Dynamics of India–Central Asia Relations: An Appraisal of Historical Legacy with Special Reference to Overland Trade

Abstract

The article seeks to provide glimpses into the multidimension relations with special reference to trade relations that existed between India and Central Asia right from ancient times, which reached their climax during Mughal times. The article reveals that these relations continued unprecedented despite complex geophysical forces, namely formidable mountains, undulating deserts, unending plains together with the periodical political convulsions especially the triangular rivalry between the three mighty powers of the region, i.e., the Mughals of India, the Uzbeks of Central Asia and the Safavids of Persia. The study of contemporary sources reveals that each power tried at its best to encourage the trade by providing safety and security to the trading caravans carrying different mercantile. The brisk trade relations received a serious jolt when the two regions became part of colonial empires, i.e., the Britain and Russia. Though indirect political and cultural relations were restored by India with the former Soviet Central Asia, yet disintegration of the USSR and the subsequent emergence of independent Central Asian states, which, in search of new allies for the nation-building process, establishment of market economy and democratic set up, offered a golden opportunity to India, being an immediate neighbour in the region, for restoring and reviving its historical legacy. The historical study carried out in this article intends to provide insights into twenty-first-century Indian policy planers for establishing strong multidimensional relations for regional cooperation and sustainable development, apart from maintaining balance of political power.