The former eventually became the ‘close-border’ school calling for a defence of British India on the Indus while the latter turned into the ‘forward school’ demanding power-play way beyond the Indus.
If Bombay was focused on Persia, Ludhiana concentrated on the kingdoms run by the Sikhs and Pashtuns. The Ludhiana school’s preoccupation was with the dynamic tension between Lahore and Kabul. Some things obviously don’t change in the Great Game. The success of Delhi’s own Af-Pak policy might depend on thinking creatively about balancing Lahore and Kabul.
The writer is a Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Epaper
Newsletter
Stocks
Weather
Horoscope
