9. Finding Compatibility Between Eurasian Partnership and Indo-Pacific Security: And Indian Perspective

India’s engagement with continental Eurasia is woven into its history, culture, literature, legend and mythology. Over many periods between the sixth century BCE and the third century CE, kingdoms of northern India extended to lands in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and Xinjiang (in present-day China). The Silk Road, connecting India with China and Europe through Central Asia, was also a channel for the exchange of ideas, religions, cultures and philosophies. Islam came through Afghanistan to India. Centuries later, the Moghuls came from Uzbekistan. India's post-Cold War efforts seek to resurrect these old connections, to reinforce political and economic approaches. This paper analyses the evolution of India's foreign policy strategies for Indo-Pacific and Eurasian structures. It examines whether (and how) these strategies could be mutually compatible, rather than mutually exclusive.