Editorial

DOI10.1177/0019556120909093
AuthorC Sheela Reddy,Surendra Nath Tripathi
Published date01 March 2020
Date01 March 2020
Subject MatterEditorial
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
66(1) 7–9, 2020
© 2020 IIPA
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DOI:10.1177/0019556120909093
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Editorial
Governance is a holistic approach, involving all stakeholders, reflecting the needs,
aspirations and ethos of the people concerned. The interlinkages among institu-
tions, economic development and governance in a society are important to under-
stand the reform process, nature of design and implementation of policies at dif-
ferent levels and the way the country deals with its neighbours. This issue covers
articles on a range of subjects’ pertinent to governance and the related concerns
and challenges.
A foreign policy of a country is a difficult phenomenon to be handled because of
the constant change the world undergoes. The Neighbourhood First Policy (NFP),
which accords primacy to nations in a country’s periphery, has always been the
priority of Indian foreign policymakers. The policy seems to have gained more
impetus and vigour after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in
2014. Vinay Kaura and Meena Rani in their article, focusing on the period 2014–
2019, analyse some intense engagements with neighbours: Sri Lanka, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. The authors
caution of the external environment created by China’s unprecedented incursion
into each of India’s neighbours. India will be able to focus on its primary tasks
of socio-economic development only with a peaceful and prosperous periphery.
Hence, India must accord the highest priority to closer political, economic and
cultural ties with its neighbours and must be committed to building strong and
enduring partnerships. India’s shift in diplomatic attention from South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) must vindicate
that its new regional outreach is not merely aimed at isolating Pakistan but for
enhancing connectivity and trade. The authors point out that BIMSTEC can be an
effective conduit between South and Southeast Asian economies for reinforcing
collaborative relations among them.
Pakistan is a highly diverse society in terms of its ethnic, linguistic and
religious composition. Much of Pakistan’s ethno-national conflicts are rooted in
the mismatch between its diversity and the political institutions. Veena Kukreja
looks at Pakistan’s state response towards ethnic demands. The Pakistani elite
in the pursuit of national unity stifled aspirations for regional autonomy and
failed to accommodate them in the state structure. The policymakers from the
beginning exhibited a tendency to assimilate (mostly by coercion) rather than
accommodate ethnic groups not in power. The successful secession of Bangladesh

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