Webinar to decode Taliban Takeover and implications for India & World

By Shweta Aggarwal

The sudden capture of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15 and the ensuing chaos has triggered anxiety about the future of Afghanistan and its implications for India, the region and the world. Against this backdrop, India Writes Network and India & The World magazine are organising a webinar with eminent diplomats and experts this week on August 24 (Tuesday).

The webinar, entitled “Taliban Takeover: What It Means for Afghanistan, India and the World,” will examine in depth India’s strategic options towards the new Taliban regime in Kabul and how it can protect its core interests in Afghanistan, in partnership with its like-minded strategic partners.

The discussion will explore various ways in which India and the World can bolster democratic forces to shape an inclusive and pluralistic Afghanistan.

The webinar is supported by Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a think tank focused on international affairs.

EVENT:

Taliban Takeover: What It Means for Afghanistan, India and the World

When: Tuesday, August 24; 6-7.30 pm

The webinar will feature eminent speakers, comprising diplomats and experts with years of dealing with and studying Afghanistan. The speakers include Amb. Jayant Prasad, India’s former ambassador to Afghanistan; Shakti Sinha, Honorary Director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies; Amb. T.C.A. Raghavan, India’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan & former DG, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA); Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, Founding Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad; and Soumya Awasthi, Associate Fellow, VIF.

The webinar will be moderated by Manish Chand, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network (IWN), India and The World; and Director, Centre for Global India Insights (CGII).

“The evolving situation in Afghanistan is fraught with uncertainty. The sudden Taliban takeover has also triggered a humanitarian tragedy, with thousands of Afghans, Indians and foreigners trying desperately to fly out of this living nightmare. The webinar will seek to distil sense out of this chaotic situation and chart the way forward out of this distressing situation,” said Manish Chand, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, IWN.

“For India, the Taliban takeover is a big setback as it threatens to unravel its sustained investment in reconstruction projects that has transformed lives of Afghans, earning India enduring goodwill. India has to engage in smart diplomacy to protect its interests under the new Taliban regime,” said Mr Chand.

The online discussion will explore the following questions:

Will India and the international community recognise the Taliban-led regime in Kabul?
How can India and the US enhance their coordination to deal with the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
How should India engage with the Taliban to protect its core interests and to continue its role in development cooperation?
How should India forge diplomatic coalitions to counter the Taliban?
Will the Taliban regime be a proxy of Pakistan or it will maintain its strategic independence?
Will a Taliban-led Afghanistan become a regional and global hub of terrorism?
What will be the status of women and minorities in the Taliban-led Afghanistan?

Registration for the webinar: https://forms.gle/oBGFm2hNP8nkTCRE9

Prior Registration is a must for participation in the webinar.

The broadcast for joining the webinar will be sent after registration.

A Certificate of Participation will be provided to all attendees.

Taliban Takeover: What It Means for Afghanistan, India and the World

SPEAKERS

Amb. (retd.) Jayant Prasad is a former High Commissioner of India to Afghanistan and served as Director General, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Besides Afghanistan, he was India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria, Nepal, and the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. At headquarters, in the Ministry of External Affairs, he served as Special Secretary (Public Diplomacy), and Head of the Americas and the Multilateral Economic Relations Divisions. Before his 37-year public service career, he was lecturer in history, St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, after completing his studies at Modern School, St. Stephen’s College, and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

T.C.A. Raghavan has retired from the Indian Foreign Service and is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. Post-retirement, he was also Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. His first book “Attendant Lords, Bairam Khan and Abdur Rahim – Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India” was awarded the Mohammad Habib Memorial Prize by the Indian History Congress in 2017. He is also the author of “The People Next Door- The Curious History of India’s relations with Pakistan’ (2017). His latest book and is titled ‘History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past.’

Shakti Sinha is Honorary Director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, MS University, Vadodara and Distinguished Fellow, India Foundation, New Delhi. Mr Sinha was the former director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) and was part of the Indian Administrative Service for over three decades. He served as private secretary to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is the author of “Vajpayee: The Years that Changed India.” Internationally, he has headed the United Nation’s governance & development team in Afghanistan (2006-09) coordinating donor support to the Afghan government. He is Distinguished Advisor, India Writes Network and India and the World.

Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza is Founding Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad and Founder & President, Mantraya. She is Visiting Faculty and Member of Research & Advisory Committee at the Naval War College, Goa. She has worked with governmental and non-governmental sectors for more than a decade and conducted field-based studies in various provinces of Afghanistan. She has done field research in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Africa, Australia, Canada, United States, Jammu and Kashmir and India’s Northeast. Author and editor of many books, Dr D’Souza has been interviewed by various media outlets and her writings on Afghanistan and South Asia have appeared in leading national and international dailies.

Soumya Awasthi is an Associate Fellow with Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi. Previously, she has worked with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense and Strategic Analysis (MPIDSA), New Delhi. She has also worked as a fellow at Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) in United Service Institute, New Delhi and Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Organization, New Delhi. Her research interest includes Counter Terrorism, De-radicalization, South Asian strategic studies, Afghanistan, and India’s defense and Strategic policy. She has done research on the Deoband School of Islam in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She is completing her PhD from the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament (CIPOD) at School of International Studies (SIS) in Jawaharlal Nehru University on the subject “Role of Religious Discourse in Regional and Global Geopolitics: Case Study of Deoband Philosophy in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan”.

MODERATOR: Manish Chand is a well-known foreign affairs expert, who has written extensively on diplomatic and policy issues. He is Founder-CEO of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and research company, and Editor-in-Chief, “India and The World,” an influential magazine-journal focused on international affairs and India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org), a portal on global affairs. He is also Director, Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), which focuses on India’s burgeoning global engagements.

He has worked for leading Indian media organizations, think tanks and industry bodies, and has worked closely with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on a host of publications, research reports and public diplomacy projects. He has participated in international seminars organized by leading think tanks and has been widely quoted in media and interviewed by many media outfits for his comments on international issues. He has authored and edited several publications and books, including “Journeys Across Continents: A New India on the Global Stage,” the first-of-its-kind book that maps PM Modi’s journeys to various foreign countries. He is the Editor of the much-acclaimed book on India-Africa relations, entitled “Two Billion Dreams: Celebrating India-Africa Friendship.”

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.