International Journal of Research in Social Sciences

The Central Asia has always been held at high strategic value for India. Geopolitical interests have obligated India and Central Asia to reconnect by reviving the rich legacy of historical and cultural engagements. This past affinity has been a bridge link to develop mutually close and meaningful relations. Due to the geostrategic salience of the Central Asia in terms of its immense proved natural resources, competition of regional and extra regional actors for strategic leverage and most importantly its geographical proximity with the fragile Afghanistan, the region remained vital in the Indian foreign policy radar. To boost its strategic foothold, India redesigned its foreign policy approach vis-à-vis Central Asia under various frameworks such as Look North Policy, Look West Policy, Extended Neighborhood, and the Connect Central Asia policy. To translate these policy projects into practice, Afghanistan remained important especially for connectivity and security. Against this backdrop, this paper is a humble attempt to examine how Afghanistan facilitates India's objectives vis-à-vis Central Asia. Moreover, the subsequent part of this paper will discuss the re-emergence of extremist forces in Afghanistan and their spillover effect to both South and Central Asia that compelled India to focus its policy towards the region.