The Mansarovar Podcast

In this episode Dr. Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Prof. Sanjay Kathuria , visiting expert at USIP. They discuss how the geopolitical competition in South Asia is influencing trade relations and policies of the states engaged in the region. 

In this episode Dr. Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). They discuss how South Asia’s growing geopolitical competition is unfolding in the region’s energy sector.

In this episode Dr. Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with  Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Senior Research Associate at ODI. They discuss how geoeconomics is increasingly taking the centre stage in South Asia’s evolving geopolitics.

In this episode Dr. Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Dr. George Cooke. They discuss the influence of development partners and their governance styles on the domestic and foreign policy priorities of South Asian states.

In this episode Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with with Prof. Syed Munir Khasru  of The Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG). They discuss how South Asia’s digital and cyber space is becoming the latest playing field for the intensifying regional geopolitics.

In this episode Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with  Dr. Sinderpal Singh, Senior Fellow and Assistant Director of Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies. They discuss geopolitical context behind a growing number of maritime connectivity initiatives across South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region.

In this episode Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Miss Nilanthi Samaranayake, Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center, Washington. They discuss how the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief efforts in South Asia are becoming increasingly intertwined with evolving geopolitics in the region. 

In this episode, Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Amb. Rakesh Sood, Former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Nepal and France, and Distinguished Fellow, CSDR. They discuss the intricate links between the escalating strategic competition and hydropower dynamics in South Asia.

In this episode, Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Dr Medha Bisht, Associate Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi. They discuss the implications of growing geopolitical competition in South Asia on transboundary river disputes.

In this episode, Dr Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research hosts a conversation with Dr C Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, India. They discuss the geopolitical complexities faced by countries in South Asia across different non-traditional security issues like energy security, economic connectivity, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, among others.

In the final episode of this season, Dr. Tishya Khillare, Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi hosts a conversation with Ms. Nandita Baruah, country representative for The Asia Foundation in India. Ms. Baruah has over 25 years of professional experience working on gender, human rights, labour migration and development issues in South and Southeast Asia.

They are joined by Dr. Swati Prabhu, Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy. Her research explores the interlinkages between India’s development partnerships in South Asia and the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Together they discuss the role and state of gender-sensitive development cooperation in South Asia and explore benefits of adopting a more gender-reflective approach to development cooperation in the region.

In this episode, Dr. Shailly Kedia, Senior Fellow and Associate Director with the Centre for Sustainable Development Research and Leadership, at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi hosts a conversation with Mr. Chandra Bhushan-founder-CEO of International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST), which is an independent, non-profit, environmental research and innovation organisation based in New Delhi. 

They are joined by Mr. Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO of Vasudha Foundation- an independent, not-for-profit policy research institution working in the areas of climate change and access to clean energy. They discuss where the BBIN countries stand on their green energy transition journeys, the challenges they are facing in their respective plans to decarbonise the energy sector and some of the important takeaways from COP27 around the issue for this region.

In this episode, Dr. Meera Sethi, Senior Migration Policy Advisor and former Director General’s Special Envoy to India, at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) hosts a conversation with Dr. Meena Poudel, senior expert on migration policy and formerly with the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kathmandu, kabul and Libya. They are joined by Prof. Priya Deshinkar, who is a Professor of Migration and Development, at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex.

They discuss the various types of migration flows observed in the BBIN sub-region, the status of policy dialogue on migration and policy changes needed to ensure safe migration in the sub-region.

In this episode, Prof. Rama Baru, from the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, is in conversation with Ms. K Sujatha Rao, former union secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India and Prof. Jishnu Das from Georgetown University, Washington DC.

They discuss the lessons that can be learnt for regional cooperation from experience of the Covid19 pandemic, the state of public health infrastructure in the BBIN region and ways of leveraging individual and institutional cooperation on knowledge and health data for improving global pandemic preparedness.

In this episode, Dr. Simi Mehta, CEO and editorial director of the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi, hosts a conversation with Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Climate Change impact area platform Director at the CGIAR. They are joined by Dr. Malancha Chakrabarty, lead investigator with the climate change and development initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.

They discuss the water-energy-food nexus in the BBIN sub-region and how countries in this region may work together to ensure food security in a climate crisis.

In this episode, Ms. Shravishtha Ajaykumar, Associate Fellow at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation hosts a conversation with Prof. Rajat Kathuria, Professor & Dean - School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shiv nadar University.

They are joined by Mr. Kazim Rizvi, a public-policy policy entrepreneur and founder of The Dialogue-an emerging policy think tank, with a focus on technology and strategic affairs.

They discuss ​​the importance of internet governance frameworks in South Asia, cross-border data flows and the harmonisation of data governance legislation to govern the data economy.

In this episode, Mr. Kanakmani Dixit, founding editor of Himal Southasian- a well-read regional review magazine hosts a conversation with Prof. Sanjay Chaturvedi, Professor & Dean - Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of International Relations-South Asian University.

They are joined by Dr. Pallavi Raghavan, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of International Relations at Ashoka University.

They discuss the region’s history of knowledge contribution, pathways to develop networks of knowledge across south asia and how these may facilitate narratives of regional commonality and collaboration in the region.

In this episode, Ms. Devirupa Mitra, Diplomatic Editor at the Wire hosts a conversation with Prof. Sanjay Kathuria- Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University,  and former Lead Economist at the World Bank in Washington DC. They are joined by Prof. Mahendra P. Lama- Chief economic advisor to the state government of Sikkim and Senior Professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The conversation explores ways of overcoming existing challenges in trade and connectivity between India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and the pathways for developing a trade integration strategy for the region.

In this episode, Mr. Joydeep Gupta, South Asia Director of The Third Pole hosts a conversation with Prof. Anamika Barua from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, and Dr. Anjal Prakash- Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor from the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at Indian School of Business.

They discuss the importance of enhancing transboundary river management and climate cooperation between Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal to match their development imperatives.

In this episode, Dr. Happymon Jacob, Founder-CSDR and Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University hosts a conversation with Amb. Nirupama Menon Rao, Former Foreign Secretary, India, & Ms. Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor of The Hindu. They discuss how the shifting sands of geopolitics in the region can be surfed better to promote the shared interests of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.