On the neighbour we don’t know
India’s policy, research and academic institutions have a number of blind spots about Myanmar. This book is an attempt to address them
In 2014, prime minister Narendra Modi invited leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to his swearing-in ceremony, a symbolic reflection of his attempt to infuse new energies into India’s foreign policy and diplomacy. An invitation went out also to Mauritius, an observer member of SAARC, just like Myanmar, which was left out. In 2019, as the prime minister was sworn in for his second term, the leaders of BIMSTEC (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) were the main invitees. By then, as the Look East Policy (LEP) was revamped as the Act East Policy (AEP), Indians became a little more aware about international affairs towards the East in particular. Yet, except in the context of sporadic references to the AEP or some security concerns pertaining to India’s north-east, very few in the country know much about Myanmar. This is Jaideep Chanda’s rationale for writing an almostencyclopaedic account of the country that shares a 1,643-km border with India.
In Irrawaddy Imperative, the author, an army officer, attempts to address the existing “blind spots” over Myanmar evident in policy, research and academic institutions across India, and to induce what he terms a “Myanmar consciousness” in the Indian psyche. Chanda completed this book with the nationalist think tank the Vivekanada International Foundation in 2020, before the coup in Myanmar this
February.
With 14 chapters and an exhaustive index, the book, which draws its name from the Irrawaddy river that flows the length of Myanmar, covers Burmese history and culture, projects and economics, international politics and diplomacy, and security and geography. It begins by providing two theoretical groundings: borderland studies and geographic realism. From describing the demographic and political details of the India-Myanmar Border (IMB), its importance and its unsolved issues, to talking about the Free Movement Regime that was updated in May 2018, the early chapters of the book lay down the physical context of the area of study. Within this scope, there are many interesting stories. The reader gets a peek into how the IMB passes right through the house of the chief of Longwa village in Nagaland and how the chief minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga, is connected to the Arakan Army in Myanmar. These depict the sociopolitical connections between the two countries and add weight to the book.
Other parts of the volume are more empirical in content: Chapter 5 provides an updated report on the Kaladan Multimodal Transit and Transport Project that stands as India’s biggest infrastructure investment in Myanmar, and Chapter 12 delves into China’s investments in Myanmar on the China Myanmar Economic Corridor, a part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
In this context, the author makes an analysis: Chinese investments have usually been “dollar to dollar”, unlike Indian investments that engage with Myanmar’s “heart and mind”. However, there has been a change in Beijing’s attitude. Today, China has a more multi-layer policy that increasingly makes use of soft power. Colonel Chanda proposes that India too must engage in multilateral joint-venture deals like the Myanmar
China Gas Pipeline project, which, in his opinion, will enhance cooperation between countries in the region.
While the theories fit well in many of the chapters, Irrawaddy Imperative’s content spills beyond these. It includes discussions on Myanmar’s international trials (whether it is a case with the Federal Court at Buenos Aires or the Internal Criminal Court) and Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence at the International Court of Justice against a case filed by Gambia in November 2019.
Troubles pertaining to the Rohingya issue and the ensuing complications are discussed and nuances of the Rakhine conflict are presented.
The author’s approach is analytical and factually careful while examining two things in particular. One, while assessing the Tatmadaw as feudal in its approach, he concludes that the Arakan Army, in comparison, is a rather efficient body. Two, he places an emphasis on India’s enhanced relationship with Myanmar as a result of defence diplomacy, especially during the 2000s and from 2014 onwards.
The book uses a mixed approach in its methodology. Chanda’s primary sources include various interviews and fieldwork that has been used through the text. Archival material from the personal papers of four Indian diplomats to Myanmar — YD Gundevia, SAS Tyabji, MA Ruaf and Baleshwar Prasad — provides deep insight into Indian diplomatic functioning. Maps, tables and figures, used generously, give context to the various arguments. The many pictorial references remind the reader of books like Nitin Gokhale’s Beyond NJ9842 (2014).
Any reviewer complaints with the book have to do with the excessive in-text indents, an attempt to provide heavy scholarly citations that seems unnecessary and takes away from the smoothness of the narration. Some editing errors could have also been avoided. Still, the book is an excellent research compilation on Myanmar. Early-career researchers, especially, will find Irrawaddy Imperative very useful.