Online published on 5 January, 2016.
This article elucidates the “old” Great Game between Britain and Russia, the twentieth century Cold War that led to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the “new” Great Game between the US and the Russian Federation since the 1990s. India and Afghanistan have been linked through the ages by geography and history. In the current era the relationship has been complicated by the presence of Pakistan, which has separated their borders since the end of the British Raj. India has a stake in the new Silk Route project, which would give it greater access to Central and West Asia, Europe as well as Eurasian energy resources. However, Afghanistan is also a hub for the international drug trade, Islamic terrorism and is heavily dependent on Pakistan. With the help of the Taliban, which it manipulates for its own interests, Islamabad has kept Kabul weak and isolated while employing Afghan guerrillas to stir up trouble in the Indian state of Kashmir. In response, India and Afghanistan have forged a strategic partnership that could be enhanced by their growing participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and by India's rapprochement with Iran.
