third section provides an analysis of three different case studies in order to explain whether ASEAN's position on these issues was motivated by the Realist premise of power balancing considerations, or the Constructivist perspective of shared norms and identity of actors. These case studies include ASEAN's response in the aftermath of the Kampuchean crisis of 1978-79, the territorial disputes between the People's Republic of China and some of the ASEAN states in the South China Sea and the expansion of ASEAN membership. The final section evaluates the extent to which ASEAN norms have remained significant in explaining its regional role in south-east Asia. It argues that security concerns of ASEAN states are often products of the interplay of ideas, norms, interests and power balancing considerations.